Blackie O’Neill had a difficult childhood losing both parents and burying his sister. His luck began to change when he travels to Leeds to work for his Uncle Patrick. Blackie is a success becoming a designer and builder in his uncle’s company. He also has the good fortune to meet a kitchen maid, Emma Harte, who has big ideas of her own.
Emma Harte is the main character in A Woman of Substance and this is the prequel. I loved Blackie’s character as he grows from a teenager to a successful business man and friend of Emma. The problem is that the book isn’t just the story of Blackie and Emma. The book is filled with other characters who will become important in later books about Emma, but the sheer number makes it difficult to remember who they are. Frankly, I thought it distracted from Blackie’s story.
The book paints a picture of the class differences between the wealthy and poor and gives an excellent picture of Leeds at the end of the Victorian era. However, the story slows in the middle I felt the author was trying to do too many things in a single book. Still, it you’ve read The Woman of Substance, you’ll enjoy learning about the early years of Blackie and Emma.
I received this book from Net Galley for this review.
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