"Against all odds, Endurance Proudfoot sets out to become an independent woman in this spirited and heartening story set in 1757."
An all-embracing feel-good historical relationship tale with a difference. Wonderfully independent and unconventional, Endurance Proudfoot arrives in London determined to follow in the family business of bone setting. This novel focuses on the importance of self-belief and staying true to yourself. Frances Quinn writes with beautifully simplicity, in that the story just flows, gathering up your thoughts and feelings as you read. While romance enters stage right, the relationships between the women sit front and centre. Durie’s sister, aunt, and step-mother are interesting characters in their own right, ensuring there is a depth to the tale. Durie is just fabulous, she is clumsy, naive yet determined, honest and true. Her journey had me wanted to shake her on some occasions and applaud her on others, always the sign of a character getting under your skin! You’ll discover the origins of the story at the end, and it was fascinating to read. That Bonesetter Woman is a truly heartwarming and oh-so readable novel I’ve chosen as a Liz Pick of the Month.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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It’s usual, they say, for a young person coming to London for the first time to arrive with a head full of dreams. Well, Endurance Proudfoot did not. When she stepped off the coach from Sussex, on a warm and sticky afternoon in the summer of 1757, it never occurred to her that the city would be the place where she’d make her fortune; she was just very annoyed to be arriving there at all.
Meet Endurance Proudfoot: clumsy as a carthorse, strong as an ox, with a tactless tongue and a face she’s sure only a mother could love. Durie wants one thing in life: to become a bonesetter like her father. It’s physically demanding work, requiring nerves of steel, and he’s adamant it’s not a job for a woman.
Strong-willed and stubborn, Durie’s certain that in bonesetting, her big, usually clumsy hands have found their natural calling. So when she’s bundled off to London with her beautiful sister, she won’t let it stop her realising her dream. As her sister finds fame on the stage, Durie becomes England’s most celebrated bonesetter – but what goes up must come down, and her success may become her undoing.
Inspired by the true stories of two of Georgian England’s most famous celebrities, That Bonesetter Woman is an uplifting tale about finding the courage to go your own way, when everyone says you can’t – and about realising that what makes you different can also make you strong.
That Bonesetter Woman features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Liz Robinson's Picks of the Month, Recommendations, Feel-Good Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Romance / Relationship Stories, Historical adventure fiction, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Fiction, General Fiction, Action Adventure, c 1500 onwards to present day, Time period qualifiers, Fiction: narrative themes
That Bonesetter Woman is available in Paperback, Hardback
That Bonesetter Woman was written by Frances Quinn and published by Simon & Schuster Ltd
That Bonesetter Woman has 438 pages
£8.99
