Mary's Child

 

The first novel in the Mary's Child Trilogy

The Dartmoor Series

 

Woven around the legend of Jay's Grave, Mary's Child

is a story filled with hope, love and courage.

 

Sixteen years after Mary Jay is incarcerated in the workhouse she is apprenticed out to the Bennett's farm on Dartmoor. She has no idea it is only a few miles from where she was born, or that she will be returning to the vicinity of the man who darkened her mother's last days.

 

This powerful man's vindictiveness is boundless. It reaches its dark tentacles into the next generation where it threatens to destroy more lives, including that of Kitty, Mary's daughter.

 

In Kitty, however, he meets his match. Standing up for what she believes in, despite the obstacles of her birth, she avenges two decades of his ill-doing.

Reviews

Rating ***** 5 Stars

Mary Jay's story gives us all hope that we are put on this earth for a purpose and that according to how we live and how we die, if we are ever remembered again. It also reminds us that we don't have to be a Duke or Duchess to be remembered. Though the telling of Mary Jay is a sad one, and the emotions Ms. Leaman brings to the story are everything from joy to anger, it is in itself an uplifting book of what life is all about. It teaches us that life is not to be wasted and just how precious the gift can be.

Rita Hestand for Romancing The Web

"Though the novel depicts the grim reality of a time when life was terribly hard for the common people, especially for women, and though dark tragedy mars its unfolding, Mary's Child is a moving, even hopeful, book. I cannot recommend it highly enough."

Jane Bowers, Charter Member of RIO (Reviewers International Organization)

Reviewer at Romance Reviews Today

"Celia Leaman's writing is impressive and her storyline is engrossing. Seldom do readers see a book as haunting as this one. The author does a remarkable job with Mary Jay's life and death without glossing over the true-to-life details of the hardships women and children faced in the past."

Joyce Lavene, Berkley Prime Crime

From Cindy Penn, Senior Editor, Wordweaving

"If you love the era of Thomas Hardy, when England had strictly drawn class lines between the gentry and the commoner, but despair at the bleakness so many authors portray of that era, then Mary's Child by Celia Ann Leaman may be just what's needed ... Leaman weaves a rich tapestry in Mary's Child, giving each character unexpected complexity and depth. It reaches beyond its genre to embrace the flavor of its era, bringing it to life with a vividness seldom matched. The emphasis of the novel is not upon romance, but upon the characters that live within this fascinating world. I couldn't help comparing Tess of the D'urbervilles to Mary's Child as I read, and I must admit that Leaman's novel captures the flavor of that era equally well while reaching a far more satisfactory conclusion. I heartily recommend Mary's Child."

Words can't describe how much I enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more from Celia Leaman.

Kathy Boswell for Tracy's Book Reviews

Mary's Child is chock full of characters, all deftly developed ... Celia Ann Leaman has crafted a legendary epic that expertly weaves decades of heartache, lies, tragedy and eventual triumph into a very enjoyable read.

Kathy Kehrli for Inscriptions Magazine

I loved this book. It is very well written and a joy to read. The historical details are very realistic. It kept me hooked until the very last page. Ms. Leaman has a great deal of characters in this book. The great thing about it is that she penned these people in such a way that there is no way one could get confused. You knew who everyone was and what they were up to... and it appears to be based on a true story, as well. My grade is an A+

Jen Cox for ReallyGoodEbooks