BOOK REVIEW
This edition we review the newest book by Fiona McIntosh and a new children's book by husband and wife team, Lynn and Robert Herkes.
The Tea Gardens
Author: Fiona McIntosh
Synopsis:
Dr. Isla Fenwick is determined to work at the coalface of medicine in India before committing to life as a dutiful wife. She sails to Calcutta to set up a Midwifery Clinic and there finds she is forced to question her beliefs, her professionalism and her romantic loyalties.
Fiona McIntosh is an Australian author and has written a number of novels, one of her most popular being
The French Promise.
In The Tea Gardens she brings to life an extroadinary character in Dr. Isla Fenwick. It is 1933 and Isla is the daughter of two doctors, both of whom had an interest in researching various diseases, the most notably being tuberculosis. Isla, while living and working in London, has been involved in the training of midwifery nurses but has a strong desire to venture into the area of research previously carried out by her parents.
She has made a decision to travel to India but, in the meantime, has rekindled a relationship she had as a much younger person, with Jove Mandeville. They fall in love and Jove asks for her hand in marriage. He is well aware of Isla’s India plans and is supportive of them. He does, however, decide not to put a ring on her finger until her return – which has been decided will be in a few months from her date of departure.
A whole new world opens up for Isla as she experiences the poverty of Calcutta and the cultural differences she is now being exposed to.
Working at the same hospital is a doctor who is dedicated to the healing of tuberculosis patients and while Isla is working very hard in setting up a Midwifery Clinic, she is somewhat distracted by the work of Professor Vickery. He is a man of very few words and at times has a very unpleasant manner. Isla, however, is determined to learn from him and they develop an ‘understanding’.
When Professor Vickery himself falls ill he is sent away to the family tea plantation near Darjeerling, in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Isla feels compelled to nurse the Professor back to health and the time she spends on the plantation with him is a passionate, romantic, and a very confusing time. However, they are both people of substance and know where their futures lay.
I love Dr. Isla Fenwick’s character and her sense of dedication and reliability in the face of great temptation.
The characters of Jove Mandeville and the Professor are different in every respect, but their honesty and acceptance of a hurtful situation shows them to be men of strength and intelligence.
McIntosh has given us a lesson in the growing and processing of the tea leaf in Darjeerling when the Professor takes Isla on a guided tour of his plantation. We get to meet the hired workers and have each task explained. All this is taking place below snow-covered mountains and amongst green, cool terraces – quite a different scenario to the dirt, heat and smells of Calcutta.
Fiona McIntosh has presented us with a novel full of description and at a pace suitable to drawing out such interesting characters. A very good read!
ROSALIE HOWARTH
Author: Fiona McIntosh
Synopsis:
Dr. Isla Fenwick is determined to work at the coalface of medicine in India before committing to life as a dutiful wife. She sails to Calcutta to set up a Midwifery Clinic and there finds she is forced to question her beliefs, her professionalism and her romantic loyalties.
Fiona McIntosh is an Australian author and has written a number of novels, one of her most popular being
The French Promise.
In The Tea Gardens she brings to life an extroadinary character in Dr. Isla Fenwick. It is 1933 and Isla is the daughter of two doctors, both of whom had an interest in researching various diseases, the most notably being tuberculosis. Isla, while living and working in London, has been involved in the training of midwifery nurses but has a strong desire to venture into the area of research previously carried out by her parents.
She has made a decision to travel to India but, in the meantime, has rekindled a relationship she had as a much younger person, with Jove Mandeville. They fall in love and Jove asks for her hand in marriage. He is well aware of Isla’s India plans and is supportive of them. He does, however, decide not to put a ring on her finger until her return – which has been decided will be in a few months from her date of departure.
A whole new world opens up for Isla as she experiences the poverty of Calcutta and the cultural differences she is now being exposed to.
Working at the same hospital is a doctor who is dedicated to the healing of tuberculosis patients and while Isla is working very hard in setting up a Midwifery Clinic, she is somewhat distracted by the work of Professor Vickery. He is a man of very few words and at times has a very unpleasant manner. Isla, however, is determined to learn from him and they develop an ‘understanding’.
When Professor Vickery himself falls ill he is sent away to the family tea plantation near Darjeerling, in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Isla feels compelled to nurse the Professor back to health and the time she spends on the plantation with him is a passionate, romantic, and a very confusing time. However, they are both people of substance and know where their futures lay.
I love Dr. Isla Fenwick’s character and her sense of dedication and reliability in the face of great temptation.
The characters of Jove Mandeville and the Professor are different in every respect, but their honesty and acceptance of a hurtful situation shows them to be men of strength and intelligence.
McIntosh has given us a lesson in the growing and processing of the tea leaf in Darjeerling when the Professor takes Isla on a guided tour of his plantation. We get to meet the hired workers and have each task explained. All this is taking place below snow-covered mountains and amongst green, cool terraces – quite a different scenario to the dirt, heat and smells of Calcutta.
Fiona McIntosh has presented us with a novel full of description and at a pace suitable to drawing out such interesting characters. A very good read!
ROSALIE HOWARTH
Niele The Curious Pug
Book 1 - The Adventures Begin
Author: Lynn A Hayes
Photography and Graphics: Robert B Herkes
This is the story about a little dog called Niele and his first day with his newly adopted family. Niele is a pug and is a very curious 3 month old puppy who lives in Hawaii. His name is Hawaiian for “curious”. Niele’s curiosity is typical of one so young.
The story is about discovery, finding your way in a new environment and the disappointments which arise when your enthusiasm and desire to play is not returned by the people you meet. Niele does, however, find a true friend who shares his day of adventure. He is also well cared for by a loving family.
I think this book would speak to very young children about happy outcomes following disappointment. It would also be helpful for children about to enter a new environment, such as going to childcare or kindergarten for the first time.
The book is self-published and the design and the quality of the photography is not what you’d expect from a professional publishing house, but this does not diminish the appeal of the story. It will be interesting to see where the story goes in Book 2.
ROSALIE HOWARTH
