Reviews

The following reviews are taken from the Amazon Books website for The Mourning Brooch Book One – An ending. A Beginning.

A. Vainlo  5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2022

Verified Purchase

The Mourning Brooch is a captivating story of Victorian life in a Yorkshire village, based on people who actually existed. The Addy family lived in Bentley near Doncaster and their graves lie in Arksey church yard, just over the road from where I was brought up. As a historian for the two villages, I was happy to assist Jean in her research for this book (for which she gives me a welcome credit).
I must applaud Jean’s level of research, which is extremely thorough. She captures the era perfectly and brings to life the places so well known to me, it was like travelling in time.
I began reading the novel expecting to be mostly interested in the history of the villages, but the story was so engrossing that even when the focus moved to Bradford, my interest did not wane in the slightest. It reads like some of the best historical fiction out there, but then you remember that these people really existed. Their characters are imagined, but Jean has created interesting, well-rounded characters that you can’t help but engage with.

June  5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read for both the family or local history followers or just as a fascinating book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 November 2021

Verified Purchase

As a member of Doncaster & District Family History Society I was particularly interested in this book both for the family history & the local interest to me. Jean has really done her homework on this story. It took you back to the actual conditions and times of the mid 1850’s not the sanitized conditions you see on the tv. I can’t wait for the second novel to come out. I enjoyed it so much I have asked her to do a zoom talk for the Society on 23rd February 2022

Amazon Customer  5.0 out of 5 stars A very enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2022

Verified Purchase

The mourning brooch is a gripping novel that captivated me from the very beginning. The experiences of each member of the Addy family were so compelling that every day I looked forward to the moment when I finally could read another fragment of their stories. It is hard to imagine that, apart from the names and major circumstances, most of the events are fictional. Jean Renwick has created very interesting and believable characters, who naturally take the readers back in time with them to witness every moment of their lives in their houses, the churches where they went to pray, their neighbourhoods.

I highly recommend this book and I am really looking forward to the second one.

Amazon Customer 5.0 out of 5 stars A Victorian Yorkshire family saga.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 January 2022

I was quite intrigued when I read the background to how The Mourning Brooch came to be written. I have always enjoyed historical novels, particularly family sagas, and this book ticked both of these boxes, as well as being based on people who actually lived during Victorian times. Once I started reading, I was very quickly drawn into the lives of the various characters and their experiences. I found that Jean Renwick’s style of writing brought these people to life and it is obvious from the amount of detail in the book that she has undertaken a tremendous amount of research, not only on the real individuals involved but also on the social history of the mid- to late-19th century.
However, this is no dry book of social history, rather, it is a true work of fiction which just happens to be based on real people and real events, where they are known. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well-written historical novel; even my husband, who would not usually choose this genre, enjoyed the narrative. I can hardly wait to read the sequel to this book and find out how Jean Renwick develops the histories of the families involved.