Wow, what an incredible story! It reads like the wildest of historical adventure novels, with a beautiful intelligent heroine and the worst possible of evil villains, but Val Scully has based it very closely on the real facts of Mary Eleanor Bowes' life. The darling of her wealthy father, Mary Eleanor is well educated, but when he dies she's left unprotected as a wealthy heiress. She first marries Lord Strathmore on her 18th birthday, in a time when women lost all rights to their property on marriage. When he dies young she regains much of her money, estates and freedom, only to quickly marry again...  Val Scully's portrayal of this indomitable woman who stood up for her rights is excellent, couldn't put this down!

This book will travel in a ray:

Cassandra2020 (UK)
earthcaroleanne (UK)
Diane-Fraser (UK)
kinedi (UK)
yorkshire-lass (UK)
Poodlesister (UK)
rahar109 (UK, will post UK/Europe)
pam99 (UK, will post UK)
Shepparm (UK, will post anywhere)
Sparkish (UK, will post anywhere)
Fifna (NL, to EU, UK, Norway, Switzerland)
penelopewanders (receive from EU, post anywhere)
djf1968 (US)
book_drunkard (US)

Posted to Cassandra2020 who is first in the ray.

It's arrived! Looking forward to reading this... just need to power through a couple of library books first.

My Name is Eleanor by Val Scully - Good

The first bookray for the authors that will speak at the Durham Bookcrossing Unconvention in September 2024.

I always like a bit of historical fiction, especially when it is written around a real person and using real events. Mary Eleanor Bowes is such a person (and happens to be an ancestor of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon the late Queen Mother). However, I'm not a fan of romance and I had a brief moment of concern as the first chapter seemed heading down that road and a little fanciful. I needn't have worried, once the book got into its stride and dealing with the actual story it was fascinating.

Married at 18, widowed with 5 children and then tricked into a second marriage, what she endured and survived and the way she changed how women were treated were unprecedented. Bearing in mind this was Georgian times when men were allowed the 'rule of thumb' to chastise their wives (ie they could be beaten as long as the stick was no bigger in diameter than a thumb) that her husband treated her so cruelly that she managed to eventually divorce him is testament to what she endured and what she achieved.

Now I want to visit Gibside and find out more about this fascinating woman.

Oh. Just one thing. Be careful reading the Chapter Notes as some of the information included is in under the wrong chapter number. I ended up reading a couple of spoilers accidentally. I know it's actual history/documented fact so not really a spoiler but as this was the first I knew of the woman I prefered to find out the details from the story rather than the notes.

#review

Bringing to Old Gang Meetup as two or three of the circulation list will be there. Will update as to who is next and update the circulation list accordingly.

Although this book is registered at www.bookcrossing.com, you don't have to be a member. It's perfectly OK to just take the book and enjoy it. Of course, if you can visit the website and let us know that you've picked it up, that would be even better - you don't even have to join, you can add your comments anonymously - you can also post your review when you've read it, then return it or pass it on to someone else.

If you do join Bookcrossing, you'll be able to see what happens to it afterwards - for ever!

Join Bookcrossers at the BCUK Durham Unconvention from 20-22 September 2024

Received at the Edinburgh Bookcrossing Meetup. I've got it out of order as I specifically asked to be at the end of the ray and now it is here at the same time as another uncon bookray when I've already got a backlog. I'm going to read the other one first because that is the one I should have received first.