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A review by oliviaclaire
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I think I've been spoiled by Eve Chase's The Glass House for books about child caretakers sent to manage charges in the wild and rugged North and this may have coloured my opinion of Mrs England. Please don't let it colour yours though as the books have many differences that set them apart.
Firstly, Mrs England is a period piece, set in 1904. Ruby May has just finished her first placement after graduating from Norland school for nurses. She has decided not to emigrate to America with her placement family due to needing to be close enough to home to help support her family in Leeds. It is implied that one of her siblings is ill and that she uses her wages to support them. Unfortunately, Norland nurses are not in the habit of leaving their positions for any reason and as such, her headmistress struggles to reassign her, prompting Ruby to agree to a position in West Yorkshire.
It becomes immediately apparent that not all is well in the home of the England family when Ruby arrives. Mrs England floats around like a pretty phantom and displays little to no interest in her children while Mr England though genial and jovial seems intent on making sure that Nurse May locks the children away at night while he locks away his wife, all for their wellbeing.
This book follows almost exactly the path I thought, and you might already think, it would. Mr England is an abusive husband and Mrs England is wasting away under the shadow of that abuse. There is also a very obvious love interest for Mrs England outside the home. Having said that, Ruby herself provides us with a very interesting plot twist and Mrs England makes a decision for herself towards the end of the story which I was not expecting.
Overall I enjoyed the premise and the book was well written with a couple of twists to keep you guessing. The main plot, however, was easy to predict and the pace was a bit slow. I feel like certain scenes and sections could probably have been cut to keep the story fast paced.
Firstly, Mrs England is a period piece, set in 1904. Ruby May has just finished her first placement after graduating from Norland school for nurses. She has decided not to emigrate to America with her placement family due to needing to be close enough to home to help support her family in Leeds. It is implied that one of her siblings is ill and that she uses her wages to support them. Unfortunately, Norland nurses are not in the habit of leaving their positions for any reason and as such, her headmistress struggles to reassign her, prompting Ruby to agree to a position in West Yorkshire.
It becomes immediately apparent that not all is well in the home of the England family when Ruby arrives. Mrs England floats around like a pretty phantom and displays little to no interest in her children while Mr England though genial and jovial seems intent on making sure that Nurse May locks the children away at night while he locks away his wife, all for their wellbeing.
This book follows almost exactly the path I thought, and you might already think, it would.
Overall I enjoyed the premise and the book was well written with a couple of twists to keep you guessing. The main plot, however, was easy to predict and the pace was a bit slow. I feel like certain scenes and sections could probably have been cut to keep the story fast paced.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Death, and Domestic abuse