Our Own Country

Midwife #2

by Jodi Daynard

A love affair tests a new nation’s revolutionary ideals.

In 1770s Boston, a prosperous merchant’s daughter, Eliza Boylston, lives a charmed life—until war breaches the walls of the family estate and forces her to live in a world in which wealth can no longer protect her.

As the chaos of the Revolutionary War tears her family apart, Eliza finds herself drawn to her uncle’s slave, John Watkins. Their love leads to her exile in Braintree, Massachusetts, home to radicals John and Abigail Adams and Eliza’s midwife sister-in-law, Lizzie Boylston. But even as the uprising takes hold, Eliza can’t help but wonder whether a rebel victory will grant her and John the most basic of American rights.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Audiobook, Romance, American History, American Revolutionary War

442 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 23, 2016

About the author

Jodi Daynard is the author of the bestselling novels The Midwife’s Revolt and Our Own Country. She has also published The Place Within: Portraits of the American Landscape by 20 Contemporary Writers. Her essays and short stories have appeared in numerous periodicals, including Agni, The New England Review, The New York Times Book Review, Fiction, and the Paris Review. Ms. Daynard has taught writing at Harvard University, at MIT, and in the MFA program at Emerson College.

Reviews

[Bonnie Shores · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the Midwife series takes place at the same as the first book; however, it is told from the POV of Eliza, Lizzie's sister-in-law.



Although it was still really good, I didn't like it quite as well as The Midwife's Revolt because it didn't have the same political intrigue or historical significance. This story was centered exclusively around Eliza and her extremely small family. She led a fairly cloistered life and her closest "friend" was Cassie, the negro cook. It begins with Eliza's early memories, but quickly jumps ahead to her current age. Because she was portrayed so negatively for the majority of the first book, I was glad to understand her backstory and, therefore, understand her.



The author is a fantastic writer and does a superb job of combining fact and fiction. I love learning of the Revolutionary War from a personal perspective rather than dry facts from a textbook. And that's really what this story encompasses—Eliza's journey from privilege to loss to independence.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book of a trilogy, the first one being The Midwife's Revolt. I didn’t like this book as much as the first. It wasn’t as concerned with the American Revolution as the first book, for one. Also, for a large part of the book that repeated the actions as the first book really slowed this one down.

The point of view shifted here, as it is now of, Eliza Boylston. She is the sister-in-law of Lizzie, the main character in the first book. Eliza's story is more concerned with her personal relationship with a slave, John Watkins, and other domestic matters. She grows as a person, which is nice to see. And clearly has different views of enslaved people than her parents, or many at that time. Perhaps there are too much of modern feelings placed into Eliza than what you would find from a woman of her era.

[Julie Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this book. I had high hopes as I had just finished The Midwife's Revolt, which was well researched and written. This however felt that it was written in hast. A quick add on to the the success of the first book. I was excited to see that the author said she was writing a book about little Johny and his mother Eliza. I expected that this book would be a small review of information from the first book and a continuation into the future. It is not. This book is almost entirely a retelling of The Midwife's Revolt from Eliza's point of view. Not until around chapter 50 do we get any furtherment of the story. This looks to be open for another addition in the series.

This book could have been combined with the first with some good editing. I'm sorely disappointed. It could have been so much more. I'm being generous with the three stars. It is still well written enough but the huge, nearly all encompassing, overlap with the first book leads to great disappointment.

I have hopes that if a third book is written it will not be rushed out, but be another well written and researched addition to the series. The author is obviously capable.

I don't think it is worth owning unless you must have every book in a series or are an uber fan. Otherwise get it from a library and read it before committing cash or space to this book.

Happy Reading :)

[Wendy Mahone · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best historical fiction books I have read!

I love reading historical fiction from the revolution war time period and civil war time period. This was a delight to read and I was unable to put it down. The story of Eliza was so intriguing and it was fun to read her point of view after reading the first book in the series. It just makes you wonder what would of really happened to Eliza and John if this had been true. I love that Eliza and John stayed true to their hearts despite the cruel world they lived in, what courage! I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good but forbidden love story from this time period .

