A Reluctant Bride

Reviewed by:

Diane Ash, retired teacher and current church librarian

Federated Church of Sandwich, 403 N. Main St., Sandwich, IL 60548

Title:

A Reluctant Bride

Author:

Jody Hedlund

Publisher:

Bethany House

Date:

2019

Format:

Paperback book

Length:

345

OVERVIEW:

Mercy Wilkins lives in one of London’s poorest slums in 1862.  Although she loves her family, there are too many mouths to feed, no jobs available, and starvation and sickness are all around her.  When she is offered the opportunity to join a bride ship that is sailing to British Columbia to provide brides for the many miners in that colony, Mercy decides it is her only hope for a future.  Joseph Colville, the ship’s surgeon, is wealthy and titled, but has no desire to settle down, and is running away from the pain of having lost his family.  He is in charge of caring for the passengers and crew along with the sixty brides-to-be.  When Mercy becomes his assistant during the difficult voyage, the two begin to fight against the love they feel for each other.  Will society’s barriers between upper and lower class keep them apart, and will Mercy have to become a bride for one of the hundreds of single men waiting on the shore of British Columbia?

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5):

5

Suggested Audience:

Those who enjoy Christian fiction and historical novels

Christian Impact:

Learning to stop running from your problems and heartaches and trust that God will be with you no matter how difficult the situation.

Other Notes:

Based on historical fact.  In the 1860’s several bride ships left England for Vancouver Island and British Columbia which were both colonies of England at that time.