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Loading... Accidents of Providence (original 2012; edition 2012)by Stacia Brown (Author)
Work InformationAccidents of Providence by Stacia Brown (2012)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The story of a young woman who tried to bury a baby that died upon birth. A decree had been passed that single mothers were not permitted to do so. It was called the Bastard Act. Evidently, many young mothers had taken to killing their babies rather than live the life of shame. The end of the book seemed rushed and unsatisfactory; maybe unfinished. There are some really glaring, jarring and annoying inconsistencies and historical inaccuracies with this book which I could not overlook and spoilt it for me as a work of fiction. The potential is there for a really good yarn with a character weaving in and out of real historical events. However, Brown is no Lindsey Davis or Susanna Gregory and just doesn't appear to have a full grasp of the history of the period, although she does mention various groups that did exist and refers to some of the rather strict laws that were in existence at that time. She also appeared to be attempting to overlay a modern woman's viewpoint by critiquing 17th century with 21st century values within the self exploratory dialogue of the main character. Some of the dialogue, behaviours and interactions are just not accurate to the social norms of the period - and the use of modern day Americanisms is infuriating. I couldn't for the life of me work out whether she wanted the book to be a murder mystery, a social commentary of the times, or a...? It became lost, neither one thing nor the other. Accidents of Providence is a book I read on my kindle from the elibrary. This was an interesting historical fiction book. Rachel is the main character and she is in trouble because she is a pregant unwed mother. It tells of her relationship with her employer and friends and her trial. The book contains a few strange twists also that complicate matters. Only took 2 days to read. Worth checking out. no reviews | add a review
AwardsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Mystery.
Thriller.
Historical Fiction.
HTML: "A seventeenth-century heroine for our times" could face death for her dangerous affair with an English revolutionary (O, The Oprah Magazine). No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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This takes place in 1649 and in 1624 a new law was established regarding bastard children. Basically, she doesn't have a prayer whether the child survives or dies.
spoiler:
She's questioned, tried and hung.
I didn't care for this story. The characters seem to be going through the motion, but none of them are really alive.
I much preferred the Afterword and the Authors Notes to the entire story. ( )