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Own Country by Jodi Daynard is a very unique sequel to The Midwife’s Revolt. In the Midwife’s Revolt, we meet Lizzie Boylston, recently widowed, she finds herself having to survive alone during the turbulent years of the American Revolution. Lizzie’s husband had a sister, Eliza, rich and oblivious to the powerful forces that swirled around her. At first one might not like Eliza for her stuffiness. She is introduced to us in this first book as a supporting character to the main story and once we get to know her there is a desire to know where she came from, how she came to be living at Braintree with her sister-in-law.

In Our Own Country, our author backtracks a bit and shows us what life was like for Lizzie’s husband and his sister when they were young, when the fires of the Revolution were just being lit. It’s rather as if both books walk side by side instead of standing in line, one in front of the other. I think the presentation was genius!

Eliza’s family is privileged and as many people did in that time period, they owned slaves. Although she was never cruel to the slaves, she wasn’t overly invested in their plight, not until she meets John Watkins. John changes everything. He opens her eyes to the truths of slavery, and she sees for the first time, that there is so much more to life than pretty dresses, balls and the pursuit of a wealthy husband to please her parents.

I liked Eliza in The Midwife’s Revolt, but knowing her backstory made it even easier to understand her and to grow to like her even more. I think it must have been tedious for the author to blend these two books together, but she does it flawlessly.

This is an easy read and one that I’m sure you will enjoy.

[Rebecca Bacino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't typically read historical fiction and this book made me wonder why I don't. I enjoyed it immensely, and in doing a bit of my own research, it was very clear that the author went to great lengths to get it right. The main plot, as it was explained to me, was a love story between a white woman and a biracial slave, but it was so much more. There were several subplots that were so equally interesting and historical you end up forgetting about the main plot until the book pivots back. My only criticism was that the book was not longer because I enjoyed it so much.

[Ashley]

DNF.

I love this era in historical fiction but it felt like the author tried so hard to make the dialog true to the time that it felt awkward and forced. It became so annoying that I had to DNF the book even though the storyline was really good.

Give it a chance (preview it if possible) and if you don't mind the dialog, then I'd recommend reading it. For me, that was enough to make me quit.

[Mackenzie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoy this author, and this series. I hope to read more from her soon.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction with the Revolutionary War and John and Abigail Adams. Great read.

[Sarah W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read The Midwife's Revolt not too long ago, I was delighted to find that this novel focused on Eliza Boylston and John Watkins, who I thought were the more interesting characters in the previous novel. Considering that Eliza, a relatively wealthy woman, embarks on relationship with John, a mixed race man enslaved by her uncle, I do wish the author had explored more of their internal thoughts and emotions. While the attraction and affection between the two is clear, I wanted more from a couple who would have been unlikely during this era.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness this book was 100X better than the first in the Midwife Revolt series. I was interested in the book the entire time. The first one was slow and draggy. Narration was awesome also.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read - slow and forced

Easy and quick read

The first sections seemed to drag abut the last sections seemed to skip over important details. Overall, things worked out perfectly and quickly - not very realistic. I did enjoy the history.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank-you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced reading copy of this novel.

This novel tells the story of the fictional Boylston family from Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the Revolutionary War. It is predominantly a coming-of-age story for the female protagonist Eliza Boylston and her story touches upon the theme of freedom and how fickle it’s meaning can be.

Whilst Eliza’s brother, Jeb, fights for the rebel cause and speaks of freedom for his countrymen Eliza looks closer to home and begins to question the hypocrisy that slavery is rampant in her community. Eliza becomes close to her parent’s slave, Cassie, and the reader is witness to the gradual shedding of mental prejudice that must take place before their friendship can be truly pure. It takes Eliza the majority of the novel to cast off the beliefs instilled in her since childhood. This is miles beyond what any other character in the novel seems capable of. Although many are portrayed as being sympathetic to the plight of slaves, they do not feel it is as important to fight for them as it is to fight for their own sense of the freedom that is to be gained from breaking with British rule. Eliza feels the exact opposite; although sympathetic to the rebel cause it is the everyday injustice of slavery that causes her to take a stand.

I really liked Eliza and everything her character began to stand for and therefore I greatly enjoyed her story. I appreciate that the author made her a product of her time and not so modern that she becomes disjointed from the time period. Eliza comes to the conclusion that the fight for freedom should include all people due to her own life experiences and not because she was “ahead” of her time. As a Christian people the injustice of slavery should already have been present in the mindset of society, however humans so often turn a blind eye and never think to question something that they take as part of the norm. All Eliza did was begin to question. In many ways it was the actions of Cassie that brought home the truth to Eliza. Cassie embodies all of the qualities that a Christian is supposed to possess. She is patient, kind and compassionate and I admired her character greatly. I wonder if Eliza would have as quickly come to the same conclusions if Cassie had not been such an inspiration.

