The setting is East London in the year 1888 - a
place far from the glitter and glamour of the wealthy. It’s Whitechapel - the
dockyard area, where stevedores and thieves, whores and dreamers, adult and young mix
freely. It is here that young Fiona Finnegan lived with her big family, worked hard at a
thankless job at the Burton tea factory, loved the charismatic young costermonger Joe
Bristow, hoped to one day marry him, open a tea shop of her own and get rich. And she was
a girl who was determined to make her dreams come true. It’s also a time of great
unrest, for there is a notorious killer Jack the Ripper who’s roaming the streets so
that no woman is safe, and it is also the time when workers from all walks of life were
trying to form the first ever worker’s union, much to the dismay of the factory
owners, especially Mr. Burton.
Treachery is ripe in the air and poor Fiona first loses her beloved
Joe to her archrival, and then one after the other, almost her entire family dies under
tragic circumstances. Fate then forces Fiona to flee to America with her young brother and
there they begin life anew, aided by Nick, the gay art lover. Fiona has lost once, but is
determined to never lose again. Soon this intelligent, courageous, caring and trend
setting young woman is climbing the stairs of success, with revenge as her main
motivation. But will this happiness last for long? Will she ever find true love again?
Read Jennifer Donnelly’s spellbinding debut effort and be
prepared to have a mind-blowing experience! This hefty novel is very seductive indeed,
with its magnetic plot and its spectacular characterizations. Donnelly’s novel, a
rags-to-riches tale of romance and triumph in turn-of-the-century London and New York,
gives ample evidence of the author’s own love for both rose gardening and tea!
Through the character of Fiona, the author describes tea, its varied flavors and aroma so
vividly that you can almost inhale them! The entire book is a study in atmospheric
description and what’s so alluring about it is that the author hasn’t stuffed it
in just to fill in the pages; rather it’s integral part of the entire narrative.
There are numerous characters and the author passionately brings all to life. Jennifer
Donnelly is to be applauded for creating this magnificent saga as her debut effort and
this reviewer greatly looks forward to reading more works by this very talented author!
Reviewed By Rashmi Srinivas for The Road to Romance
April 4, 2003 |
