Eleanor was the daughter of one of Cromwell’s Puritan noblemen. After the Royalist reclaimed the throne for Charles II, Eleanor’s father retreated to his home at the moors of Tickenham court. He held fast to his firm Puritan beliefs with his daughter. Eleanor’s mother and only sister were lost to ague, which left Eleanor to be raised with her father who never remarried. Her life in Tickenham was not easy because even as a girl she was centuries ahead of her time.
Her mind was not like other people in her town. She was a gifted person who had a deep love for nature. Her favorites were butterflies of all kinds. She pursued them on the moors with a fervor. The villagers saw her as insane or soft headed. In reality people back then feared what they did not understand and butterflies have been commonly linked to witch craft in history. They could not comprehend her love of butterflies or her fathers stick Puritan beliefs which out casted them from the villagers.
Sadly Eleanor inherited Tickenham court young and her ward-ship was placed on one of her father's advisors. Sweet Eleanor later married the only man she had ever met face to face besides her father’s advisor. She loved him whole heartily and found he truly loved her for who she really was. What is crazy is that all the mentioned above happens with in the first 150 pages. The real story takes off once Eleanor meets her new husbands best friend, the dashing Caviler Richard. Nothing could or would ever be the same again at Tickenham court.
5/5+++ one of the best reads to date. Normally I avoid chunksters because I am lacking in patience for them. This one was not the same for me. I found it fast paced, and every time I thought I had it figured out I found out I was wrong, which just made it more thrilling. Eleanor was “one of the great natural scientist of her age” in a time when science and alchemy were frowned upon by society. I could never forget her story now. It was that compelling and it had more intrigue than you could shake a stick at. Expressively written, Fiona Mountain magnificently brings Eleanor Glanville to brilliant life with in the pages of “Lady of The Butterflies”Bess (maid) to Eleanor on Edmund when he was courting her:
“What’s the point of having your privates smelling sweet as roses if he’s not going to have a sniff of ‘em”?
I do have to make a brief mention that this read is a R rating in my book as far as sexual references goes. It does go into details of sex and specifically states the big “P” word. I can say though it was done with class and taste. It defiantly was not the main focal point of the book.
FTC: Book was won from Library thing and came from publisher.
