* A huge Thank You to Anne of Random Things Tours for inviting
me on this book tour and to Clive Woolliscroft, for sending me a copy of his
book, in exchange for an honest review.
One False Step by Clive Woolliscroft.
William Dunbar, the younger son of a Scottish nobleman,
craves wealth, and marriage seems to be his simplest way to achieve it. His
pursuit eventually leads him to Mercy Grundy, an old maid in the eyes of
mid-1740s society who fears lifelong spinsterhood. Her father has offered a
substantial dowry to the man who will take her hand in marriage. For William,
marriage to Mercy would be a match made in heaven. But for Mercy, who has
succumbed to William’s charms, would marrying him necessitate her taking one false
step?
My review
Set in the mid-1740s, this fast-paced story had me hooked
from the very start. There were many twists, which I didn’t expect when I
opened the book. From the blurb, I expected a romance, what I read was much
darker!
William Dunbar likes the high life and vows to become a rich
man. He plans to do this by trying to wed a woman with a large dowry. He
leeches onto women and their families until they are no longer of any use to
him, or until his past catches up with him...
Everyone William came into contact with seemed to inherit
his bad luck, it’s like he was cursed! However, William always landed on his
feet, it was those around him who suffered. He seemed to feel guiltless
about the pain and suffering he caused others. In the end, I hoped he might
redeem himself, but he didn’t, I like to think that eventually he got his
comeuppance, but I doubt it! I can imagine he continued to leech off people for
the rest of his life.
Mercy Grundy was a sweet character who just wanted a husband,
fearing she would be a spinster forever. It was sad to see how she was
manipulated by William and naively went along with his plans, in the hope that they would end up together. In the Author’s
note, Woolliscroft informs us that parts of Mercy’s story and trial are loosely based on a
real woman. The book does highlight what little rights women had when it came
to marriage and money in the Georgian era, compared to men.
A brilliant historical novel that I struggled to put down. Woolliscroft's well-written characters and descriptive writing will have you hooked! Highly recommended.
You can buy your own copy here.
Meet the author
Now more than halfway through his eighth decade, Clive Woolliscroft is retired and lives in Cheshire with his wife, Sue, and Cocker Spaniel, Bonnie.
Before retiring, he served as an Army Officer in Germany,
worked as an International Money Market Trader in London, was a Management
Consultant in Prague and Riga and practised as a Solicitor in London,
Hertfordshire and Staffordshire.
Ever since Clive was commissioned to write a book to
demystify the derivative financial products that emerged in the 1980s, his
ambition was to write a novel. That ambition was achieved more than thirty-five
years later when Less Dreadful With Every Step was published in May 2023.
One False Step is Clive's second novel.
The other stops on this book tour
Thanks for the blog tour support x
ReplyDelete