Author Madeleine McDonald reacts to her most heartening and most disappointing reviews from readers of one of her novels.
The following review came from an American reader of her historical
romance, A Shackled Inheritance.
“This book has a strong heroine in Ms. Abigail Carrick. She struggles to seek out her inheritance in a world that does not allow women much authority. I admit that I did not check all of the facts in this book but I looked up some of them. There are references to authors that actually lived and real events in history. I feel that I learned a lot while reading it. It caused me to rethink some ideas about civil rights, history and race. The line between right and wrong become blurred which is something I really like to see in a book.
My only criticism of the book is that the ending is too neat. I would have
liked to see the characters work out some of their problems which were not
resolved. I think a second volume would be welcome.”
‘I was cheered by this review,’ says Madeleine. ‘It great to
find that someone was interested enough in the historical context of the story
to check some of the facts, and to weigh them against her own knowledge and
ideas. It’s what I would do, but then I’m a history addict.’
Musing on the joys and pitfalls of historical research, Madeleine
reveals, ‘A Shackled Inheritance was in danger of never being
finished as I burrowed deep into the treasure trove of Jamaica’s splendid
digital archives. One site led to another, as I found inventories and wills
that detailed the ambiguous lives of the sizeable ‘free coloured’ community,
the mixed-race descendants of slave owners and enslaved people. The tragedy was
that the free coloureds were often slave owners or overseers themselves.’
Madeleine’s meticulous research into the brutal conditions
of plantation life also impressed the writer of the book’s disappointing one-star
review:
“Let me begin this review stating I give props to
Madeleine for depicting the harshness and hardness of a slave's life. To see
anyone abused, mistreated in any decade, at any age, is unthinkable and
deplorable. I can't fathom how someone can treat another person so cruelly.
Despicable!”
Madeleine notes that ‘This reviewer’s emotional reaction coloured her view
of the book. She said at one point
“You know what else is despicable? A vast majority of the
characters in A Shackled Inheritance.”
‘She did not like either my heroine or her sister, saying
they were both “consumed with money”. In my view, that was
inevitable in a time when women had no financial independence.’
The review ends by saying: “At least it ended on a HEA so
that's something.”
‘Good or bad,’ Madeleine says, ‘I welcome readers’ opinions.
They make the solitary hours of writing worthwhile.’
Read more about Madeleine McDonald HERE.
It's a great read. And I agree with Madeleine's comments.
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