Review: Sumerton Women

The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sumerton Women begins with a girl of eight, Cecily, suddenly orphaned when her entire family dies of an illness. She becomes a ward of the Sumerton family, where she experiences mostly suffering and loss with a few breaks for happiness. Every relationship is touched by sadness or tragedy or misunderstanding. Although Cecily manages to bring new life to the family, after a while she gets sucked into it herself and the brightness that she brings to the story dulls, especially in the last half when her falsely pious 'sister' takes center stage.

The story takes place during the reign of Henry VIII, and the family is affected by Henry's whims, their potential fortunes shifting with each of his wives. With a nun whose Priory is dissolved and a priest who welcomes the chance for reforms, the consequences of Henry's attitudes towards the Church become personal. I enjoyed the opposing viewpoints of the Catholics vs the Reformists, both falling on dangerous times. What I almost couldn't bear was the bitter, self-righteous vengefulness of the daughter who continually ruins everyone's lives - and is 'spiritual' for all the wrong reasons.

This was an emotional story full of tragedy, loss and bitterness. It was engrossing, but too often depressing. There were at least a couple breaks from the despair, and the historical aspect was interesting enough, so I decided to raise my rating to two stars.

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