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The Huntingfield Paintress
‘A genuinely original, utterly enchanting story’ – A.N.Wilson
‘A slice of Suffolk history brought beautifully to life’ – Esther Freud
‘an atmospheric and enjoyable story of a singular and free-thinking woman’ – Deborah Moggach
Plucky and headstrong Mildred Holland revelled in the eight years she and her husband, the vicar William Holland, spent travelling 1840s Europe, finding inspiration in recording beautiful artistic treasures and collecting exotic artifacts. But William's new posting in a tiny Suffolk village is a world apart and Mildred finds a life of tea and sympathy dull and stifling in comparison.
When a longed-for baby does not arrive, she sinks into despondency and despair. What options exist for a clever, creative woman in such a cossetted environment?
A sudden chance encounter fires Mildred's creative imagination and she embarks on a herculean task that demands courage and passion. Defying her loving but exasperated husband, and mistrustful locals who suspect her of supernatural powers, Mildred rediscovers her passion and lives again through her dreams of beauty.
Inspired by the true story of the real Mildred Holland and the parish church of Huntingfield in Suffolk, the novel is unique, emotive and beautifully crafted, just like the history that inspired it.
‘A slice of Suffolk history brought beautifully to life’ – Esther Freud
‘an atmospheric and enjoyable story of a singular and free-thinking woman’ – Deborah Moggach
Plucky and headstrong Mildred Holland revelled in the eight years she and her husband, the vicar William Holland, spent travelling 1840s Europe, finding inspiration in recording beautiful artistic treasures and collecting exotic artifacts. But William's new posting in a tiny Suffolk village is a world apart and Mildred finds a life of tea and sympathy dull and stifling in comparison.
When a longed-for baby does not arrive, she sinks into despondency and despair. What options exist for a clever, creative woman in such a cossetted environment?
A sudden chance encounter fires Mildred's creative imagination and she embarks on a herculean task that demands courage and passion. Defying her loving but exasperated husband, and mistrustful locals who suspect her of supernatural powers, Mildred rediscovers her passion and lives again through her dreams of beauty.
Inspired by the true story of the real Mildred Holland and the parish church of Huntingfield in Suffolk, the novel is unique, emotive and beautifully crafted, just like the history that inspired it.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
October 8, 2017
I fell in love with this delightful book "The Huntingfield Paintress" from the very first enchanting page, wrapping you in its warm, gentle and unique story set in Suffolk during the 1800's.
Mildred Holland and her vicar husband William, finally get the life they longed for in a tiny Suffolk village in 1848 after travelling and discovering Europe for many years. However, Mildred finds her new life boring and after the longed-for child does not arrive she sinks into despair and despondency. What options exist for a clever and creative woman in such a cosseted environment? After a sudden chance encounter, Mildred embarks on a herculean task that demands courage and devotion, to create a 15th century ceiling within their parish church. Golden angels, wild colours and myriad images are painstakingly created by the dedicated and headstrong woman.
This beautiful tale is perfect for weekend reading and I found myself in Mildred's delicate and atmospheric world, feeling and sensing every emotion as she lived at Huntingfield Rectory.
The author has captured the era perfectly, the village, parishioners, diseases etc even including how families were having financial difficulties as machines took over their jobs and how offspring often left their working families for a supposedly better life in the bigger towns.
I was hugely surprised when I realised this was based on the true story of Mildred Holland who indeed created a stunning display of religious iconography single-handedly in St Mary's Church in Huntingfield. Truly inspiring and the author Pamela Holmes has very successfully told of her story - even though fictionalised, absolutely perfect!!
Mildred Holland and her vicar husband William, finally get the life they longed for in a tiny Suffolk village in 1848 after travelling and discovering Europe for many years. However, Mildred finds her new life boring and after the longed-for child does not arrive she sinks into despair and despondency. What options exist for a clever and creative woman in such a cosseted environment? After a sudden chance encounter, Mildred embarks on a herculean task that demands courage and devotion, to create a 15th century ceiling within their parish church. Golden angels, wild colours and myriad images are painstakingly created by the dedicated and headstrong woman.
This beautiful tale is perfect for weekend reading and I found myself in Mildred's delicate and atmospheric world, feeling and sensing every emotion as she lived at Huntingfield Rectory.
The author has captured the era perfectly, the village, parishioners, diseases etc even including how families were having financial difficulties as machines took over their jobs and how offspring often left their working families for a supposedly better life in the bigger towns.
I was hugely surprised when I realised this was based on the true story of Mildred Holland who indeed created a stunning display of religious iconography single-handedly in St Mary's Church in Huntingfield. Truly inspiring and the author Pamela Holmes has very successfully told of her story - even though fictionalised, absolutely perfect!!
February 14, 2019
EXCERPT: 1848 AUTUMN
She steps down from the carriage into the yard. Behind the snort of horses and whispers of wind, there is silence. It clings to the branches of the trees, hides in the hedges and the nooks of walls, seeping out again when the murmured words between her husband, William Holland, and the coachman cease. Moonlight spills down between broken clouds. There is the Rectory, their new home. No welcoming light at the window, only a lantern hanging by a closed front door. And over there, the church, the purpose of their life here, silhouetted against the sky, headstones set around it like crooked teeth.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Plucky and headstrong Mildred Holland revelled in the eight years she and her husband, the vicar William Holland, spent travelling 1840s Europe, finding inspiration in recording beautiful artistic treasures and collecting exotic artifacts. But William's new posting in a tiny Suffolk village is a world apart and Mildred finds a life of tea and sympathy dull and stifling in comparison. When a longed-for baby does not arrive, she sinks into despondency and despair. What options exist for a clever, creative woman in such a cossetted environment? A sudden chance encounter fires Mildred's creative imagination and she embarks on a herculean task that demands courage and passion. Defying her loving but exasperated husband, and mistrustful locals who suspect her of supernatural powers, Mildred rediscovers her passion and lives again through her dreams of beauty. Inspired by the true story of the real Mildred Holland and the parish church of Huntingfield in Suffolk, the novel is unique, emotive and beautifully crafted, just like the history that inspired it.
MY THOUGHTS:🌌🌌🌌🌌.5 brilliant stars for the Huntingfield Paintress. I empathised with Mildred (Millie to her adoring husband). She and William have spent many years travelling Europe gathering ideas for when their living, purchased for them by William's uncle, at Huntingfield parish will be theirs.
