An Untitled Lady by Nicky Penttila

 

This was a book win from Historical Fiction Connection.  Thank you Amy for this win.

This is a romance set in a very important period of history in Britain. The romance is started by the strange turnaround in Madeline Wetherby's life. She intends to marry the Earl, but instead marries his brother a merchant trader of the dreaded commerce and thus becomes several steps lower in the rigidly marked social life of the county.

Nash is a manufacturer and trades in textiles. He is also one of those in the middle ground. At a time of conflict he is trying to broker a peace between mill workers and management and failing badly. Management sees him as a traitor to their cause and style and the workers are always distrustful of the aristocracy to whom he belongs. Maddie his wife with connections to the mill workers themselves is caught in the middle, not knowing to whom her loyalties lie.

Set in tumultuous times in the Industrial Revolution in Britain the story details the life of mill workers - the spinners and weavers that made British cloth world famous. The stark reality of the poverty and way of life is told as a backdrop to the romance between Nash and Madeline.

Enjoyed this book.