Coffee Pot Book Tour: Forsaking All Other by Catherine Meyrick

March 29, 2021

Coffee Pot Book Tour: Forsaking All Other by Catherine Meyrick

Welcome to today's stop on the Coffee Pot Blog tour. We are excited to host Catherine Meyrick's Forsaking All Other. A beautiful story set in 16th century England.

The Details:

Book Title: Forsaking All Other by Catherine Meyrick

Publication Date: 16^th March 2018

Publisher: Courante Publishing

Page Length: 308 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction/Historical Romance

The Author:

Catherine Meyrick is a writer of historical fiction with a particular love of Elizabethan England. Her stories weave fictional characters into the gaps within the historical record – tales of ordinary people who are very much men and women of their time, yet in so many ways are like us today. These are people with the same hopes and longings as we have to find both love and their own place in a troubled world.

Catherine grew up in regional Victoria, but has lived all her adult life in Melbourne, Australia. Until recently she worked as a customer service librarian at her local library. She has a Master of Arts in history and is also an obsessive genealogist. When not writing, reading and researching, Catherine enjoys gardening, the cinema and music of all sorts from early music and classical to folk and country and western and, not least of all, taking photos of the family cat to post on Instagram.

Social Media Links:

Website • Twitter • Instagram • Facebook • Pinterest

The Blurb:

England, 1585.

Bess Stoughton, waiting woman to the well-connected Lady Allingbourne, has discovered that her father is arranging for her to marry an elderly neighbour. Normally obedient Bess rebels and wrests from her father a year's grace to find a husband more to her liking.

Edmund Wyard, a taciturn and scarred veteran of England’s campaign in Ireland, is attempting to ignore the pressure from his family to find a suitable wife as he prepares to join the Earl of Leicester’s army in the Netherlands.

Although Bess and Edmund are drawn to each other, they are aware that they can have nothing more than friendship. Bess knows that Edmund’s wealth and family connections place him beyond her reach. And Edmund, with his well-honed sense of duty, has never considered that he could follow his own wishes.

With England on the brink of war and fear of Catholic plots extending even into Lady Allingbourne’s household, time is running out for both of them.

Love is no game for women. The price is far too high.

My Review:

The Plot in brief: No spoilers. Widow Bess Stoughton is facing a vile marriage to a man older than her father. In a bold move she evades her father and postpones the event for a year in order to find a more suitable husband.

The Characters: I really enjoyed reading about Bess. She is a woman of her time and understands the limits placed on her by society and family. Still, she'd like to choose her own husband. The character is well drawn and fully fleshed out, she's highly likeable and I cheered her on. Edmund, too knows he obligations and fights against his mother's pressure to marry well. He's a bit rough around the edges but has a heart of gold. I like how Bess and Edmund are described as rather ordinary people, just trying to make the best of life. There are lots of side characters which fill out the cast, each is well done.

The History: The late 16th century is a interest period in history. Elizabeth is still on the throne, almost 30 years into her reign. The protestant religion is well entrenched; Catholicism feared. England is fighting wars on multiple fronts. Meyrick deftly weaves these historical elements into her story, without feeling like a school lesson. I felt fully immersed in her 16th century world.

The Writing: Meryrick's writing is excellent and well edited. The pace moves the story along and I found myself turning the pages eager to see what happened next. The story is well plotted and executed. The love story is tender and gratifying.

Overall: I really enjoyed Forsaking All Other, the history is great, the story wonderfully told. I would highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction.

I give this book: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five Stars