Author T. R. Robinson wishes to express her appreciation to Julie Watson for the following review of the novel ‘Loving Maria’.
‘This is the second book I have read by T.R. Robinson. The first being ‘Tears of Innocence’ telling the true story of the authors life following the death of her mother at the tender age of five and the traumatic life she suffered after her mother died. I was eager to read ‘Loving Maria’ based on the life of her mother as a young woman. The story is set at a time when social norms and culture meant choices were very limited for women. Where women had very little say in their life but it was governed by social class, who they married and life circumstances commonly out of their control. It seems unbelievable now in our modern era that this was normal life for women back in the early 1900s. Maria came from a wealthy, loving family wanting to live on and care for the estates she had grown up on. A plague sweeps through her homeland which claims the life of her two sisters leaving Maria and her mother the only survivors of her immediate family. Her mother wants the best for Maria and encourages her to go to Vienna to study medicine, which she does and on returning home opens a clinic treating people through both traditional and modern medicine. Being an intelligent, attractive young woman seems to set Maria up as a desirable catch and a lot of the book is about the many men who try to win her as a wife. A woman with such potential and her mother seem powerless to control the persistent pressure for Maria to marry one of these suitors. I will go no further as to spoil the story but I was left feeling troubled that even though Maria who had so much going for her she was still at the mercy of the powers that would have her submit.’
The original review may be accessed at Amazon and Goodreads.
Further details about the book may be viewed here.
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Julie Watson is a midwife based in New Zealand who has written two memoirs.
The first ‘Born for Life’ relates how Julie first entered her midwifery career and the challenges she faced, both personal and professional.
The second ‘Born for Life: Midwife in Africa’ outlines the experiences and challenges the author and her husband encountered while on secondment in a remote part of Zambia.
Both are full of insights and embrace the joys, sorrows and challenges of giving birth.
Click on the relevant cover below to read a review.
T. R. Robinson Publications 