But just because you dream longingly of something doesn't mean that when it actually happens you will like it. Mildred feels isolated in Huntingfield. The people are largely parochial and seem boring to Mildred. They have led narrow insulated lives and love to gossip. They accept her help, but at the same time resent her for it. They are suspicious of her and her 'foreign ideas' including that of hand-washing to stop the spread of infection. And they are nothing less than 'shocked' when Mildred decides to paint the church ceiling after the fashion of the great European churches and to adorn it with angels, especially when she elects to dress like a man for her work as it is far more practical. She manages to make only one friend Anne, who then shuns her when she goes ahead with her painting.
But not everyone is prepared to pass her off as eccentric and leave her to get on with it. She has enemies in the fold. Those who wish to stop her. And will go to any lengths to do so.
This is a gentle book that slowly enfolds you like a warm blanket. The writing is beautiful and evocative of the era. While The Huntingfield Paintress is fiction, it is based on truth and the author has done her research well.
THE AUTHOR: Pamela Holmes was born in Charleston, South Carolina. At the age of eight, she moved with her family to England. She won the Jane Austen Short Story Award in 2014 and published her first novel The Huntingfield Paintress in 2016. Pamela lives in London with her husband, acclaimed cartoonist Kipper Williams.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Netgalley and Urbane Publications for providing a digital ARC of the Huntingfield Paintress by Pamela Holmes for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
She steps down from the carriage into the yard. Behind the snort of horses and whispers of wind, there is silence. It clings to the branches of the trees, hides in the hedges and the nooks of walls, seeping out again when the murmured words between her husband, William Holland, and the coachman cease. Moonlight spills down between broken clouds. There is the Rectory, their new home. No welcoming light at the window, only a lantern hanging by a closed front door. And over there, the church, the purpose of their life here, silhouetted against the sky, headstones set around it like crooked teeth.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Plucky and headstrong Mildred Holland revelled in the eight years she and her husband, the vicar William Holland, spent travelling 1840s Europe, finding inspiration in recording beautiful artistic treasures and collecting exotic artifacts. But William's new posting in a tiny Suffolk village is a world apart and Mildred finds a life of tea and sympathy dull and stifling in comparison. When a longed-for baby does not arrive, she sinks into despondency and despair. What options exist for a clever, creative woman in such a cossetted environment? A sudden chance encounter fires Mildred's creative imagination and she embarks on a herculean task that demands courage and passion. Defying her loving but exasperated husband, and mistrustful locals who suspect her of supernatural powers, Mildred rediscovers her passion and lives again through her dreams of beauty. Inspired by the true story of the real Mildred Holland and the parish church of Huntingfield in Suffolk, the novel is unique, emotive and beautifully crafted, just like the history that inspired it.
MY THOUGHTS:🌌🌌🌌🌌.5 brilliant stars for the Huntingfield Paintress. I empathised with Mildred (Millie to her adoring husband). She and William have spent many years travelling Europe gathering ideas for when their living, purchased for them by William's uncle, at Huntingfield parish will be theirs.
But just because you dream longingly of something doesn't mean that when it actually happens you will like it. Mildred feels isolated in Huntingfield. The people are largely parochial and seem boring to Mildred. They have led narrow insulated lives and love to gossip. They accept her help, but at the same time resent her for it. They are suspicious of her and her 'foreign ideas' including that of hand-washing to stop the spread of infection. And they are nothing less than 'shocked' when Mildred decides to paint the church ceiling after the fashion of the great European churches and to adorn it with angels, especially when she elects to dress like a man for her work as it is far more practical. She manages to make only one friend Anne, who then shuns her when she goes ahead with her painting.
But not everyone is prepared to pass her off as eccentric and leave her to get on with it. She has enemies in the fold. Those who wish to stop her. And will go to any lengths to do so.
This is a gentle book that slowly enfolds you like a warm blanket. The writing is beautiful and evocative of the era. While The Huntingfield Paintress is fiction, it is based on truth and the author has done her research well.
THE AUTHOR: Pamela Holmes was born in Charleston, South Carolina. At the age of eight, she moved with her family to England. She won the Jane Austen Short Story Award in 2014 and published her first novel The Huntingfield Paintress in 2016. Pamela lives in London with her husband, acclaimed cartoonist Kipper Williams.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Netgalley and Urbane Publications for providing a digital ARC of the Huntingfield Paintress by Pamela Holmes for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
October 7, 2017
3.5★
Between 1848 and 1866, the little Church of St Mary’s in Huntingfield, Suffolk, underwent a transformation from a small, dank country church to the site of what seems to be a glorious internal expanse of religious art. And it was done by the rector’s wife.
This is a fictionalised account of how that might have happened, with a fair bit of imagination about the people and their interaction. To me, the story is revealed much like a television docu-drama, as if we’re witnessing a true story unfolding with a narrator who is sometimes restrained but occasionally bursts out with a sudden lusty scene.
I found it less engrossing than some historical fiction, but I know others have loved it. The author creates a good sense of place. William and Mildred Holland have been travelling abroad, where she, particularly, has been enthralled with exotic locales, costumes, and climate. Now William is returning to take over the position he’s been waiting for as the rector of the little St Mary’s Church.
“A dismal sense of damp filled her nostrils as Mildred pushed open the door of St Mary the Virgin church. In the entrance, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. Air was cold on her cheek and a regular dripping sound echoed from somewhere. A trickle of anxiety ran through her.”
She is deeply unhappy and lonely in the village while her husband is admired by all and in his element as the new rector. They are cut from different cloth. But she presses him to clean and renovate the church.
She’d been inspired by a wonderful painted ceiling when she and William visited the Church of St Martin’s in the Swiss alps.
“What kind of person could be fixated on such a vast, intricate and painstaking task, in the sure expectation that few outside his village would ever see it? Only God would be his witness. Now she asked herself; was she embarking on a similar road?”
This is the story of how she embarked on that road – how a dank little English church gained new life due to the dedication of Mildred “Millie” Holland.
There is a lot about paint and painting, but I particularly liked the gold leaf, ordered for the angels’ wings.
“With deliberate care, books of gold leaf are lifted from the heavy leather pouches in which they have travelled from London. These glittering pages reveal no stories but magic dances on their mirrored surfaces. A gentle breeze could tear the shiny sheets from uncertain fingers, so fine and thinly beaten are they. Only the heat from Mildred’s hand makes the gold leaf rise like a magic carpet from the books of gold.”
Many thanks to NetGalley and Urbane Publications for allowing me a copy to review. The quotations are from this copy, so they may have changed in the final edition, but they will give you a sense of the author and her style. I expect she will attract many more visitors to Huntingfield.
