The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Nobody had told her that being a mother would mean living with love so unqualified that it left you breathless, and fear so awful that it shook you to your soul. Nor had they said how close those two feelings were.
A historical fiction set in Ceylon with references to Ghandi and the conditions of tea planter plantations. The back drop is a magnificent way to bring a story of many emotions ranging from excitement to grief. Gwen Hooper is marrying Lawrence the man of her dreams. A man who is attentive to her needs and runs a tea plantation. A widower who lost his first wife to a tragic death is not forth coming to what happened, leaves Gwen somewhat anxious at times but determined to be the wife her husband needs. The plot is centered around the plantation and Gwen adapting from the English life to a life that is foreign to her.
With every relationship, you have obstacles to overcome and one of them in Gwen’s case is her husband’s sister Verity. Verity seems determined to undermine Gwen’s position as lady of the house. With each of these relationships, the characters develop and when Gwen becomes pregnant with twins, a fear comes to light that drives her to make one terrible decision after another. Different times makes the unimaginable happen and guilt and fear overtake you.
The twist of the plot is more of not what or why but how Gwen overcomes her fear and how trust is so hard to achieve. Honestly, I imagined a different twist with one of the characters Savi Ravasinghe , a man that was not trusted by Gwen husband which did not develop to a reason why. I just imagined it for myself. I thought my take would have had more drama but all in all it was a great way to go back in time.
A Special Thank You to Crown Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
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