Trade Paperback
384 pages
Mar 2004
Tyndale House Publishers

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Review:

For centuries, the Hewes family of Chatham Hall and the Sherbornes of Thorne Lodge have lived side by side outside the village of Otley. And for centuries they have hated each other, not speaking or even looking at one another. Then one Sunday Randolph Sherborne accidentally steps on and rips the gown of Olivia Hewes. Though his family congratulates him on humiliating the family they hold responsible for his father’s death, Randolph cannot believe Olivia is as evil as he has been taught and sends a letter of apology.

After a few more chance meetings, a tenuous friendship begins, fraught by lingering hatred and misunderstandings on both sides. Then the beliefs of a visiting scientist divide the church, and Olivia and Randolph, thrust by circumstances into leadership roles, must decide where to take their stand. But can a village divided as Otley ever find peace?

A delightful tale set in formal and romantic Victorian England, Wild Heather is a perfect blend of three-dimensional characters, Romeo-and-Juliet style plot, and a relevant spiritual theme. The strongest element is Catherine Palmer’s creation of Olivia, a woman whose once strong faith has been beaten down to near hopelessness by trials – her father’s untimely death, her mother’s intemperance, her brother’s feeble-mindedness, and the responsibility of running the estate.

Women readers and those who’ve read Palmer’s earlier Otley novel, English Ivy, will enjoy this carriage ride into the past. -- Katie Hart, Christian Book Previews.com

Book Jacket:

Olivia Hewes has one dream: to make Chatham Manor's wool-producing venture profitable. When she meets Randolph Sherbourne, the heir of her largest competitor, the two are drawn toward a forbidden love that will mean betraying both their families and the centuries-old feud that has separated them. But when the shocking truth about the death of Randolph's father is revealed, their future happiness seems doomed.