Greater Gains by K.M. Peyton

Very much in the tradition of Jane Austen, Greater Gains is essentially a story of passion and longing, set against the backdrop of 19th Century rural Norfolk. The heroine, Clara Bywater, starts out poor, widowed, and pregnant by one of two possible fathers, neither of which is her dead husband. As if Clara’s problems weren’t enough for her long suffering parents, her sister Ellen is then transported to Australia, for accidentally killing a man. Such dramatic beginnings give way to a more gently-paced plot of romantic entanglement and family duties. Clara marries a man she does not love in order to save her brother, whilst secretly pining for a long-lost love, and only finds solace in her beloved horses. Greater Gains is the sequel to Small Gains, but it can be enjoyed perfectly well as as stand-alone novel, thanks to the author’s skill at subtly weaving in the backstory. I found myself more intrigued by Ellen’s antipodean subplot (of which there is little), than Clara’s constant domestic vexations, but was nevertheless curiously absorbed by the colourful characters and engaging dialogue. Romantically-inclined teenagers with a penchant for ponies will particularly enjoy this spirited historical drama.