Product Description

In the claustrophobic, mannered world of British India, Linny Ingram seems the perfect society wife: pretty, gracious, subservient. But appearances can be deceptive. Linny Ingram was born Linny Gow, an orphan raised in the gray slums of Liverpool. Sold into prostitution by her stepfather when she was only eleven, Linny clung to the belief that she was meant for something more, something better, than life on the cold, dangerous streets.

A stroke of luck granted Linny the chance to re-create herself as a proper middle-class young lady, allowing her to join “the fishing fleet”—young women of good birth who sailed to India in search of husbands. India, with its exotic colors, sights, and smells, is a world away from the cold back alleys of Linny’s childhood. But even there, she is haunted by her past, and by the constant threat of discovery. Soon she finds that respectability and marriage bring a new kind of imprisonment. But having come so far, Linny is not about to surrender easily. In the lush tropics of India she finds not only the means of rebellion . . . she finds that she may be capable of feeling love and freedom after all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #205367 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-24
• Released on: 2006-01-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A historical romance with a soft-focus cover, Holeman's first adult novel (she's written a handful of young adult books, including Search of the Moon King's Daughter) opens in Calcutta but quickly flashes back to 1823 Liverpool, England, where its heroine, Linny Gow, is turned into a prostitute by her father shortly after her 11th birthday. Surrounded by poverty and brutality, Linny clings to her dead mother's assurance that she has noble blood, a distinction that solidifies her determination to escape from her sexual slavery and break into the genteel class. Holeman excels at painting the different milieus of the time-from the clammy docks where the whores ply their trade, to the stuffy drawing rooms where the ladies gossip over tea, to India, where a "fishing fleet" of poor young well-bred women go in search of husbands. Her physical descriptions can be powerfully tactile and absorbing. But her storylines are couched in clichés, and much of Linny's character is determinedly anachronistic; she's almost proud, for example, of her sexual experience. Such flaws will likely put off those expecting a more rigorous depiction of the period, but Holeman's novel may nonetheless prove an engrossing favorite with historical romance aficionados and fans of Sarah Waters's Victorian dramas.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Liverpool, England, in Victorian times was no place to be a poor girl. Linny Gow knows this firsthand. When her mother dies, her father begins prostituting her at the age of 12. Linny manages to leave prostitution, and with the help of a kindly would-be doctor, she begins to pass herself off as a middle-class woman. When Linny gets the opportunity to leave England behind, she sets off for India without looking back. In India she meets the cruel Somers Ingram. Ingram recognizes her from her days in Liverpool and blackmails her into a sexless and violent marriage. Coincidences and luck, both good and bad, abound. Linny's intelligence and pluck may be almost a cliche in historical literature, but the plot moves at a fast enough pace, and the descriptions are so vivid that the book becomes a page-turner. Marta Segal
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“A once-in-a-lifetime read. Holeman is a master of dramatic tension and of seducing a reader’s attention.” —The Toronto Globe and Mail



From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Brilliantly Descriptive (if sometimes painful)-Great Story!
When I began reading this book, I thought "Oh no, an historic romance novel", which I hate. But I was wrong; this is definitely no romance novel. The vivid descriptions of Lindy's, (or Linnet's,) life as a child prostitute in Liverool are sometimes so harsh, they almost made me cringe to read them, but still very mesmerizing. I really started to love the book when she sets off on a four-month sailboat journey to India with its agonizing hardships, but it's when the story moves to India that it really became fascinating. The description of India's climate, landscaping, and people, including the uptight ruling English class with their rigid, sanctimonious views of the "proper way of life" is brilliantly portrayed. The more you read, the better the story becomes, and doesn't disappoint at the end.

A Masterpiece
I love historical fiction and read so many novels that fall into that category, but none I've read in a really long time could hold a candle to Ms. Holeman's masterpiece.

This novel takes the reader for an exciting and heartfelt journey from England to India in the mid-eighteen hundreds following the life of Linney Gow, whose tale is full of sin, intrigue, love, deception, growth and strength.

I'm an extremely judgemental reader (why else would I review other people's novels) and usually find fault with writers' ability to portray well developed and life like characters, but this novel is a wonderful example of how its done. Linny Gow is such a remarkably well drafted character, which makes her story that much deeper and more meaningful; you end up relating and sympathizing with her despite the horrible crimes/sins she commits and (sometimes) bad decisions she makes.

I did not want this book to end- it was truly a work of art, an all-consuming pleasure to read. I recommend it for anyone looking to read and be fulfilled by an incredible novel- lovers of historical fiction in particular will really recognize her first-rate writing abilities as comparred to so many other novels in this genre.

A PAGE TURNER, A GREAT READ!!!! LINNY ROCKS!!!
Linny takes us through 16 years of her life, starting in the slums of England and carrying over to India. This is a good read; certainly NOT one of THE BEST books I have ever enjoyed, but I really did enjoy it! Does that make sense? I think so!!!!

Anyway, the story starts with 12 year old Linny telling us of her horrible life and living conditions without her beloved mom and living with her "dad". Thanks to him, her life takes a turn for the worse and the story is on. I was hooked by page two.

Linny tells of her losses, triumphs, loves, escapades, all told in a believeable narration. You can smell the stink of the back alleys in England and smell the fresh air of the mountains in India. You can picture the faces of the British ladies living in India and their dull, unexciting lifes. Living in India for them was like living in England, full of social rules, countless social gatherings, and so many, many rules. The ship journey to India was very interesting and you can just imagine the deplorable conditions people went through to travel in the 1800's.

Linny learns early on how to take care of herself at whatever the cost. She makes many friends along the way; a fine cast of characters.

I did not find the story too easy to predict and it was always an interesting ride. The author put much research into this book and her hard work has great results.

Do yourself a favor and read this book. You will learn to love Linny and the way her life unfolds.

Thank you! Pam