Flower Girl

'The Lady's Slipper'
Author: Deborah Swift


Format: Paperback
Published: St. Martin's Griffin; Nov. 2010
Pages: 464
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B
Source: Publisher


Synopsis: In 1660 King Charles II has returned from exile, but memories of the English Civil War still rankle. There are old scores to settle, and religious differences threaten to overturn a fragile peace.
When Alice Ibbetson discovers a rare orchid, the Lady's Slipper, growing in a wood belonging to Richard Wheeler, she is captivated by its beauty--though Wheeler, a Quaker, is determined to keep the flower where God intended it to grow. Knowing the orchid is the last of its kind, she steals the flower, little dreaming that her seemingly simple act will set off a chain of events that will change her life forever ...


My Take: I love historical fiction and I've been enjoying reading a lot more of it this year than last. However, when it comes to that set in England way back when, lately, and by lately I mean for the last ten years, it seems as if it's been all about the Royal courts. Not that I didn't enjoy learning about the Tudors and the War of the Roses, etc, etc. but I was over that about five years ago now and it seems to still be going strong. This book though, it's just about some seemingly normal people in the 1660s with some weird obsessions. This I'll give a try!


First, we have Alice. Good Alice is married to a boring man and has just lost her dear sister. She is obsessed with plants and painting still-lives. When she learns that an incredibly rare plant is growing in town she wants to capture it so she can cultivate it and make sure it will continue to propagate: The Lady's Slipper. Apparently, it is an incredibly rare English wild orchid and being back in the day everyone thought it had all kinds of mystical powers attached to it. Alice just wanted to make sure it would continue to grow. You can't just steal something though and expect to get off scott free though can you? Nope!


The man she steals the flower from is Richard Wheeler and he is a Quaker. At the time of the book, Quakers were just starting to gain in popularity. I really enjoyed learning a little about the history of Quakers and in the context of the English Civil War, their philosophy of peace totally made sense. 


There is an arch-enemy for Wheeler in this book: Gregory Fisk. They fought against each other in the Civil War and now Fisk is paying Alice to propagate the plant. Wheeler wants it back in his garden and Alice just wants it to survive. Don't believe so many people could care about one plant? Have you ever heard of the tulip fever that broke out in Holland around the same time? Believe me, back in the day people cared about plants!


But then, what's this? A plot twist! The plant totally becomes second to the fact that there is a crime. If  you think this book is just about plants then you will be pleasantly surprised! If I said anything more, I'd ruin the book for you. Suffice it to say, you'll be taught a very valuable lesson by reading this book and it's a thoroughly enjoyable historical fiction novel!


Cover Lust: I thought this cover was totally lush and captivating! They did a lovely job with it!