Hawthorn & Bitter

Clara Allingham has little time for feelings or frivolity, trapped in servitude to her cruel aunt and uncle, in their country house on the North York Moors. Alicia Broderick, capricious daughter of Lord and Lady Broderick, is loathe to the reality that she must choose a husband from a parade of eligible men by the night of her 25th birthday ball. When Clara and Alicia’s paths cross, there is instant chemistry between them, though they both struggle to accept this reality which defies everything they have been taught about their fates and stations in life. As Clara’s heart begins to open to the possibility of a life outside her relatives’ grip, and Alicia wonders how far she can or should push the boundaries placed before her, the two women wrestle with the stifling expectations of 1820s England. Can Clara and Alicia find a way to create a new narrative for themselves before the weight of tradition destroys the magic they have discovered within each other? This literary nod to Cinderella has an undercurrent of fairytale magic, while remaining historically and botanically accurate.