Why a Booktrail?
1666, 2014: The ripples from a hidden secret found in an old Quaker Church is felt across the Yorkshire Dales
The Glovemaker’s Daughter
What you need to know before your trail
1666. A child is born in the farmhouse at Windebank, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Named Rejoice (Joy) by her dying father, Joy grows up witness to the persecution of the farming community for following a banned faith. Defying the authority of the local priest, she joins a group of Yorkshire pioneers travelling to the New World to form a colony close to Philadelphia – a passionate, rebellious and courageous woman fighting against the constraints of the time. Will she find peace and love?
2014: A leather-bound book is found buried in the walls of the Meeting House in Good Hope, Pennsylvania. Its details trace the owner back to a Yorkshire farm in the Dales. And so a correspondence begins between Rachel Moorside and the man who found the journal, Sam Storer, as Rachel uncovers the tumultuous secrets of her family’s history.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
The author points out that readers might be surprised that she hasn’t used thee and thou as was common among Friends of the Quaker Faith at that time. This is the for purposes of clarity and is only used when making a significant point.
Pennsylvania
Set in the good hope township, there is a Quaker community there who have been present in the area for many years. The Old Meeting house might not the the original anymore, but the growing community requires that it be taken down and rebuilt. Each stone is going to be numbered and replaced so carefully so that keep the building authentic. It’s while taking the bricks apart that the secret in the walls is found
West Riding of Yorkshire
The letter in the bricks mentions life in the Yorkshire village of Windebank (fictional)
The Moorsides of Scarperton and their Quaker connection form the mystery of this book
The Quakers of Pennsylvania have been here:
“From sea to moor to city, the early morning sun bathed the towers of York Minster with a touch of scarlet……the stone walls of the York Castle gaol yawned at another day’s onslaught
The Quakers were apparently made to walk the streets as punishment for marrying according to their conscience and not with the priest’s command. Sent to the jail, waking the stony track of the town”
Yorkshire as the story unfolds is rivers which are swollen torrents, wet grass and limestone tracks and wild, untamed moors of grass and wild plants
It’s the story of the persecution of their people
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
What a lovely and poignant story. Very unique and very special. I’ve not read many stories set within the Quaker community and nothing with a main character such as Rejoice. I found myself cheering her on in many ways and admired her for what she did and believe in. The conditions that she and others must have gone through were harsh and at times hard to read. There was no role for women at that time and it was admirable that she was the person she was.The times may have been ruthless but Leah’s portrayal of it was evocative and lusciously descriptive. Immersive is a word that only some historical novels really achieve but this was one one them. It wasn’t just the historical part of the weave which made this story however. The modern day threads were equally as strong and oh – that book being found – love stories like this where diaries, walls are whispering to us from the past. This one is really well woven.
Joy is joy of a character to go on a journey with and what a journey it was!
Recommended
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Glovemaker’s Daughter
Destination: Yorkshire. York, Pennsylvania Author/Guide: Leah Fleming Departure Time: 1666, 2014
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