Here’s a link to St Mary’s Church in Huntingfield:
http://www.stmaryshuntingfield.org.uk...
And here’s a link to the Swiss Church of St Martin’s, where Millie got her inspiration:
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-au/st...
Between 1848 and 1866, the little Church of St Mary’s in Huntingfield, Suffolk, underwent a transformation from a small, dank country church to the site of what seems to be a glorious internal expanse of religious art. And it was done by the rector’s wife.
This is a fictionalised account of how that might have happened, with a fair bit of imagination about the people and their interaction. To me, the story is revealed much like a television docu-drama, as if we’re witnessing a true story unfolding with a narrator who is sometimes restrained but occasionally bursts out with a sudden lusty scene.
I found it less engrossing than some historical fiction, but I know others have loved it. The author creates a good sense of place. William and Mildred Holland have been travelling abroad, where she, particularly, has been enthralled with exotic locales, costumes, and climate. Now William is returning to take over the position he’s been waiting for as the rector of the little St Mary’s Church.
“A dismal sense of damp filled her nostrils as Mildred pushed open the door of St Mary the Virgin church. In the entrance, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. Air was cold on her cheek and a regular dripping sound echoed from somewhere. A trickle of anxiety ran through her.”
She is deeply unhappy and lonely in the village while her husband is admired by all and in his element as the new rector. They are cut from different cloth. But she presses him to clean and renovate the church.
She’d been inspired by a wonderful painted ceiling when she and William visited the Church of St Martin’s in the Swiss alps.
“What kind of person could be fixated on such a vast, intricate and painstaking task, in the sure expectation that few outside his village would ever see it? Only God would be his witness. Now she asked herself; was she embarking on a similar road?”
This is the story of how she embarked on that road – how a dank little English church gained new life due to the dedication of Mildred “Millie” Holland.
There is a lot about paint and painting, but I particularly liked the gold leaf, ordered for the angels’ wings.
“With deliberate care, books of gold leaf are lifted from the heavy leather pouches in which they have travelled from London. These glittering pages reveal no stories but magic dances on their mirrored surfaces. A gentle breeze could tear the shiny sheets from uncertain fingers, so fine and thinly beaten are they. Only the heat from Mildred’s hand makes the gold leaf rise like a magic carpet from the books of gold.”
Many thanks to NetGalley and Urbane Publications for allowing me a copy to review. The quotations are from this copy, so they may have changed in the final edition, but they will give you a sense of the author and her style. I expect she will attract many more visitors to Huntingfield.
Here’s a link to St Mary’s Church in Huntingfield:
http://www.stmaryshuntingfield.org.uk...
And here’s a link to the Swiss Church of St Martin’s, where Millie got her inspiration:
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-au/st...
June 12, 2016
The author says she was inspired to write this book after visiting St Mary's Church in the village of Huntingfield in Suffolk. The small church was cold and gloomy until the lights came and the ceiling sprang to life with it's glorious golden angels and vibrant religious paintings. When she found out that this astonishing 15th century style ceiling had been painted single handedly by the vicar's wife in the mid 19th century she knew this was a story she had to write.
Mildred and William Holland had to wait eight years before William could take over from the old vicar at Huntingfield. During this time they travelled widely through Europe enjoying the art and architecture and especially the old churches. When they eventually moved to Huntingfield in 1848 they found the church sadly neglected, damp and mouldy and in a state of disrepair. Many of the beautiful features of the church would have been removed during the reformation and later by the puritans to leave the church bereft of any decoration. Finding her life in a small village as the childless wife of a vicar with her days narrowed to visiting the sick and attending church, Mildred found it difficult to fit in with the village and the constraints of her new life while William was happy in his work as a vicar and starting the badly needed restorations to the church to make it waterproof and more comfortable. After meeting an Edward Blackburne an architect expert in medieval art who is involved in church restoration Mildred became convinced that the ceiling of St Mary's should be restored to it's medieveal glory.
This was an enjoyable historical story of an amazing woman who took years to paint the ceiling, inspired by the churches she had seen in Europe. With help from Edward, Mildred taught herself the techniques she needed as she applied her designs to the ceiling, learning how to use paints and gold leaf to embelish her angels and iconography.
With thanks to Netgalley and Urbane Publications for a digital copy of this book to read and review
Mildred and William Holland had to wait eight years before William could take over from the old vicar at Huntingfield. During this time they travelled widely through Europe enjoying the art and architecture and especially the old churches. When they eventually moved to Huntingfield in 1848 they found the church sadly neglected, damp and mouldy and in a state of disrepair. Many of the beautiful features of the church would have been removed during the reformation and later by the puritans to leave the church bereft of any decoration. Finding her life in a small village as the childless wife of a vicar with her days narrowed to visiting the sick and attending church, Mildred found it difficult to fit in with the village and the constraints of her new life while William was happy in his work as a vicar and starting the badly needed restorations to the church to make it waterproof and more comfortable. After meeting an Edward Blackburne an architect expert in medieval art who is involved in church restoration Mildred became convinced that the ceiling of St Mary's should be restored to it's medieveal glory.
This was an enjoyable historical story of an amazing woman who took years to paint the ceiling, inspired by the churches she had seen in Europe. With help from Edward, Mildred taught herself the techniques she needed as she applied her designs to the ceiling, learning how to use paints and gold leaf to embelish her angels and iconography.
With thanks to Netgalley and Urbane Publications for a digital copy of this book to read and review
August 2, 2016
"Oh my god."
It's a highly rare thing for me to be so taken by a book that I say anything at all. I'm not one for hyperbole so trust that for me, my feelings about this book are not overstated.
Magnificent. Transcendent. An epic saga of one woman and her devoted husband.
Forget the Nest.. or any other book being pushed by the big publishers this year. THIS is THE BOOK TO READ.
It should win all the awards. It should be listed as best of the year.
It's rather unassuming at first. A quaint seeming piece of historical fiction about a passionate woman and her religious husband finally arriving at the parish where he will preside. A small village in England.
A village too small for her spirit. Villagers suspicious and wary about anything out of the ordinary.
Change is just not to be had. It's highly improper. It must be shunned in case it destroys their way of life.
"Everywhere she looked there was evidence of people taking action, being in the world, taking part. They were free to act. Was it what they themselves would have chosen? Perhaps for others her life appeared privileged, full of choice and replete with freedom. It was not the case. She felt herself only to be only a bystander in her own life; destined never to be an active principle, fated only to watch others."
