The Blurb (from Goodreads):
1660. King Charles II has returned from exile, but memories of the English Civil War still rankle. There are old scores to settle, and religious differences threaten to overturn a fragile peace. When Alice Ibbetson discovers a rare orchid, the Lady’s Slipper, growing in a wood belonging to Richard Wheeler, she is captivated by its beauty— though Wheeler, a Quaker, is determined to keep the flower where God intended it to grow.
My Thoughts:
Set in 1666, soon after the restoration of King Charless II, this novel begins with a young woman named Alice sneaking out of her husband’s house in the middle of the night to steal a flower from a nearby wood. The flower is a rare orchid, a Lady’s Slipper, and Alice wants to paint it. The wood belongs to a Quaker called Richard Wheeler, who will not tolerate the theft and demands the flower back. From this rather simple premise, Deborah Swift creates a fabulous historical novel full of passion, obsession, intrigue, murder, religious riots, madness and exile. I loved every word of it!
Other blogs on this book you may find interesting:
http://www.historyandwomen.com/2011/06/ladys-slipper-by-deborah-swift.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-pQCvPzGhI
http://historicalnovelreview.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/ladys-slipper-by-deborah-swift.html
