Wildthorn

Jane Eagland

Sep 2010 · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

About this ebook

They strip her naked, of everythingundo her whalebone corset, hook by hook. Locked away in Wildthorn Halla madhousethey take her identity. She is now called Lucy Childs. She has no one; she has nothing. But, she is still seventeenstill Louisa Cosgrove, isn't she? Who has done this unthinkable deed? Louisa must free herself, in more ways than one, and muster up the courage to be her true self, all the while solving her own twisted mystery and falling into an unconventional love . . .Originally published in the UK, this well-paced, provocative romance pushes on boundariesboth literal and figurativeand, do beware: it will bind you, too.

Ratings and reviews

I could not help but feel so angry for Louisa. She dealt with such a great injustice against her, I could hardly believe the outcome of the story. She’s definitely a very strong character especially with the odds not in her favor. I liked how she’s portrayed as not a typical Victorian English woman. She was more of a tomboy and wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. Unfortunately she just happened to be born in the wrong century. I liked how she didn’t think she acted any different, and in fact thought the ‘girly’ girls were just odd because they did not share the same interests as she did. Of all characters I loathed Tom. I really did. He was spiteful, horrible, cruel, and he deserved a whole lot of pain than he got. I’d have to say he’s one of the most hated characters I have ever encountered so far in a book. Phyllis was also another character I did not care for, and although her ending was a little more satisfying than Tom’s, I thought she didn’t really receive her proper come uppins. Overall, the plot was good and very well written. I thought the writing did a good job in capturing how it felt to be in an asylum during the Victorian Age. It’s bleak, and depressing, and situations could potentially get worse should you become ‘uncooperative’. It’s an eye opener, and horrible to read because the reader is aware of Louisa’s mental health, but also reading on how she got there in the first place is shocking and horrifying. As for the romance in this book, it may not be for everyone, I sort of figured who Louisa would be with and it’s predictable. Some argue why is this even necessary. True, but also realize that without the love, Louisa might not have been strong enough to endure what she had to go through and it was what kept her going. This was an eye opening read, and although dark and bleak throughout most of the book, there is a good satisfying ending. It shows how they used to think back then, and what was the norm and what was not. It’s hard to read without feeling some sort of anger but it’s also a satisfying read because Louisa is one of the strongest characters I have ever read so far. To have gone through what she had, would have taken a lot of strength both mentally and physically.

Loved the story!

About the author

Born in Essex, Jane Eagland taught English in secondary schools for many years. She earned an MA in Creative Writing and has worked as a tutor. She published Wildthorn in 2010, having been inspired by true stories of women who were incarcerated in asylums in the nineteenth century.