Such an apt description of life for ladies of the period. I can not imagine being able to maintain my sanity in such a world.
But this is no maudlin book. It will not bring you low.
It also will not matter if you are of their faith.
There's a simple yet immense purity to the depiction of human nature and community that had me hanging on every word. Floating at the ceiling with Mildred as she painted. Seeing it come alive.
Ironically, not but a week ago, I read an advanced reader's copy of the excellent treatise by Claire Travers, Beginning Illumination: Learning the Ancient Art, Step by Step. It focuses on the use of illumination in manuscripts but the techniques are the same as the ones Mildred uses in her painting. It was officially published 2 days ago. This book comes out tomorrow! Very different publishers but how very kismet that I should end up reading both so close together!
Regardless, I want to climb the rooftops and shout to the world, "You MUST READ THIS BOOK!". I don't recall having felt this way since I read Jenny Lawson's "Let's Pretend This Never Happen." Which incidentally, Jen (Lancaster), I did actually hurt myself laughing while reading that book.
I've been a bit low lately but now I feel bliss.
Thank you Pamela Holmes. Your debut novel is simply out of this world. You will be one to watch. Thank you Urbane Publications for finding this and bringing this shining gem to light.
Incidentally, this is based on a true story. Mildred really did exist and paint that masterpiece.
** I received a free advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review **
May 17, 2016
This is a lovely story based on the life of Mildred Holland, the wife of the vicar of St Mary's Church in Huntingfield, who painted the ceiling of the church with beautiful religious iconography over a period of several years. Pamela Holmes brings the people and times to life with her beautiful prose. Highly recommend!
For a look at Mildred's work, follow this link: https://eastofelveden.wordpress.com/2...
A big thank you to Urbane Publications, Pamela Holmes and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
For a look at Mildred's work, follow this link: https://eastofelveden.wordpress.com/2...
A big thank you to Urbane Publications, Pamela Holmes and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
May 6, 2016
In 1848, the small village of Huntingfield, in southeast England, welcomes a new rector and his wife. William and Mildred Holland have waited eight years for the previous minister to vacate the property. Every waking moment they've dreamed of St. Mary the Virgin church, envisioning a lively and beautiful house of worship where art and music would lift the souls of the congregation to a greater love of God.
And so they are dismayed when they finally come face to face with the small, badly neglected church with its boarded-up windows and rain-stained walls. Built by the Normans, and stripped of its original decoration and adornments during the Protestant Reformation, it would be too kind to describe the church as plain and simple. It is as lifeless as the village itself.
Mildred is crestfallen. After eight glorious years spent travelling with her husband, indulging in the wonders of the many places they've been, her world has been reduced to a small village with "one shop, one public house, and one forge." Her beloved William remains nurturing, encouraging her in her new duties of managing the rectory and visiting the sick. "Perhaps for others her life appeared privileged, full of choice and replete with freedom," but she can't help feeling, is this all there is?
Pamela Holmes magically spins straw into gold, raising the bare bones of a true story to a tale of life, love and beauty. To give even a hint of the ensuing plot would steal the joy of discovery from the reader. This is historical fiction writ small.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
And so they are dismayed when they finally come face to face with the small, badly neglected church with its boarded-up windows and rain-stained walls. Built by the Normans, and stripped of its original decoration and adornments during the Protestant Reformation, it would be too kind to describe the church as plain and simple. It is as lifeless as the village itself.
Mildred is crestfallen. After eight glorious years spent travelling with her husband, indulging in the wonders of the many places they've been, her world has been reduced to a small village with "one shop, one public house, and one forge." Her beloved William remains nurturing, encouraging her in her new duties of managing the rectory and visiting the sick. "Perhaps for others her life appeared privileged, full of choice and replete with freedom," but she can't help feeling, is this all there is?
Pamela Holmes magically spins straw into gold, raising the bare bones of a true story to a tale of life, love and beauty. To give even a hint of the ensuing plot would steal the joy of discovery from the reader. This is historical fiction writ small.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 16, 2016
This is a very entertaining story of the life of Mildred (the Huntingfield paintress) and her husband, William Holland, the rector in a small village in Suffolk. When they arrive in Huntingfield, the church has been neglected for years and needs many repairs, but Mildred is inspired to not only repair the church, but turn it into a thing of beauty. This is her story and it is wonderfully told!
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to review.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to review.
February 14, 2019
I loved this gentle little book, nothing much happens but thats absolutely fine! Although its fiction based on limited facts, i could really believe thats how the story of Huntingfield church roof became. Can't wait to visit!
August 1, 2019
Enchanting and Inspiring were the first words I thought of after finishing this charming story, based on real characters and a true story and it makes you realise the little acts can often be the most impressive and the devotion shown by Mildred Holland shows towards her project was extremely powerful and has meant this story has really touched me.
In 1848, Millie and Wiliam arrive at their new home at the rectory in a quiet little village in Suffolk, a world away from their normal exotic travels and the routine life that awaits them seems to fill Millie with dread. She does her best to fit in but often finds the villagers wary of her despite her best efforts to help them and be part of things. Her husband is busy with his work amongst the parishioners but notices the ever changing moods of his wife but seems unable to lift her spirits.
The church of St Mary's the Virgin is a very run down little church and captures Millie's heart and attention and she has the amazing idea to paint the ceiling - she's seen so many churches on her travel and was drawn to those beautifully decorated so why can't she do the same in their little church?! So that's what she sets her mind to - most unheard of especially by a woman at that time, and even a woman buying a pair of trousers to hide her modesty while she paints turns out to be a big shock!
Her determination is truly mind blowing! she's not put off by having to lie down for long periods to adorn the ceiling but once she decides on something, she's not one for turning! Not all the locals are keen on her project though and some will go to desperate lengths to stop her.
As the story progresses you learn more of what drives her - the heartbreaking reasons behind her changing moods, and even her own failiing health fails to stop her as she is determined to finish what she started.
I just loved everything about this book - the characters, the setting and to feature such an amazing woman who I'd never heard about was a revelation and has had me researching her more and the amazing work that she did. A real treat of a read and a such a wonderful first novel from this author - I can't wait for more!!
In 1848, Millie and Wiliam arrive at their new home at the rectory in a quiet little village in Suffolk, a world away from their normal exotic travels and the routine life that awaits them seems to fill Millie with dread. She does her best to fit in but often finds the villagers wary of her despite her best efforts to help them and be part of things. Her husband is busy with his work amongst the parishioners but notices the ever changing moods of his wife but seems unable to lift her spirits.
