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Master of Marshlands
Blair Marshall disapproved of Lynn.
He had made his mind up about her during their very first meeting and he wasn't about to change it.
City girls spelled trouble with a capital T and he avoided them as much as possible. They could be bad medicine for a countryman. The fact that Lynn was friendly with Delphine, the estranged wife of Blair's estate manager, only strengthened his opinion.
Lynn might have laughed off another man's criticism--but Blair was different. Surely she wasn't falling for a man who so clearly despised her?
He had made his mind up about her during their very first meeting and he wasn't about to change it.
City girls spelled trouble with a capital T and he avoided them as much as possible. They could be bad medicine for a countryman. The fact that Lynn was friendly with Delphine, the estranged wife of Blair's estate manager, only strengthened his opinion.
Lynn might have laughed off another man's criticism--but Blair was different. Surely she wasn't falling for a man who so clearly despised her?
189 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1991
About the author
Miriam Macgregor
77 books3 followers1912- 2001
Miriam MacGregor wrote several romances for Mills & Boon and Harlequin in the 1980's and 1990's. Her stories are mostly set in New Zealand.
She also wrote several well regarded non fiction books about New Zealand.
Mrs Macgregor was married twice. Rachel McAlpine states in The Passionate Pen that Mrs Macgregor moved to England in the 1990s to live with a daughter.
added information from The Passionate Pen, the back cover of Petticoat Pioneers & National Library New Zealand.
Miriam MacGregor wrote several romances for Mills & Boon and Harlequin in the 1980's and 1990's. Her stories are mostly set in New Zealand.
She also wrote several well regarded non fiction books about New Zealand.
Mrs Macgregor was married twice. Rachel McAlpine states in The Passionate Pen that Mrs Macgregor moved to England in the 1990s to live with a daughter.
added information from The Passionate Pen, the back cover of Petticoat Pioneers & National Library New Zealand.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 8, 2024
I'm kind of struggling to express how upsetting I found this. Given its explicit and implicit themes of domestic abuse, Master of Marshlands is much more akin to a horror than a romance.
Almost every female character has her personhood eroded under the excuse of love, especially Lynn and Delphine. Blair's disdain towards working women pressures Lynn to hide her career and interests, eventually leading to depressive episodes and starvation; Stan's abuse toward Delphine forces her to flee New Zealand for her own safety. Lynn bemoans multiple times that men only value each other, and is proven right. This is shown most clearly through Blair's steadfast faith in Stan's decency (despite proof of his abuse) and Max's hatred for Delphine and praise for Blair (again, despite his clear cruelty). Lynn comes to the conclusion that only women look out for other women, and yet as readers we're encouraged to trust these men as husbands and fathers. The message that pervades is clear: the only way for women to be happy is to live entirely for their husbands. To work is to be dissatisfied. To have independence is to be naive. To live in an urban community with other like-minded women is, ultimately, to be corrupted. Lynn must accept Blair's constant disrespect and distrust towards her as her only option, same as Delphine must accept Stan's promise that he will end his abuse, or else they will be lonely forever. Total submission to domineering men is the only road to happiness.
Ada haunts the book as its lone perfect woman: having died young, she remains pure, and having died at home, she can never leave. She is a statue; she cannot disobey men or break their illusion of her. They praise her dedication to the post, but only Maisie, another woman, understands her as the "poor girl" she is. Her female friends flee for the city and she oversees the women who remain: Lynn and Delphine, housewives learning to be content with their fear. Poor girls indeed.
Almost every female character has her personhood eroded under the excuse of love, especially Lynn and Delphine. Blair's disdain towards working women pressures Lynn to hide her career and interests, eventually leading to depressive episodes and starvation; Stan's abuse toward Delphine forces her to flee New Zealand for her own safety. Lynn bemoans multiple times that men only value each other, and is proven right. This is shown most clearly through Blair's steadfast faith in Stan's decency (despite proof of his abuse) and Max's hatred for Delphine and praise for Blair (again, despite his clear cruelty). Lynn comes to the conclusion that only women look out for other women, and yet as readers we're encouraged to trust these men as husbands and fathers. The message that pervades is clear: the only way for women to be happy is to live entirely for their husbands. To work is to be dissatisfied. To have independence is to be naive. To live in an urban community with other like-minded women is, ultimately, to be corrupted. Lynn must accept Blair's constant disrespect and distrust towards her as her only option, same as Delphine must accept Stan's promise that he will end his abuse, or else they will be lonely forever. Total submission to domineering men is the only road to happiness.
Ada haunts the book as its lone perfect woman: having died young, she remains pure, and having died at home, she can never leave. She is a statue; she cannot disobey men or break their illusion of her. They praise her dedication to the post, but only Maisie, another woman, understands her as the "poor girl" she is. Her female friends flee for the city and she oversees the women who remain: Lynn and Delphine, housewives learning to be content with their fear. Poor girls indeed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2025
Lynn simply wanted to repay her friend Delphine for helping her become a children's books writer so she agreed to write reports about her son, Tony, whom she had left behind when she left her husband. It wasn't difficult for Lynn to accept, especially when she was going to stay with her grandfather in Frog Hollow, a properity adjoining Marshland where Tony lived. However, her mission was not simple with the existance of Blair Marchell, the infuriating master of Marshlands and the current guardian of Tony. He had the opinion that she was interfering and forbad her from contacting or encouraging Tony to go to Frog Hollow simply because she was a city girl! Which was unreasonable to her so she chose to ignore him!
I'm shocked such an illogical story was ever written - not alone pass the editor's desk and the publication company! What a trainwreck! The writing style is confusing, all the characters' mentality is doubtable, and the events are way too strange to even rationalize! The writer seems to have written it for demented readers who seeked no logic or pleasure from reading! Horrible book! Not even worth of one star!
I'm shocked such an illogical story was ever written - not alone pass the editor's desk and the publication company! What a trainwreck! The writing style is confusing, all the characters' mentality is doubtable, and the events are way too strange to even rationalize! The writer seems to have written it for demented readers who seeked no logic or pleasure from reading! Horrible book! Not even worth of one star!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews