Sarah's Reviews > The Birthright

Nova Scotia, 1774—

Nicole Robichaud, (view spoiler)[also known as Elspeth Harrow (hide spoiler)], lives in Halifax now, with her birth parents, close to her adoptive sister and brother-in-law, Anne and Cyril. Nicole loves her newfound family dearly, but feels compelled by duty to become Uncle Charles’ heir. She sails to England, confident that she’s doing the right thing but swamped with anxiety. She forms a friendship with Emily Madden, the ship captain’s wife, and tentatively flirts with first mate Gordon Goodwind. Yet at her core, Nicole is still restless and rootless.

British high society proves intimidating. Her uncle’s grand residence feels too big and opulent, and the other nobles expect the heir of Harrow Hall to glitter like the chandeliers above. Uncle Charles has problems of his own—he’s one of the only Tories arguing in Parliament for the independence of the American colonies, which has not made him popular. The stress aggravates an already pressing heart condition. He needs to finalize his succession soon.

Tragedy drives Anne to England, with something unspeakably precious in tow. As she and Nicole support each other with sisterhood and Scripture, they wonder if they’ve got their destinies all wrong…

No content advisory needed. The book deals with mature subject matter—namely death—in a gentle, reassuring manner. Nothing here a twelve-year-old reader can’t handle if they’re so inclined.

This book relies on deus ex machina even more heavily than The Sacred Shore did, but I think that’s the point the authors want to make—God is literally present in the machine of the world, bringing unlikely cogs together for purposes only He can see. It would not work for every book, but here it works well enough.

The other parts that bothered me were minor. One is the name of Harrow Hall. In all the British classics I’ve read and period dramas I’ve watched, it doesn’t seem that grand English manor houses are usually named after their owners. The de Bourghs owned Rosings, the Darcys owned Pemberley, the Bertrams owned Mansfield, and the Crawleys owned Downton.

The other aspect I found odd was how both girls seemed to think of Catherine and Andrew as their main set of parents, even though Nicole was raised by Louise and Henri. The Robichauds disappear about two chapters in, while the Harrows are a presence throughout.

Nicole continues to be a brave and steady lead character, who grows in spine and soul. Anne never gets quite the same amount of detail, but she still has a definite personality and arc, rising from her grief strong and hopeful. It was cute how they wound up studying the Bible together in their time of need, just like their moms before them.

Cyril was sweet, (view spoiler)[but not around long enough to really take shape on his own. His death is sad because he’s young and has so much to live for; I just never felt like I knew him as a character (hide spoiler)]. Thomas and Gordon (seriously, Gordon Goodwind is the best sailor name ever) both have potential, and I know that they’ll get fleshed out more in the next book.

John is adorable and I hope that he stays safe and healthy.

The last quibble is a matter of historical accuracy, not aesthetic quality. The characters, particularly Charles, seemed to have it in their heads that the American Revolution was about freedom of religion. The hope of religious freedom was what drove many colonists to settle in the future States—the Puritans of New England, the Quakers and Anabaptists of Pennsylvania, and the Catholics of Maryland were all driven out of Britain. The war posed a religious conflict for some of the many denominations in the colonies; Anglicans had to reconcile the Divine Right of Kings with the Declaration of Independence, while Quakers were forbidden to take up arms for either side (although some did, notably including General Nathanael Green). But the main causes of the war were secular: the colonists wanted Parliamentary representation.

Overall, while this book wasn’t as good as The Meeting Place, I did enjoy it and look forward to the rest of the series.