Victorian Secrets & Suffragette Struggles: New review from The Yorkshire Times for 'The Unpicking'!

When I see lists of romance and summer reads, I rarely see books exploring love for family and friends. Donna Moore's latest feminist historical crime, 'The Unpicking', follows three generations of so-called 'hysterical' women through Victorian and interwar Glasgow and Stirling, whose love for one another makes them fierce, brave opponents for a corrupt gang of policemen...A strong alternative with a grisly edge to your summer reading plans!

The Unpicking by Donna Moore reviewed by The Yorkshire Times's Artis-Ann

"From page one of this unusual novel, we are swept into another era, one of coaches and carriages, of balls and ballgowns, ladies and gentlemen. Recently orphaned Lillias Gilfillan is a wealthy young woman, looked after by her aunt, Evelina, who is as wise as Lillias is naïve. Not good for either of them, as it turns out, given the patriarchal society in which they live...

Persuaded out of mourning, Lillias attends a ball held by Lady Summerscales. The dances, the food, the conversation, all revel in the period and the reader is transported, willingly or not, into times gone by, 1877, to be precise. It is at this ball that Lillias meets Arthur Strang who sweeps the vulnerable and highly impressionable young lady off her feet. Their romance is quick and marriage at Gretna follows. Arthur knows that the more wary Aunt Evelina will not approve.

All is hearts and flowers but the idyll cannot last and horror ensues. The alarm bells start ringing for the reader long before Lillias hears them. Arthur’s business is in trouble and while he promises to pay back ‘every penny’ Lillias willingly gives him, the writing is on the wall....

You need a strong stomach to follow these three generations of women, as you endure their torment with them... Enthralling? Definitely. I read this in two sittings."

Find the complete review here!

And grab a copy of the book here.