Review: The Tea Planter's Wife

The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 star review. First, I’d like to thank Netgallery for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Tea Planter's Wife is the first of Dinah Jefferies books I have read and it will not be the last. This is set in one of my favorite eras to read, the 1920’s. A young girl, Gwen, who meets her husband, a widower, in England where she lives, marries him, after a whirlwind romance . Her husband, Laurence runs a plantation in Ceylon, which is known for its teas. Gwen lives very comfortably in the house with all the comforts and servants available to see to her every need. Although she soon realizes that her husband seems less interested in her. Her sister-in-law is another story, she doesn’t want Gwen there at all and she has her own agenda, and it does not include the new mistress of the house.

Soon after they are married, her husband mood changes from the man she met and fell in love with to a sometimes he becomes unpredictable, brooding, fitful. Gwen realizes something is wrong, very wrong. She discovers a trunk with an old dress in them it, a grave that seems to belong to a child, and other things that lead her to talk to Laurence about, but he refuses and withdraws from her. When Gwen becomes pregnant, Laurence is over joyed. Gwen soon has her own secret to keep at what the cost will be if someone finds out.

This book follows Gwen through several years, from pregnancy to her husband’s secrets, to the stock market crash, possible ruin, doubts, choices made. This book has just about everything in it, mystery, love, jealousy, secrets, uncertainty, lies, ups, downs, hope, and anything else you can think of. The author describes the scenes with very vivid detail, as though you are standing right there seeing it in living color. With so many twist, this book was a very good, read, that showed so many emotions from happiness to anger, from heartache to love, choice made to laughter. This was an enjoyable read.



View all my reviews