Although this novel has a romantic storyline also, I feel as though it was the relationship between Eliza and Cassie that held the most weight. Eliza falls in love with her uncle’s slave and similar mental prejudice must be overcome for their relationship to succeed, however it was never as poignantly described as it was with Cassie. I enjoyed the addition of a love story to the novel but I would not say that it was the main theme. In my opinion this novel falls firmly in the historical fiction category, not in the subgenre of historical romance.

An aspect of the novel I really appreciated was how much Eliza moved around the New England area. By moving from Cambridge to Portsmouth to Braintree it allowed me to gain a wider perspective of life at the time of the Revolution. I also liked that John and Abigail Adams became part of the story once Eliza moved to Braintree as they brought a sense of authenticity to the novel. I plan on going back and reading “The Midwife’s Revolt”, Jodi Daynard’s first novel and a companion novel to this one. From what I gather John and Abigail Adams are much more central characters in The Midwife’s Revolt.

Overall I found this to be an interesting read with some very thought-provoking themes. I would recommend giving it a read, regardless of whether you are familiar with the time period or not.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very enthusiastic about the first book in this series, A Midwive's Revolt. I eagerly looked forward to this companion novel and sequel, focusing on the secondary character, Eliza Boylston. My expectations were greatly disappointed.
This novel was mostly a retelling of the first novel from the perspective of another character. With good editing, the essential pieces of the overlapping plot could have been succinctly retold and the story of Eliza opened up with new depth and experiences to create a story of it's own. The pace and novelty of this plot were significantly lagging behind the first and lacked freshness. This seemed to be the result of putting the next installment out quickly after the first, to capitalize on the momentum of success. In my opinion, the best sections of this novel were the beginning and the end, which felt like new contributions to the story already told in the first book.
Daynard's novel makes interesting connections to the ironies of the American Revolution's principles of liberty, quality, and freedom for enslaved African-Americans, as well as Loyalist English colonists, as were noted by some historic Tory figures, such as Daniel Bliss of Concord, Massachusetts, in the eighteenth century. However, the novel treats this on a rather superficial level, because the text is overly concerned with recounting the plot of the first book. Daynard also makes use of historical figures in minor fiction roles that are not very true to actual history, which could have been used to more meaningful affect (ie the allusions to Concord's patriot minister and Daniel Bliss's brother-in-law, William Emerson, who appears as the Boylston's King Chapel minister). Similarly the narrative language and character speech at times felt very contemporary to our own time, and not true to the period or characters --(such as characters saying, "shut up," in the modern sense to rudely quieting someone, rather than how it would have been historically used very differently to lock or close up something).
The novel as a whole impressed me as less well crafted than I recollect of its predecessor. Perhaps this novel is an awkward stepping stone to the completion of the series in the third book.

[Robbi Leah Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first book, The Midwife Revolt, a while ago and gave it a 4 star review. I got this one and just didn't remember enough of other, so some of the book was confusing. The rating would probably be higher if I had read the two books together.
First some of what I liked about book: the characters, the history, the way author makes Abigail Adams, her husband and all the others into down to earth real people, Lizzie's independence, Eliza breaking the mold and slowly changing sides, the issues author tackles in her books example: slaves, mixed ethnic background but still slaves, the abuse of slaves, US patriots vs. Tories during Revolutionary War, family love and care
Things I did not like: I'm not fond of how author makes African Americans, especially Cassie, speak in different dialect. Example: “He tink dat make ’eem white,” Cassie concluded. “I don’ mean de outside of ’eem, Miss Eliza. I mean, he tinks he a white man, and dat your uncle will set him free.” This dialect made it difficult for me to read Cassie's parts sometimes and I had to read several times to be able to understand her.
Another issue I had was when Eliza kept using the word puke during a boat trip because Eliza is high class and I can't see her using this word for throwing up at any time. The word has been around since the 16th century so technically she could have used it but it just didn't fit her character.
My fault: reading the books apart and feeling like I was missing parts because I couldn't remember first book. Again would have been higher rated if I had read together.

