I can't say enough wonderful things about this series. As I finish each book I feel as if I have been educated as well as entertained. The details of Quaker life in the 1880's, the excellent research into midwifery, and the historical context are all presented so beautifully. Maxwell manages to make the reader invest themselves in each and every character. Rose Carroll is a treasure, motivated by her religious faith and her deep sense of justice.
In this, the third book in the series, Rose discovers the body of Rowena Felch, a lawyer and local leader of the suffragist movement, under a bush in front of the Felch home the morning after a planning meeting attended by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. At this point the local police have come to recognize Rose's keen powers of observation and welcome her help in solving the case. She is convinced that the man they have arrested, the intriguingly named Hilarius, is innocent, and she puts herself in danger as she works with the locak police to solve the crime. On a personal front, Rose's mother comes to Amesbury to attend the suffragist rally on election day (Grover Cleveland would probably have been reelected if women had the vote) and is instrumental in building bridges between Rose and her future mother-in-law, Clarinda Dodge. Between the Rose's Quaker meeting and her fiance family, Rose despairs of every being able to marry her beloved, Dr. David Dodge.
Rose is likable, intelligent, brave, resourceful, and gentle, and dedicated to her profession, looking forward to building a life with the man she loves. What more could we ask for in a heroine?
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