Many Waters Cannot Quench Love

by Violet Bibby

In early seventeenth-century England a young girl living in the fen country falls in love with one of the hated Dutchmen who have come to drain the fens to reclaim the land for farming.

159 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set just before the English Civil War, this is the story of Constancy, a young girl who lives in the Fenlands of Cambridgeshire. The Fen people live a semi aquatic life, propelling themselves around the waterways in punts, or walking on stilts, fishing and trapping waterfowl. Constancy loves the fens, but the way of life of the fen people is under attack, Dutch engineers have been brought in to drain the fens so they can be turned into more profitable farmland. The fen people hate the engineers, and do everything they can to sabotage them, and Constancy thinks she hates them too, until she meets Hendrick, a young Dutchman who makes her see things in a different light. The love story of Constancy and Hendrick is made memorable by the vivid descriptions of the fens and the mysterious watery world the fen people live in. A short but fascinating story.

[Ved Prakash · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is a historical events based novel and author has described the fen in Great Britain and life there very beautifully.

It's a story of inhabitants of fens trying to guard their fen from Dutch who have come to drain the fen to make it cultivable land. Fenmen think that they are independent person, not under control of any authority. They live in stilt houses in marshy area and survive by natural goodies offered by marshy land. They have resolved to fight till last breath to those who have come to drain fens to reclaim land. A girl from this community falls in love with one of the hated Dutch guy. She is also trying to find out her identity ... her family name ... because her mother had come with her to this fenmen community from somewhere else. Her foster father has promised to marry her to a "fen tiger" who is leader of the group fighting to save fen. And then the night arrives when the fen tigers group​ led by this girl's fiancee sail out to bomb the work of Dutch and girl's beloved boy is among the patroling team set out to guard the work from fen tigers attack.

[Gerlinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Gem. Transports the reader to a watery world in very old Fenland in GB. That world is so very different from anything likely to be still existing that it's as good as time travelling into the future-only it's history. The story is obviously written for young adults or even younger but I learnt heaps about the difficulties confronting those hardy souls. The writing is sensitive and tender. The story both plausible and fascinating. Will read it again one day as it's short and sweet.

[Lark · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed The Witch of Blackbird Pond you will probably enjoy this one too. It's set during the draining of the fens and one of the hated Dutch doing the draining bcomes friendly with an outcast old woman and a girl whose mother has died in a flood.