ELEANOR COURTOWN
By Lucy E. M. Black
Review by Heather Stuart
Lucy E.M. Black is a local author from Port Perry in the Durham Region, Ontario. After reading her first book of short stories, “The Marzipan Fruit Basket” published in May 2017, Lucy agreed to join our book club for lunch to discuss the stories. The discussion was exciting and inciteful with additional information about the stories. However, I found the content quite dark and hesitated to read her first novel “Eleanor Courtown” also published in October 2017. Even the cover was a gray and greenish-black rendition of an 1870s lady’s dress.
Then 5 years later, in reading the December 2023 Historical Fiction column in the Toronto Star, I was shocked to see “The Brickworks” featured as a new book by Lucy E.M. Black. The author’s notoriety had improved causing me to search local libraries for this book. Although I couldn’t find her latest book, I found two others “Eleanor Courtown” and “Stella’s Carpet,”
Unexpectedly, Eleanor Courtown was a book that I read quickly and could not put down. It was a delightful historical romance set in the Durham Region during the 1870’s. While it was a romance, I loved the expert knowledge of the local area and the details about the historical era in Canada which conflicted with life in Britain. The themes in the story (domestic violence, medicine, social class, and travel) would make for interesting discussion for any book club. The story captivated me and the writing was masterful. In addition, the bibliography at the end of the book was impressive. Lucy also credited another famous Canadian author, Donna Morrisey for her mentorship.
Subsequently, I asked my local library to order “The Brickworks” as I felt it was important to support local authors. Lucy E.M. Black’s website indicates she is willing to meet with book clubs which would be a bonus for anyone reading her books.