[Lucie HAND · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is book #2 in a trilogy. Now, I think I should have given the first book the 5 stars. The characters are very interesting...the main character in book 2, was one of the characters in book 1. This book goes into her life and how she ended up in the circumstances in which she found herself in the first book. Fascinating. Some historical events from the Revolutionary War and even some real life people from then. Well written, she writes the way people may have spoken in those days. I listened to part of it and read part of it. I have to say, I did like the reader in Book 1 a little better...she was the voice of Lizzie. This book was the voice of Eliza. I would highly recommend these books and I am anxious to read the third one, which will develop one of the characters from this book. I can hardly wait. These are a lot of pages to read in such a short time...that tells me that I was throughly enjoying this book to read it so fast. I have to say this author really knows how to weave a story and make it sound so real...it doesn't feel contrived.

[Terri Peer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Midwife series. Although it can be read as a stand-alone book it is better to read the first book (The Midwifes Revolt) and then this one. The story takes place during the 1700s and is told from the point of view of Eliza. It was nice to read this book as Eliza wasn’t very kind to others in the first one. A Country of Our Own gave her back story and provided the reasons for her actions. The book kept me interested and I cared about the characters and what happened to them. My only disappointment was the story didn’t focus more on Eliza’s time with John Watkins. The title lead me to believe the story would provide more details once they found a Country of their own. There is a third book so maybe I can get the closure I need from reading it. Love the time period, love the language in the book and I cared about the characters. I recommend this one to anyone who loves historical fiction with a nice love story. The first book was my favorite so far but this one is definitely worth the read.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second book in The Midwife series. I have to say I think I liked it a bit more than the first. The Midwife's Revolt took me quite a bit to get into, but this one got my attention from the beginning. Eliza was not very nice in the first book, but then softened once she went to Braintree. In this book I liked learning about Eliza's life growing up, her family trials, her relationship with her parents, the people who worked in their homes, and John Watkins. I did find the third part of the book rather repetitious of A Midwife's Revolt as it was very much the same. Part Four of the book, when she leaves Braintree to going to Barbados seemed a bit rushed as it was the last 50 pages of the book, I would have loved to have learned more about their life once they got there (maybe this comes in Book 3 about Johnny). I loved the characters in this book and how they interacted together, and how the author described them. Her mother was a corker, but seemed to make a change there at the end. It seems Eliza was a bit before her time in the equality of everyone, but stood her ground and fought for those she loved.

[Kathy Prazenica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great retelling

I loved the first book in this series and thoroughly enjoyed the second one from Eliza's perspective. I'm looking forward to the third one.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

more human than political

This volume has lots of history, but it’s more human than political. I really enjoyed this one. The slamming of the slave owners made me very happy!

[Julie M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted the story to expand on more of the story moving forward, not going so far back in time. It felt too duplicative of the first book.

[jeane sinnenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Own Country: A Novel (The Midwife Series Book 2)By Jodi Daynard

I enjoyed reading Jodi Daynard's second book in the series . I'm looking forward to reading her next book. She made her characters come alive!
Historical fiction is fascinating and thIs books portrayal of that time period
did not disappoint me.
Angeline

[Andrea Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first book in this trilogy exactly one year ago, and finished each book in two days. Historical fiction at its very best! Well researched, very well written, entirely enjoyable. I highly recommend them both.

