A Romeo and Juliet Story During the British Civil War--"Yours, Dorothy" by E.B. Wheeler--Review

Blurb:

Based on a true love story from the British Civil War.

Dorothy Osborne's family has sacrificed everything for King Charles of England, living in exile in France after the king's defeat by Parliament. Dorothy knows it is her duty to marry well and help her family, which means finding a wealthy suitor: Royalist, or maybe French, but never a Parliamentarian, and not someone of her own choosing.

William Temple struggles to commit to his father's Parliamentarian cause, making his family wonder if he'll ever commit to anything. William wonders too, until he meets Dorothy Osborne. The connection between them is instant, but their families will go to any length to keep them apart. Can their love survive separation and the upheavals of the British Civil War?

My Review:

 

Yours, Dorothy is a highly romantic story of two star-crossed lovers based on real life events.  The narrative is set during the time of the British Civil War, when fortunes rise and fall at the drop of a hat and there is much political unrest.  The story reminds me of Romeo and Juliet, although not quite as tragic. 

I don’t know much about this particular time period, so I really enjoyed learning more while reading the story of Dorothy and William.  I appreciate Ms. Wheeler’s extensive knowledge of the time period and subject that she shares with her readers.   At the end of the book, Ms. Wheeler explains what’s true to real life in every chapter and gives little historical tidbits that tie in with the story.

Both Dorothy and William struggle with whether they should follow duty to their family, conscience or heart.  Their families are on opposite sides in the war and they face a lot of pressure from their family to marry well and form the right connections.  I find it romantic that their story spans years, (and there are long periods where they don’t hear from or see each other) yet they still can’t stop thinking about the other.  Time and distance can’t quell their love.  I also really like all of the history and how Ms. Wheeler tries to stay historically accurate.  It might have been helpful to have a family tree and to see who was on what side of the conflict at the beginning or end of the book.

Yours, Dorothy is a beautiful story of love and war.  At times though, the story moved a bit slowly for my taste.  History buffs and lovers of the British Civil War will especially appreciate this well-researched story! 

Content: This is a clean read.  There is some very minor content.  Some examples of the content are: a woman has a low cut dress; men are drunk; mention of gambling.

Rating: I give this book 3 stars.

Genre: Historical Fiction; Romance; England

I want to thank E.B. Wheeler and Rowan Ridge Press for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.
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Author Bio:

E.B. Wheeler grew up in Georgia and California. She attended BYU, majoring in history with an English minor, and earned an MA in early modern history with an emphasis on British religion and popular belief, as well as an MLA in historic and cultural landscapes, from Utah State University. Her first novel, The Haunting of Springett Hall, won the 2015 Gold Quill award from the League of Utah Writers for best YA fiction, and her adult novels Born to Treason and No Peace with the Dawn (with co-author Jeff Bateman) won the Silver Quill and Gold Quill awards in 2016. Born to Treason was a 2016 Whitney Award finalist in historical fiction. She was also the League of Utah Writer’s 2016 Writer of the Year. She’s a member of SCBWI and LDStorymakers. Her YA fiction is represented by Abigail Samoun of Red Fox Literary.

 

E.B. Wheeler is also the author of several award-winning short stories, magazine articles, and scripts for educational software programs. Her essay “Imperfect Instruments,” about faith and living with Brown-Sequard syndrome resulting from a spinal cord injury, won the 2015 Segullah Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction. In addition to writing, she also consults about historic preservation and teaches Utah history at Utah State University. She has worked on projects for the National Park Service, the LDS church, and the USU Museum of Anthropology. She currently serves on the board of directors for the League of Utah Writers. She lives in the mountains of Utah with her husband, children, and various pets. If she had spare time, she would spend it playing harp and hammered dulcimer, gardening, hiking, shooting archery, knitting, and reading.

 

 

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