Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “A Voice to be Heard” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

A Voice to be Heard

Dell Brand (Goodreads Author)

3.60 · Rating details · 10 ratings · 2 reviews

The story of two young women determined to live outside the confines of the Victorian Age and who have a lasting impact on the fledgling town of Melbourne. Florence is seduced by the son of her employer in Leicestershire. Thomas Luxford casts her aside, denying all responsibility for her coming child. Fleeing her former life, Florence's twins are born illegitimately in Bed ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for $7.99

Paperback, 456 pages

Published October 1st 2013 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about A Voice to be Heard, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about A Voice to be Heard

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

Showing 1-17

Average rating 3.60 ·

Rating details

· 10 ratings · 2 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of A Voice to be Heard

Jan 21, 2014 Michelle Randall rated it really liked it

Shelves: coming-of-age, e-book, enviorment, fiction, historical, reader-s-favorite, small-town

Reviewed for Reader's Favorite.

Travel back to the 1800's to a time when society was ruled by men, and women were window dressing. A Voice to be Heard starts with a young girl, Florence who is well educated, which is not common for that era. Yet she is seduced and becomes pregnant by the Lord of the house's son, only to be held in high regard by the Lord, who takes care of her and her twin daughters for the rest of his life. Within days, grandfather is killed in a freak carriage accident and moth Reviewed for Reader's Favorite.

Travel back to the 1800's to a time when society was ruled by men, and women were window dressing. A Voice to be Heard starts with a young girl, Florence who is well educated, which is not common for that era. Yet she is seduced and becomes pregnant by the Lord of the house's son, only to be held in high regard by the Lord, who takes care of her and her twin daughters for the rest of his life. Within days, grandfather is killed in a freak carriage accident and mother dies after and run-in with her seducer. The twins go to their grandfather's lawyer with a plan, he having heard all about the intelligence and education that grandfather and mother imparted on them. The lawyer is more than happy to help and sets plans into action, within a month the girls are on a boat to Australia. Despite all society conventions,the girls proceed on their own, and buy a house, build another, turn the first into a hotel, and thus an empire is created. Along the way, each twin runs into problems with men. Joey falls for a married man, has his child, but never tells him about it and lets Maddy raise her as her own. Maddy marries a thug who hides his true intentions from her until after their marriage. He drains their bank account and beats up Maddy, only to later try to rape Joey and get knocked over the head and killed. Happier times and sadder times follow, just as in life. Dell Brand does a wonderful job making you feel like you are really living in Melbourne in the 1840's.

A Voice to be Heard is an inspirational read to any woman, allowing them to realize that they can accomplish whatever they want, no matter what society says. It won't be easy, there will be hurdles and bad times, but good times too, you just have to stay focused. Dell Brand cover a long period of time, from the early 1800's when Florence is young, to the 1850's after the death of Thomas, the twins father. It's truly a family saga, although it does skip huge parts of time, which of course you would have to, to cover the length of time it does. I enjoyed Joey's drive to be held under no ones thumb, to be her own person and to build this empire for her family. Maddy is more the romantic of the two and craves marriage and children. Yet for all Joey's strength, one man can still bring her crumbling, her first and only love. She never stops loving him. Overall the family saga, historical nature of the story first drew me in, but the characters kept me there until the end. It had me wishing I could have been there, almost. I couldn't handle the fashion! ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2020 D.A. Cairns rated it liked it

A very well researched historical fiction story set in 19th century England and Australia, A Voice to be Heard is a sweeping saga of two sisters destined for greatness.

I liked the fact that history was woven in nicely to the story and did not feel forced. I liked the author's word craft: really elegant sentences with diverse vocabulary. The descriptions were flavoursome and easy to picture. The way the author covered a lot of territory in the narrative, in relation to dealing with lots of charac ...more

flag Like · see review

elyse oldroyd rated it it was amazing
Nov 14, 2015

Sue Brady rated it it was ok
Feb 20, 2014

S.L. rated it really liked it
Apr 30, 2014

Apr 07, 2015 Dell Brand rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Tanya rated it really liked it
Mar 25, 2014

Cianna Sunshine & Mountains Book Reviews rated it liked it
Dec 31, 2013

Beverley Bonar rated it liked it
Nov 23, 2017

Tracey Freeman rated it liked it
Aug 09, 2014

Heidi marked it as to-read
Nov 22, 2013

Jazzy Doll marked it as to-read
Nov 17, 2015

Bronwyn added it
Jul 12, 2017

FridayNightBookClub added it
Dec 20, 2017

Ron Frampton marked it as to-read
Sep 09, 2019

Bridgette marked it as to-read
Sep 10, 2019

Hazel marked it as to-read
Mar 02, 2020

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

About Dell Brand

Dell Brand

2 followers

Dell Brand grew up in Sydney, attending North Sydney Girls High School, Sydney University (BEd & MA) and Wollongong University (PhD). She taught in state high schools during her working life, teaching Physical and Health Education. She was recognised with the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Outstanding Achievement in Education Award from the Australian College of Education.

She ...more