Kit’s Hill by Jean Stubbs
The Brief Chronicles #1

Originally published in 1978 this book definitely is as valid today as it was then. This historical romance set in the 18th century begins the saga of the Howarth family...or at least one segment of this family. The Howarths have lived on their farm, Kit’s Hill, for longer than anyone can remember and it is Ned’s turn to bring home a wife and continue his line. He has his eye on a woman and has had it there for three years before finally summoning up courage to write her a proposal of marriage that actually begins the story of Ned and orphaned parson’s daughter Dorcas Wilde.

Dorcas has been lady’s companion to her spinster aunt for three years and the two are like chalk and cheese and yet, can she marry outside of the station she has been raised in even though she is too poor to catch a man she might pair well with...an educated man...perhaps a parson like her father.
Dorcas can have her own home, a husband, children and a life of her own with Ned though she knows nothing of farms or what living on a farm might entail. And yet...living as she has for the past three years versus that other path...well...what is a woman of twenty-five to do? What path should she choose? Of course she chooses Ned or the family line and future books in the series would not have been written. But what about this book? What did I think? Well…

What I liked:
* Ned: a good man who is honest and wise and simple who truly loves Dorcas...he knew all along they would wed though I am not sure his rosy view of what would be came about as quickly as he thought it would.
* Dorcas: intelligent, caring, perhaps a bit distant at time but a force to be reckoned with and quite capable of holding her own. When she finds and embraces “love” it is a marvelous thing.
* The slow build of the relationship between Ned and Dorcas
* The look into life long ago and all that it entailed – it was not an easy life and once again it made me think about how much easier life is today with birth control, educational options, less change of starvation...and so many other things. Even doing laundry back then was more difficult than it is today.
* The “authentic-old” feel of the writing with dialect (sometimes difficult to understand)
* The googling I did to try to find out more about terms used in the book...tenterhooks, saddle-stick and others

What I did not like:
* The slower pace to the story – much slower than most more modern stories
* Being reminded of the difficulties faced by those living in the 18th century
* The dialect that was difficult to totally understand – just as I liked it I disliked it

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? I think so

Thank you to Sapere Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )

Wonderful and warm!

Ned Howarth's letter to the beautiful Miss Dorcas Wilde is wonderful. Heartfelt and hesitant it reveals his heart. After all a man can dream and a 'cat can look at a queen'. This rare look into the rural life of a farming family in the high hills of Lancashire County in the late 1700's, over thirty years, is a treat. Dorcas and her adjustment to the life and the adjustment of others to her shows Dorcas' tenacity in this life changing journey she undertakes. The inhabitants of Kits Hill are hesitant about her and no-one more so than the housekeeper, Betty Ackroyd, who until now has held a position of power.
And this is just the beginning! The first in a quartet originally published in 1980. The passing of time has not diminished the appeal of this enjoyable story of the Howarth generations at the farm on Garth Fells.

A NetGalley ARC ( )