The Wicked Lady - Elena Collins - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Elena Collins

GENRE: General Fiction

PUBLICATION DATE: July 31, 2024

RATING: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: A dual-timeline novel based on the partly-fictionalised story of Katherine Ferrers, an actual highway robber from the 17th century. Good use of both timelines. Atmospheric writing, great research, interesting characters, mildly paranormal. Recommended.

Plot Preview:

Present Day. Hertfordshire. After going through an unexpected break-up and losing his job, Charlie grabs the opportunity to help his uncle renovate an old cottage next to Nomansland Common. As Charlie eases into his temporary new home, he spends his time with activities that help him forget his pain. His friendly new neighbours are also helpful. The only issue is the mysterious hoofbeats he hears on some nights, and a strange lady who appears to be staring at him from the Common. When Charlie learns of her identity as the “Wicked Lady” who was a notorious highway robber in the mid-1600s, Charlie wonders about her life story, why she is still around, and why she always appears sad.

1659. Hertfordshire. Having been married at just age thirteen to a husband who is more interested in restoring the king to the throne than in his young wife, Katherine (Kate) Ferrers has spent the last eleven years lonely, watching her husband spend her parental money on royal requirements while ignoring their tenants. But when a new threat emerges along with a new chance for happiness, Kate knows that she’ll do whatever she can to fight the first and secure the second.

The story comes to us across the two timelines in the third-person perspectives of Charlie and Kate.

Bookish Yays:

😍 Kate: a strong character who does her best within the social restrictions of her time. Loved her complex and brave personality.

😍 The historical timeline details: The place, the characters, the beliefs, and the events seem mostly accurate to the era. Appreciate the author’s research into Kate’s life.

😍 Charlie: It was unusual to have a male protagonist in the contemporary timeline, as most such interlinked-dual-timeline novels go with female main characters. Charlie handles his role perfectly. His being a sensitive and sensible young man elevates this story.

😍 The music-related scenes: much appreciated!

😍 The paranormal bits in the contemporary timeline: Spooky and atmospheric. The face-outside-the-window scene creeped me out!

😍 The focus on the women's restricted freedom in the 1600s: Quite infuriating. There’s much unfairness in this timeline, but that is to be expected from the 1600s.

😍 Each timeline having a love story without being romance-dominated: Though I’m not fond of romantic insertions in non-romance genres, both were handled well in this novel.

😍 The author’s note: excellent! Always love it when authors clarify their writing choices in a historical fiction that is based on the facts. Filling in the gaps between fact and fiction isn’t easy for such an old story, especially when the details aren’t entirely available, but the author has done a commendable job here. A big thank you to the author for including the photos of the key character and the places!

Bookish Mixed Bags:

😐 This is advertised as a timeslip novel, but it didn’t meet my definition of timeslip. Isn’t timeslip is when characters accidentally move across timelines without the aid of technology? A paranormal/ghost appearance in another timeline is just a haunting spirit to me, not timeslip! (You are free to disagree, of course.) This isn’t a point against the novel, but against the label.

(Coincidentally, I have read only one other book by this author: The Witch's Tree, and that also was advertised as a timeslip novel, but actually wasn't one!)

😐 The other characters of the contemporary timeline (except Luna and Marilyn) are interesting even when they have minor appearances, but they aren’t detailed too much. Charlie’s ex-girlfriend Luna and his new neighbour Marilyn get somewhat cliched roles. The historical timeline had more intricate characters.

😐 Alan the dog: Awesome dog (not surprisingly!), and inspired by a real dog named Alan whose photo appears in the author’s note. The only quibble is the emphasis on what a great name ‘Alan’ is for a dog. It is not only repetitive but also incorrect IMHO. (Again, you are free to disagree. But I just can’t picture a dog when I hear ‘Alan’!)

😐 I understand why the historical timeline ended where it did, but I wish we had known more. The ending has one really, really sad scene off the page. The author handled it exceptionally, but man, it was tough to know what happened.

Bookish Nays:

😕 The connection between the two timelines is a bit flimsy. This story would have worked perfectly even without the modern timeline, which has its good moments but is quite predictable, and is more of a placeholder for extending the reveals of the main plot from the 1650s.

😕 The use of the phrase 'beauty sleep' was certainly not present in the 1650s. Not a major flaw, but a distracting one.

All in all, the shortcomings are relatively minor. The historical timeline is strong enough to make this a book worth reading, all the more as it is based on the actual life of a brave young girl whom life didn’t do justice.

Much recommended to historical fiction readers.

My thanks to Boldwood Books for providing the DRC of “The Wicked Lady” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The digital version of this book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.