The Colour of Milk – Nell Leyshon – Cleopatra Loves Books

Historical Fiction 3*'s — Historical Fiction
3*’s

The Colour of Milk tells the story of Mary a girl that lives on a farm with her three older sisters in 1830. Written mainly in lower case and incorrectly punctuated to illustrate Mary’s lack of education it takes a while to get used to the writing. Split into five parts starting with spring 1830 following the seasons until spring 1831 the bewilderment of the farm girl being sent at just 15 to look after the vicar’s wife, who needed care due to ill health is readily apparant.

The book eloquently demonstrates the position in society of girls in the 1800’s; uneducated and at the mercy of the men in their lives. Mary sees things as they are, she is a plucky girl unafraid to speak her mind and manages to bring a fresh perspective to the vicarage.

The book is much smaller than a normal paperback and not very long at 172 pages but the story it tells, although far from uplifting was one that made me think.

I received this book in return for an honest review from Amazon Vine