A Most Determined Woman

by Emma Blair

A reissue of a saga which has been unavailable for almost 4 years, following the heroine's progress as she charms and fights her way through the intrigue of the business world, through triumph and tragedy and to a dramatic climax during the Boer War. Previous titles include THE PRINCESS OF POOR STREET and WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE.

512 pages, Hardcover

First published May 9, 1988

About the author

Iain Blair was born on 12 August 1942 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He was an actor and writer, married with the also writer Jane Blanchard. Initially he wrote plays for theatre and television, but later began to write novels. He started out writing suspense novels as Iain Blair, but after being unsuccessful with this genre, switched to writing popular historical romance fiction sagas. But according to his Web site, Iain Blair's publishers decided he'd sell far more books simply by being published as a woman because is a women's fiction genre. "I was given absolutely no choice in the matter. They'd decided on a sex change and even the name. So that was that. Emma I became and Emma I've stayed." His true identity remained a secret until 1998 when his novel Flower of Scotland was nominated for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association Awards, which required him to admit to being the author. He passed away on 3 July 2011 in Torquay, Devon, England.

Reviews

[Jonnine Ayling · Rating 3 out of 5]

very bad ending - I bought another copy thinking pages were missing - no followup book good story deserved a finale !! I wont buy this author again plus he is a male not a female as the author on book cover leads you to believe

[Ashleigh Neame · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the three-star rating, I actually really like this book. Well, the first half anyway.

I feel like this book should have been split into two. The first half is a classic rags-to-riches story, taking place in Glasgow, Scotland. Sarah grows up as a miner's daughter, until one day her step-father has a stroke. Instead of marrying her long-time love interest and raising a family, she's facing a bleak future of going into service and working extremely long days to support her mother and step-father and their household. Her luck turns around when her long-lost father turns up on her doorstep with an unimaginable offer: if she returns with him to his house, Stellismuir, he will send money to her mother every month to keep their household afloat. Overnight, Sarah's life changes. She lives with her business magnate father who introduces her to a world with more wonders than she could ever imagine. Throughout this half of the book, Sarah meets many potential love interests, eventually choosing to marry one of them. However, life events prevent her from doing so.

After a time skip, the second half of the book takes place in South Africa during the Second Anglo-Boer War. Sarah has married one of her former love interests and he has just died, leaving her a widow and a single mother. To help her deal with her grief, Sarah's father sends her to South Africa to oversee some issues that their business is experiencing. While in South Africa, Sarah reunites with yet another former love interest.

Whenever I go back to this book, I usually stop reading after the first half. A Most Determined Woman really does feel like two books squished together, and it's not doing either half of the story justice. The first half is a complete story on its own. All the plot lines are wrapped up enough that the reader is left satisfied, but still has some room for the reader to imagine what Sarah's life would be like in the future.

The second half? Well...

If you've seen those viral books on Wattpad, Dreame, GoodNovel, etc., no doubt there would be comments from readers asking for a sequel. Some authors give into that and write a sequel that really doesn't need to be written, and perhaps it shouldn't.

The second half of A Most Determined Woman feels like an unnecessary sequel, one with a very weak plot.

But, despite my issue with the two halves of the book, I really enjoy reading it. Sarah Hawke is fantastically written. She takes what life throws at her and handles it skilfully. The supporting characters are fully developed, flaws and all. The characters, the setting, the topics and themes...they're all accurate, well-researched, and incredibly detailed. It was very easy to immerse myself in the story and time passed quickly while I was reading it.

I heartily recommend this book to readers of historical fiction, with a caution that you may want to stop before the time-skip/second half of the book.

[Susan Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well it started well. Again though there was an awful lot of padding. The final Chapter, 11, was just rubbish. I was waiting for her to be reunited with her son. All that at the end following the ambush of the train, their capture. Just so dull, boring and repetitive. I’m not ashamed to say that this book is now consigned to the bin - not even going to pass to charity shop! Awful.

[charlene morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Emma Blair

Emma Blair has a real ability to make you feel part of the story!! Absolutely fantastic book read for second time!!

[Sue Houghton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read just a bit of a let down at the end

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

It starts strong but ends in misery with a whimper and her ending up with a rapist.
If it had finished half way through I'd have given it 4 stars

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. The last part of the book (the Boer war) spoilt it a little for me though.