The church of St Mary's the Virgin is a very run down little church and captures Millie's heart and attention and she has the amazing idea to paint the ceiling - she's seen so many churches on her travel and was drawn to those beautifully decorated so why can't she do the same in their little church?! So that's what she sets her mind to - most unheard of especially by a woman at that time, and even a woman buying a pair of trousers to hide her modesty while she paints turns out to be a big shock!
Her determination is truly mind blowing! she's not put off by having to lie down for long periods to adorn the ceiling but once she decides on something, she's not one for turning! Not all the locals are keen on her project though and some will go to desperate lengths to stop her.
As the story progresses you learn more of what drives her - the heartbreaking reasons behind her changing moods, and even her own failiing health fails to stop her as she is determined to finish what she started.
I just loved everything about this book - the characters, the setting and to feature such an amazing woman who I'd never heard about was a revelation and has had me researching her more and the amazing work that she did. A real treat of a read and a such a wonderful first novel from this author - I can't wait for more!!
January 12, 2026
The book is inspired by a visit the author made to the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Huntingfield, Suffolk which is famous for its painted ceiling. What is even more remarkable is the story of the woman behind it – Mildred Holland, the Huntingfield Paintress of the book’s title.
There couldn’t be more of a contrast between the years Mildred and her husband spent travelling Europe and the life that awaits them in the small village of Huntingfield. Whilst William immerses himself in his parish duties, Mildred finds herself unable to settle into the role of Rector’s wife. Despite her best efforts, the villagers don’t seem to warm to her. They find her unconventional; the fact she walks to the village rather taking the carriage for example. She becomes the focus of village gossip, some quite vicious. Her adventurous spirit, the spirit that saw her convince her husband they should embark on a tour of Europe rather than settle straight into conventional married life, now has no outlet. ‘How could life change so utterly? How could one person cope with that difference?’
Both Mildred and William are disappointed to find the parish church in a state of disrepair requiring significant financial investment. Furthermore the plain interior, a legacy of the English Reformation, is a far cry from the lavishly decorated buildings they encountered on their travels. For William, returning the church to its former glory is about helping his parishioners to feel closer to God. For Mildred, it’s more about the aesthetic possibilities and an opportunity to immerse herself in something that will provide a distraction from her humdrum life and the disappointment that she and William are childless.
Gradually Mildred finds herself more and more involved in the renovation of the church. It means not only defying social conventions but also overcoming her own self-doubt and, increasingly, severe physical challenges. Mildred’s is an inspiring story of tenacity, independence of spirit and a determination not to be limited by society’s expectations of a woman’s role. I must mention William too. His enduring support for Mildred, his admiration for her resolve and his desire to do everything in his power to ensure her happiness were very moving.
The Huntingfield Paintress is a fascinating story, beautifully told.
There couldn’t be more of a contrast between the years Mildred and her husband spent travelling Europe and the life that awaits them in the small village of Huntingfield. Whilst William immerses himself in his parish duties, Mildred finds herself unable to settle into the role of Rector’s wife. Despite her best efforts, the villagers don’t seem to warm to her. They find her unconventional; the fact she walks to the village rather taking the carriage for example. She becomes the focus of village gossip, some quite vicious. Her adventurous spirit, the spirit that saw her convince her husband they should embark on a tour of Europe rather than settle straight into conventional married life, now has no outlet. ‘How could life change so utterly? How could one person cope with that difference?’
Both Mildred and William are disappointed to find the parish church in a state of disrepair requiring significant financial investment. Furthermore the plain interior, a legacy of the English Reformation, is a far cry from the lavishly decorated buildings they encountered on their travels. For William, returning the church to its former glory is about helping his parishioners to feel closer to God. For Mildred, it’s more about the aesthetic possibilities and an opportunity to immerse herself in something that will provide a distraction from her humdrum life and the disappointment that she and William are childless.
Gradually Mildred finds herself more and more involved in the renovation of the church. It means not only defying social conventions but also overcoming her own self-doubt and, increasingly, severe physical challenges. Mildred’s is an inspiring story of tenacity, independence of spirit and a determination not to be limited by society’s expectations of a woman’s role. I must mention William too. His enduring support for Mildred, his admiration for her resolve and his desire to do everything in his power to ensure her happiness were very moving.
The Huntingfield Paintress is a fascinating story, beautifully told.
September 23, 2018
Great story but needed a better proof-reader!
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June 23, 2016Novel set in 1800s Suffolk
This review first appeared on our blog where we also chat to the author: http://www.tripfiction.com/novel-set-...
The curious story of Mildred Holland is one that deserves to be told. And Pamela Holmes does justice to this unique and unflinching heroine. The author brings the Victorian era to life and conjures up the mores and manners of the mid 19th century that largely governed the place that women held in society.
Her husband, William, is biding his time to take over as curate at St Mary’s in Huntingfield, Suffolk, but the incumbent still has several years tenure. So the couple heads off for their own extended Grand Tour across Europe heading ever further South. This proved to be such a colourful period in their lives, the memories and experiences woven into their memories with acuity. Returning to Suffolk to take up his position, Mildred struggles with the sobriety and innate greyness of her new home environment. Gradually she sinks into a depression, she is very much an outsider looking in on an unaccepting community, with little to occupy her day.
Over in Southwold she is inspired by the art in the local church and determines to re-instate a glorious heavenly bower on the ceiling of their own church, her vision a golden cacophony of design and colour. For sure, the church in its medieval days had a colourful ceiling, which was painted over when Henry VIII removed every ecclesiastical sign that vaguely resonated with Papism. Thus it is she finds her vocation, and the church in Huntingfield is closed to worshippers as she overcomes her fear of heights and ascends into the dizzying heights of the hammer beam ceiling, for the best part of a year. The parishioners have to walk to a neighbouring church to worship, an inconvenience to many.
Thus, there are various shenanigans amongst the villagers that marr the smooth running of the project; and there is Judy who holds sway over many of the locals, a spiteful woman, a gossip, who can manipulate and distress with little consequence.
Overall this such an interesting story of determination and ingenuity and a good read. I would have loved to see a picture of the ceiling featured in the book, just to enhance the descriptions further but I guess there may have been copyright issues. Enjoy!
This review first appeared on our blog where we also chat to the author: http://www.tripfiction.com/novel-set-...
The curious story of Mildred Holland is one that deserves to be told. And Pamela Holmes does justice to this unique and unflinching heroine. The author brings the Victorian era to life and conjures up the mores and manners of the mid 19th century that largely governed the place that women held in society.
