Louise of Sarnia

Sarnia is the Latin name for Guernsey, and 'Sarnia Cherie' is the island's national anthem - 'Sarnia Cherie. Gem of the Sea'. According to the Rev J B Goode, 'Who never has suffered, he has lived but half / Who never failed, he never strove or sought', words of particular resonance for Louise of Sarnia, whose eventful life is lived on that 'gem of the sea', in the bustle of nineteenth-century enterprise and optimism. Louise is her father's favourite but despised by her mother, and because this is the Victorian era, and because of the laws of primogeniture - she is second to an older brother - whatever success she has won't be handed to her. Her social ascent is a project she is obliged to model herself. With what relish and determination she undertakes that task, in a gradual unfolding from headstrong youth, to wife, mother, woman of business, a being both forceful and shrewd in the friends and professional associates she chooses, all of which adds up to a kind of proto-feminist without the reforming zeal. But there is tragedy too, more than one person's fair share, and it is how Louise responds to and copes with her personal highs and lows that gives us one of Wallis Peel's most compelling novels.


Genre: Historical Romance