Janice Graham, The Tailor’s Daughter

The Tailor's Daughter

Janice Graham

St. Martin's, Mar 2006, $24.95, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0312349130

Though she mourned the loss of her mother and her older brother Reggie, Veda Grenfell did not know how much she lost when her mom passed away, as no female role model is there to guide her. Less then a year later the teen suffers from Typhoid and a severe cold that leaves her even less desirable on the marriage mart, as she lost her hearing to the disease.

However, Veda is not one to mourn what could have been, or accept pity from well meaning but inane people. Instead she joins her father's tailoring trade with plans to one day take over his thriving business on London's Saville Row. Her father's head cutter, Mr. Balducci asks Veda to marry him, but she spawns his cold offer as a case of ambition not love. Instead she falls in love with Lord Ormelie, Harry Breadalbane, who is heir to an earldom and way above her place in society. He reciprocates, but their families want their relationship ended, as she is considered not good enough for him. The unconventional Veda starts her quest for happiness, not understanding she faces danger in the wild Yorkshire moors.

THE TAILOR'S DAUGHTER is an entertaining Victorian tale starring a delightful optimist who overcomes some difficult emotional blows and societal condemnation to try to be all that she can be. Veda makes the exciting storyline work, as she bounces back from the deaths of loved ones, the loss of her hearing, and the impossibility of marriage to the man she cherishes. Feeling like a period piece and somewhat in the melodramatic style of mid nineteenth century England, Janice Graham provides a wonderful historical starring a strong FIREBIRD female trying to succeed in a man's world.