Her husband, William, is biding his time to take over as curate at St Mary’s in Huntingfield, Suffolk, but the incumbent still has several years tenure. So the couple heads off for their own extended Grand Tour across Europe heading ever further South. This proved to be such a colourful period in their lives, the memories and experiences woven into their memories with acuity. Returning to Suffolk to take up his position, Mildred struggles with the sobriety and innate greyness of her new home environment. Gradually she sinks into a depression, she is very much an outsider looking in on an unaccepting community, with little to occupy her day.
Over in Southwold she is inspired by the art in the local church and determines to re-instate a glorious heavenly bower on the ceiling of their own church, her vision a golden cacophony of design and colour. For sure, the church in its medieval days had a colourful ceiling, which was painted over when Henry VIII removed every ecclesiastical sign that vaguely resonated with Papism. Thus it is she finds her vocation, and the church in Huntingfield is closed to worshippers as she overcomes her fear of heights and ascends into the dizzying heights of the hammer beam ceiling, for the best part of a year. The parishioners have to walk to a neighbouring church to worship, an inconvenience to many.
Thus, there are various shenanigans amongst the villagers that marr the smooth running of the project; and there is Judy who holds sway over many of the locals, a spiteful woman, a gossip, who can manipulate and distress with little consequence.
Overall this such an interesting story of determination and ingenuity and a good read. I would have loved to see a picture of the ceiling featured in the book, just to enhance the descriptions further but I guess there may have been copyright issues. Enjoy!
June 16, 2016
This book felt very style-over- substance to me. It's very closely written. The basic plot is that a young vicar's wife decides that she needs a project and decides that painting the ceiling of their church will be that project. Or maybe it wasn't their church- at that point I was skimming and just know it was a church.
The book is very intimate about the interior life of the main character. While I enjoyed "Viper Wine", written in a similar style, this book didn't address the greater themes that complemented the other book's intense attention to detail. Mildred Holland is young, intelligent, sensitive, and constrained by her social role after she and her husband spent their earlier years travelling continental Europe. I got a bit impatient with her and also with the book.
If you enjoy very lush prose and don't mind a slow pace this could be for you.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book is very intimate about the interior life of the main character. While I enjoyed "Viper Wine", written in a similar style, this book didn't address the greater themes that complemented the other book's intense attention to detail. Mildred Holland is young, intelligent, sensitive, and constrained by her social role after she and her husband spent their earlier years travelling continental Europe. I got a bit impatient with her and also with the book.
If you enjoy very lush prose and don't mind a slow pace this could be for you.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 2, 2019
I loved this book. It was more interesting as based in Suffolk. Sad she could not have any further children after she lost one. Painting made her forget. I will hope to visit the church now to see the ceiling paintings. loved the ending with the bed bound busy body not able to keep away from the church any longer after hearing about the paintings had to see for herself.
February 18, 2019
A lovely gentle read set in rural Suffolk.
September 10, 2016
3.5*
A charming and interesting little story inspired by the life of Mildred Holland, a rector's wife, who painted the ceiling of St Mary's Church in Huntingfield during the 1850s. This is not just any old painting. It's a brilliantly colourful masterpiece! I was prompted to look it up on the Internet and it's an astonishing work of art, just fabulous. Here's a link to this amazing achievement:
http://www.stmaryshuntingfield.org.uk...
Mildred Holland was definitely a woman ahead of her time, she seemed to have had such determination and strength of mind.
There are some great descriptions of how this intricate accomplishment unfolds and there is quite a lot of attention to detail.
However, I have to say that although I found the art side fascinating, I was not totally gripped by the storyline for some reason. Mildred's life is for the most part imaginatively told, but at times the tale did drag a little for me. Nevertheless, I thought it was a worthwhile read and I did enjoy it.
Reviewed for Netgalley and the publishers.
A charming and interesting little story inspired by the life of Mildred Holland, a rector's wife, who painted the ceiling of St Mary's Church in Huntingfield during the 1850s. This is not just any old painting. It's a brilliantly colourful masterpiece! I was prompted to look it up on the Internet and it's an astonishing work of art, just fabulous. Here's a link to this amazing achievement:
http://www.stmaryshuntingfield.org.uk...
Mildred Holland was definitely a woman ahead of her time, she seemed to have had such determination and strength of mind.
There are some great descriptions of how this intricate accomplishment unfolds and there is quite a lot of attention to detail.
However, I have to say that although I found the art side fascinating, I was not totally gripped by the storyline for some reason. Mildred's life is for the most part imaginatively told, but at times the tale did drag a little for me. Nevertheless, I thought it was a worthwhile read and I did enjoy it.
Reviewed for Netgalley and the publishers.
December 18, 2019
I very much enjoyed this. It brings a twenty-first century sensibility to a nineteenth century story, making a great deal of sense of it. Holmes manages to evoke place, environment, expectations, attitudes and, above all, empathy. By writing Mildred Holland’s story, imagining what it must have taken for a woman to do what she did in her time, she has drawn us into the world of an early Victorian Suffolk village and the lives of villagers.
It is a narrative that enlightens and, focused on understanding, avoids any stereotyping. It has given me a valuable context for family history.
I’d love to see the Huntingfield church, but regardless I am richer for the story.
It is a narrative that enlightens and, focused on understanding, avoids any stereotyping. It has given me a valuable context for family history.
I’d love to see the Huntingfield church, but regardless I am richer for the story.
June 13, 2016
A gentle, slow-paced novel – the perfect antidote to many contemporary novels, and a great advert for the hidden beauties of Suffolk churches. The Huntingfield Paintress is a fictionalised account of the life and work of Mildred Holland, the adventurous and determined wife of the vicar of St. Mary’s, a tiny church in one of the forgotten villages in Suffolk. The main theme of the novel is her constant battle against Victorian ideals of what is appropriate for a woman. Certainly not clambering up ladders to restore the ceiling of the church.
After several years travelling with her husband in Europe, she arrives in Huntingfield, a sleepy backwater in deeply rural Suffolk. Mildred’s collection of colourful fabrics and souvenirs is consigned to the attic and she has to be content with visiting the sick and arranging the church flowers. She finds it claustrophobic and stultifying and eventually becomes ill. It’s only when she is inspired to fill the church with brilliant colour and gilded angels (with advice from an architect) that she finds happiness and fulfils her artistic potential.