[Cindy Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different

This is a very different writing style...almost boring in its delivery of firsthand accounting. I truly love the actual plot and story itself, but the way the plot unfurls is more like reading a daily newspaper. Im not sure I enjoyed this approach. I dont know that I'd recommend this book to another reader.
I do enjoy historical fiction, especially from a woman's point if view, but I didn't feel much for this primary character. She seemed very limited. I would have liked to have known Watkins better other than his skill as a shipwright and his unusual eye color. I would also have liked to have gotten a better description of her brother Jeb. This might have gone some way into understanding Eliza better. The idea that she falls in love on sight with a slave is hardly believable given the historic setting. I want to believe this could happen, of course, but it's too farfetched a concept. Had Eliza not been raised in a Tory family with all its advantages it may have been more believable. It's like the princess falling in love with the pauper..a fairytale. And as much as I loved fairytales as a child, I don't seek them out to read as an adult.
Lastly, when Eliza gives birth to her baby she is readily accepted by her peers as well as the Adamses and Quicys....doubtful at best in real life. It wouldn't have happened. And I understand this is a fiction book....it's beyond the scope of what could possibly have happened as much as I would like it. I'm more of a realist, and love fiction, but good fiction makes one believe it's possible.
Coming from an interracial relationship myself, it almost saddens me when I read the over the top ideas and generalizations as I saw in this book. The truth is, Eliza would have been shunned, possibly killed along with Watkins, for such a relationship, and the child's fate is almost too much to imagine.
The ideas and plot are good in fairyland and may give a reader that good feeling of righting wrongs, but I'm not sold.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eliza has had nothing but privilege. Brought up in wealth, slaves to tend to her every need to a point as a child she simply would lift her arms and wait to be changed. Nothing could go wrong in her mind.

Until it does.

Tragedy strikes and from there on, Eliza’s stable world crashes around her. The rules of life have changed. She sees the slaves as equal and one she seeks out to love.

There’s a lot of stories going on within the one novel. I didn’t know until getting ready to review this book that it’s actually one in a series. It works very well as a standalone book for any who may be considering it.

I got it on a daily deals from amazon for 99P in the kindle version and I really enjoyed it. I’m not a huge reader of historical fiction but I’ve started to get more and more into it with the help of these books.

Although some aspects of it are predictable it’s still a great read. All the story lines within it don’t actually fight for attention. They fit together to make one large story. It’s realistic in that way, most people won’t face just one thing at a time, there’s always a few things going on in someone’s life.

I don’t want to give anything away in regards to this book which I keep almost accidentally doing. So I’ll leave it here and I’ll recommend this to anyone who enjoys historic fiction.

[Susan Arena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and loved The Midwives Revolt and being a fan of historical fiction I was looking forward to this book. It did not disappoint me. The writing is engaging and the story interesting and includes some of the characters from the previous book. The early history of our country is composed of a fascinating bunch of characters and stories and Jodi Daynard does a wonderful job of bringing them to life. One of the things I enjoyed about this book is that it looked at the same time period as her first book but from another person's point of view. We have a chance to see how a different group of people viewed the same events and also how they interacted with people from her first novel.
This is one of those books you just don't want to end and takes you to another time and place with characters who become real and a part of your daily enjoyment. I am so glad that Jodi Daynard is working on the third book in this series and wait eagerly for it to come out so I can rejoin these characters in the early days of our country.

[Sarah H · Rating 2 out of 5]

After I finished the Midwife's Revolt I was excited to read this second book in the series. This book focused on the sister in law Eliza, who is a character in the first book. This book covers the same period and had a lot of overlap. There was an entire section that was extremely repetitive because the same story was just told by Lizzie in book one. I also thought it would go farther into the future but it does not. I felt the book could have been added as a few chapters in the first book or that the books could have been combined, with each chapter told in alternating view points. I think each book could have been edited down to make one more concise book. This book had so much frivolity because Eliza was part of "society" so it was less interesting IMO than a strong widowed woman managing a farm. Plus the ending was pretty far fetched. Don't bother with this one.

[Keren Phillips · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why tell the same story twice?

This is pretty much a rehash of the novel from the same author, The Midwife’s revolt. Told from the perspective of a different character, many of the scenes are identical, yet the plot and characters are so little developed that you could hardly read it as a stand-alone piece. Why tell the same story twice? I skipped over much of the second half and then was disappointed when the book finished just as the characters were breaking into new adventures.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved The Midwife's Revolt, you will definitely love this second book in the series! I loved how the author, about mid-way through the book, seemed to softly merge back into The Midwife's Revolt, except this time, from Eliza's perspective. It was so good to go back and visit those characters again. And, as I've said before, this author writes in the style of Jane Austen. I hope there are more books from her in the future!

[Barbara Helen Plumb · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a clever way to write a sequel! Write the story-line sequentially with the first novel. This was a unique approach for me and one i enjoyed immensely. All loose ends were neatly tied off and a very satisfying ending was achieved.
I can't wait for another novel by this author, hopefully set in a similar historical period, in fact I'd love to hear more about Lizzie, Eliza and Martha.
Recommended for anyone with an interest in the American Revolutionary period.