EBOOK
About
Katherine Young, born into a family of master mariners, left her East London home in Regency England to travel to distant St Helena. She met Anthony Beale at a Plantation House ball. They married in June 1814.
For the Europeans, the South Atlantic Island was a veritable Garden of Eden, remote from world affairs and run with soldier-like precision under the direction of the Honourable East India Company. The men were employed in a civilian or military capacity and rewarded generously. The women spent time in the congenial company of friends and family.
All was not well in Paradise. Introduced goats and wild boar ran wild and had destroyed large swathes of native vegetation. Ineffective farming practices ensured islanders were dependent on imported foodstuffs. Underemployed drunken soldiers occupied scarce hospital beds. Hard labour was undertaken by Chinese imported workers or slaves whose lives were wretched. The catalyst, when it came, was unexpected. Individual and organisational responses created an irrevocable ripple effect. The Beales did not remain unscathed.
Employing an epistolary narrative style and drawing inspiration from Katherine's own writing, This Still Hearth uses metaphors and poetry to recreate Katherine Beale's unique story in a biographical novel that's sure to keep you engaged until the very last page.
For the Europeans, the South Atlantic Island was a veritable Garden of Eden, remote from world affairs and run with soldier-like precision under the direction of the Honourable East India Company. The men were employed in a civilian or military capacity and rewarded generously. The women spent time in the congenial company of friends and family.
All was not well in Paradise. Introduced goats and wild boar ran wild and had destroyed large swathes of native vegetation. Ineffective farming practices ensured islanders were dependent on imported foodstuffs. Underemployed drunken soldiers occupied scarce hospital beds. Hard labour was undertaken by Chinese imported workers or slaves whose lives were wretched. The catalyst, when it came, was unexpected. Individual and organisational responses created an irrevocable ripple effect. The Beales did not remain unscathed.
Employing an epistolary narrative style and drawing inspiration from Katherine's own writing, This Still Hearth uses metaphors and poetry to recreate Katherine Beale's unique story in a biographical novel that's sure to keep you engaged until the very last page.