There are echoes of George Eliot’s Middlemarch in the complexity of village life with all the social strata laid bare. There are servants, visiting gentry and some well-drawn characters. The unpleasant, bed-ridden Judy Scott, who feasts on news and gossip from the other villagers then broadcasts her disapproval, is particularly memorable. I was also reminded of Middlemarch‘s Dorothea and Casaubon in the relationship between Mildred and her husband, William – a creative woman reduced to playing second fiddle to a man whose own work obsesses him, and who doesn’t understand her frustration. Fortunately in this case the marriage is a happy one and Mildred finds her forte. There are other temptations thrown in but her art always wins.
Pamela Holmes clearly loves her subject. Without making it dry, she has researched the historical background thoroughly and integrated it seamlessly, making the whole novel come alive. It’s fascinating to imagine the life of a woman who undertook such an arduous task (over several years), balancing in the dark and cold, sixty feet above the ground, to restore a neglected church, damaged by Puritan zeal, to create an enduring work of art. I imagine writing the book itself must have been a similar labour of love.
The Huntingfield Paintress is a fascinating glimpse into mid 19th century village life and an exploration of women and art which, in spite of progress in gender equality, is still relevant today. The novel throws light on the overwhelming barriers women faced in this country and the extraordinary lengths they went to overcome them.
After several years travelling with her husband in Europe, she arrives in Huntingfield, a sleepy backwater in deeply rural Suffolk. Mildred’s collection of colourful fabrics and souvenirs is consigned to the attic and she has to be content with visiting the sick and arranging the church flowers. She finds it claustrophobic and stultifying and eventually becomes ill. It’s only when she is inspired to fill the church with brilliant colour and gilded angels (with advice from an architect) that she finds happiness and fulfils her artistic potential.
There are echoes of George Eliot’s Middlemarch in the complexity of village life with all the social strata laid bare. There are servants, visiting gentry and some well-drawn characters. The unpleasant, bed-ridden Judy Scott, who feasts on news and gossip from the other villagers then broadcasts her disapproval, is particularly memorable. I was also reminded of Middlemarch‘s Dorothea and Casaubon in the relationship between Mildred and her husband, William – a creative woman reduced to playing second fiddle to a man whose own work obsesses him, and who doesn’t understand her frustration. Fortunately in this case the marriage is a happy one and Mildred finds her forte. There are other temptations thrown in but her art always wins.
Pamela Holmes clearly loves her subject. Without making it dry, she has researched the historical background thoroughly and integrated it seamlessly, making the whole novel come alive. It’s fascinating to imagine the life of a woman who undertook such an arduous task (over several years), balancing in the dark and cold, sixty feet above the ground, to restore a neglected church, damaged by Puritan zeal, to create an enduring work of art. I imagine writing the book itself must have been a similar labour of love.
The Huntingfield Paintress is a fascinating glimpse into mid 19th century village life and an exploration of women and art which, in spite of progress in gender equality, is still relevant today. The novel throws light on the overwhelming barriers women faced in this country and the extraordinary lengths they went to overcome them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 2, 2018When the author of the Suffolk Churches website said of Huntingfield that "a novel is waiting to be written about these two women" I wonder if he was aware that it was being done.
An East Anglian woman who did not do what vicar's wives are meant to and showed determination and risked ridicule and censure to accomplish her passion - that appealed.
The novel is mostly how a church ceiling got to be painted in the 19th century. That doesn't sound in itself much of a plot, and at times, I felt that there wasn't so much a story as a relation of events. But I looked forward to reading the next part - so something must have been right.
I am wary of saying more as I've just published my own first novel. Yes, there are arcs and ends are tied up; I did come to care about Mildred. The scene with her faced with the ladder for the first time was excellent writing. I cared about her friendship with the other woman (I'll let you find her without naming her) but there was room for other possibilities with relationships which were rather left to hang.
It felt a bit like a maze when it would have been better to have made it a labyrinth.
It has made me want to go to Huntingfield and I'll appreciate the ceiling in a way that I wouldn't have done without reading this book. I also would like this book to be discovered which is why I was part of including it at a book group.
An East Anglian woman who did not do what vicar's wives are meant to and showed determination and risked ridicule and censure to accomplish her passion - that appealed.
The novel is mostly how a church ceiling got to be painted in the 19th century. That doesn't sound in itself much of a plot, and at times, I felt that there wasn't so much a story as a relation of events. But I looked forward to reading the next part - so something must have been right.
I am wary of saying more as I've just published my own first novel. Yes, there are arcs and ends are tied up; I did come to care about Mildred. The scene with her faced with the ladder for the first time was excellent writing. I cared about her friendship with the other woman (I'll let you find her without naming her) but there was room for other possibilities with relationships which were rather left to hang.
It felt a bit like a maze when it would have been better to have made it a labyrinth.
It has made me want to go to Huntingfield and I'll appreciate the ceiling in a way that I wouldn't have done without reading this book. I also would like this book to be discovered which is why I was part of including it at a book group.
Read
July 10, 2016I anticipated a good read with this book and the blurb promised an interesting story based on a true historical figure. While the story is worth telling, sadly the writing was full of grammatical and editorial errors, the book starts promisingly but the writing style degenerates from the last third of the book and is rushed and careless as if the author gave up caring about the story or the characters partway through the process. I became bored and annoyed with the carelessness and repetitiveness, and an incomplete sentence riled me. The writing style is not at all faithful to the era although the author creates a good sense of place. Was the word 'stunning' even coined in 1840? The tone set at the beginning isn't consistent throughout the book, and not at all present by the conclusion. Some sections are extremely poorly written with the author changing tenses half way through paragraphs, while in others the disjointed conversational style reads like clumsy, jarring 'chic-lit'.
I fail to understand how the author has won any literary prizes for this work of fiction or her previous novel.
disappointed.
August 15, 2024
What a lovely story about a remarkable, driven woman! I know it is a work of fiction, albeit based on truth, but I so enjoyed it that to me it seemed real. Beautifully told with descriptive language that has left me keen to see Huntingfield Church for myself. Well done Pamela Holmes!
May 21, 2016
I really enjoyed this story, based on real life, of Mildred Holland. Having spent years travelling abroad and enjoying her life, Mildred finds herself in the village of Huntingfield in Suffolk, but her life there holds little substance and she yearns for some meaning and purpose.
Inspired by a chance meeting Mildred sets out to paint the ceiling of the tiny church, at first she intends to paint a small part of it, but after rumblings of discontent from the suspicious locals, she commits herself the mammoth task of finishing the whole ceiling.
