In the Land of the Long White Cloud by Sarah Lark
Review by Mirah Welday (mwelday)
Ok, full disclosure. This book is long. If you’re not interested in sweeping sagas, this might not be the book for you. However, if you like books that take you on adventures, characters who make you want to cheer or throttle them (depending on the chapter), twisted love stories, and high drama, keep reading. And it’s the first book in a series so those of you who like to series, that’s another bonus!
Helen Davenport is a governess in England when she sees an advertisement for young women to travel to New Zealand and, hopefully, marry one of the many eligible bachelors. Helen decides this could be the opportunity she has been searching for to get away from her dim prospects of an advantageous marriage in London. She gets passage to New Zealand through the church when she agrees to chaperone young girls being sent to New Zealand to work as housekeepers or nannies.
Gwyneira Silkham reluctantly agrees to marry the son of a wealthy New Zealand sheep/land baron when her father makes an unscrupulous bet and wagers his daughter’s hand in a game of cards.
Helen and Gwyneira meet on the ship while sailing to New Zealand and an unlikely friendship grows. Both are optimistic about their future lives in New Zealand but what will be their realities? They will each face hardships of much different natures but both will be challenged and both will find strength they didn’t know they had. And what will happen to the young girls Helen is chaperoning?
In the Land of the Long White Cloud had a lot of drama that kept me interested but there were some lulls in the action that made it a little hard to get through. I cannot comment on the realistic portrayal of New Zealand during the 1800s. I imagine if I was more familiar with the landscape and culture of the country, I would find some discrepancies. Some of the characters use some language that I’m not sure was prominent at the time. But I am willing to overlook some of that and chalk it up to artistic license on the author’s part. Overall, I would give it a solid 3.5 stars out of 5…good for the entertainment but I have a feeling it is lacking on authenticity for the time.
Tags: Book Recommendations, book review, Book Suggestions, historical fiction
