Chattels

Heart of Stone by John Jackson 

Heart of Stone was an interesting read even though some of the characters are thoroughly nasty. 

Robert Rochfort, and his brother George, are typical of the tyrannical landlords of the first half of the 1700s who believed they had the right and the might to browbeat everything in their path- wives included. The mistreatment of wives went mostly unpunished, the law being in the husband’s favour, but some of those battered women managed to snatch some of life’s pleasures.

And so it is eventually the case for Mary who agrees to become Robert’s wife. Finding quite quickly that he is not the prince of her dreams throws her into some turmoil. Meeting and falling in love with Arthur, the third brother, means a very complicated tangle.

Brotherly ties can be strong but that’s not the case at all in the family of Robert, Lord Belfield. The harm and destruction, which the viciously jealous Robert brought upon his wife and brother, makes for some difficult reading in Heart of Stone.

The characters are well drawn in this harrowing tale that is also a nicely detailed historical romance.

p.s. I’m glad the author gave the reader a happy ending to the tale and not the true life horror. 

This was a 4 star read that I recommend to those who enjoy a more detailed historical romance. 

Slainthe!