A unique story, following the life of a determined woman.
Thanks to Urbane Publications and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.
Inspired by a chance meeting Mildred sets out to paint the ceiling of the tiny church, at first she intends to paint a small part of it, but after rumblings of discontent from the suspicious locals, she commits herself the mammoth task of finishing the whole ceiling.
A unique story, following the life of a determined woman.
Thanks to Urbane Publications and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.
July 24, 2016
I liked the fact that this was based on the true story of a talented and brave Victorian woman, and looked up the church and its magnificent painted ceiling prior to reading. However, I found the book was full of errors in grammar, punctuation and detail, which sadly let it down, and I lost the will to finish it. I think it would have worked better as an illustrated non-fiction account.
A preview copy was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
A preview copy was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
September 11, 2016
I found this book dragged on a bit for me.
This novel is set in the 1800s in suffolk.
It is an entertaining story of Mildred and her husband, Mildred being the HUntingfield Paintress.
Thank you Netgalley the Author and publisher for a chance to read this book.
This novel is set in the 1800s in suffolk.
It is an entertaining story of Mildred and her husband, Mildred being the HUntingfield Paintress.
Thank you Netgalley the Author and publisher for a chance to read this book.
April 24, 2016
Thanks Urbane Publications and netgalley for this ARC.
Short and full of girl power!
A woman born before her time that deserved her story told.
Short and full of girl power!
A woman born before her time that deserved her story told.
July 30, 2019
The Huntingfield Paintress is a novel with a blurb that captured my attention but which doesn't really give a great deal away. I'm wondering how much to say about the plot in my review as the task that Mildred Holland undertakes really happened and is well documented, and yet it's something I knew nothing about and so I approached the story completely fresh.
Mildred and her husband, William come to Huntingfield, a small Suffolk village, so that he can take up his position as Rector of the church there. They had spent the previous eight years travelling on the continent, seeing sights that most people at the time couldn't hope to see, for this is the mid-1800s. After such incredible experiences, Mildred finds Huntingfield too quiet, she is stifled and feels she does not have a role to play. Of course, she's the Rector's wife and there are demands that come with that but she feels adrift.
Until, that is, she takes on a huge project, connected to the church. She decides to paint the ceiling. For a woman to do such a thing at that time, well it was quite shocking, especially for the closeted villagers. What often amazes me in historical fiction is the scorn and hatred for a strong woman, not least by fellow women. Thank goodness we have moved on from that.
Mildred is indeed a strong woman. I thought she was magnificent. This is the author's imagining as not much is known about the real Mildred, but surely she must have been incredibly plucky to even consider going against the conventions of the time and taking on such a gargantuan task.
I'll admit I found the first half of the book a little slow. It sets the scene for Mildred's growing discomfort with her purpose in life and is necessary to fully portray that, but I was always waiting for something to happen and then it did and it was wonderful. I flew through the second half of the story and loved every bit of it, leading up to an ending that left me feeling really quite emotional.
This is fiction with a root based in reality, something I really enjoy. The writing is beautiful and the characterisations are perfectly done. I found The Huntingfield Paintress to be an absorbing and fascinating read, one that showcases the legacy that Mildred Holland left behind.
Mildred and her husband, William come to Huntingfield, a small Suffolk village, so that he can take up his position as Rector of the church there. They had spent the previous eight years travelling on the continent, seeing sights that most people at the time couldn't hope to see, for this is the mid-1800s. After such incredible experiences, Mildred finds Huntingfield too quiet, she is stifled and feels she does not have a role to play. Of course, she's the Rector's wife and there are demands that come with that but she feels adrift.
Until, that is, she takes on a huge project, connected to the church. She decides to paint the ceiling. For a woman to do such a thing at that time, well it was quite shocking, especially for the closeted villagers. What often amazes me in historical fiction is the scorn and hatred for a strong woman, not least by fellow women. Thank goodness we have moved on from that.
Mildred is indeed a strong woman. I thought she was magnificent. This is the author's imagining as not much is known about the real Mildred, but surely she must have been incredibly plucky to even consider going against the conventions of the time and taking on such a gargantuan task.
I'll admit I found the first half of the book a little slow. It sets the scene for Mildred's growing discomfort with her purpose in life and is necessary to fully portray that, but I was always waiting for something to happen and then it did and it was wonderful. I flew through the second half of the story and loved every bit of it, leading up to an ending that left me feeling really quite emotional.
This is fiction with a root based in reality, something I really enjoy. The writing is beautiful and the characterisations are perfectly done. I found The Huntingfield Paintress to be an absorbing and fascinating read, one that showcases the legacy that Mildred Holland left behind.
September 6, 2018
A pleasant fictional read about the actual painting of a Suffolk church ceiling by a vicar’s wife in the mid-nineteenth century. It recounts the practical and emotional difficulties of a young lively-spirited woman, the vicar’s wife Mildred, trying to find her place and meaning within the village community. She does so eventually by taking on the task of painting the church ceiling with images from bible stories and of Christian iconography. She achieves this despite resentment and hostility towards her from the local community. I enjoyed the book having recently visited the church and been amazed at the beauty and intensity of the paintwork, and the sheer enormity of taking on such a task despite Mildred’s failing health.
December 4, 2019
I loved this first novel, as it has two elements close to my heart - art and Suffolk, where I was born. After several years spent in Europe, William and Mildred Holland move to Huntingfield, in Suffolk, he as rector of St Mary's Church there. It is very dilapidated, so that time and money must be spent on it, but Mildred finds that as a woman, she is excluded from the plans and renovations. She becomes bored with the life there, but ultimately decides that as an amateur artist, she should paint the ceiling of the church. It takes many years and Herculean task and is met with disapproval and mistrust. However she prevails, and the most beautiful ceiling emerges at the end, using the most gorgeous colours and a lot of gold leaf, painted in the Gothic style. This is a true story and is still there for us all to view - do go on the Internet to view the most incredible and beautiful church ceiling in this country.
October 21, 2020
I bought this book after visiting the church in Huntingfield and seeing the amazing painted ceilings. I have to say that the ceilings are far superior to the book. It is rather lightweight, a bit "chic-lit" at times with no concept of what people might actually have been like in the middle of the nineteenth century, and very sloppily edited. Apart from rather pedestrian and often cliched writing, the chronology was all over the place. Babies turned into young women within three years, an amputated leg was referred to five years after the event as having happened two years before, etc. It needed a really good editor. But it was a pleasant and undemanding read.
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