Time for a giveaway for our HNSA newsletter subscribers! Thanks to Echo Publishing, there are 5 copies on offer of Bernice Barry’s debut novel, Sarah Evans, which explores a woman’s struggle in the pitiless streets of C18th London, and her quest to overcome brutal challenges by finding her own value and fighting for her rights.
ABOUT SARAH EVANS
‘Liberty of mind. Is that not every woman’s right?’
London, 1798. Born into poverty, illiterate, eighteen-year-old Sarah Evans has been raised to believe she has no rights at all. She and her childhood friend, Lucy Burnes, struggle daily to find food and shelter, drawing strength and comfort from their friendship.
When she is falsely accused and found guilty of theft, Sarah is sentenced to transportation, but, instead, she is secretly transferred to Coldbath Fields, one of London’s most notorious prisons, at the request its sadistic governor, Thomas Aris. Placed in his household, she becomes entangled in a web of sexual exploitation, cruelty and corruption, where powerful men rule and the law disregards women.
When Sarah is presented with an opportunity to regain her freedom, she seizes it. But even beyond the prison walls, she discovers she cannot escape Aris’s control over herself and her children.
She can no longer turn to Lucy for support – her friend is a convict in New South Wales, her life’s journey taking her down a path as hopeful as Sarah’s is desperate. Instead, she finds kindness and protection among the network of women who, like her, are struggling to avoid starvation on the pitiless streets of London. At the lowest point of her life – accused of murder and facing the death penalty – these strong women don’t let her down.
And Sarah is a force in her own right. Drawn into a circle of political rebels, she is introduced to the concepts of justice and equality. Despite the brutal challenges that life throws at her, she learns her own value and begins to fight for her rights.
In the end, it is the power of thoughts and words that shapes Sarah Evans’s life, not the hardship she has known. And it is friendship that teaches her the most important kind of freedom: liberty of mind.
PRAISE FOR SARAH EVANS:
‘a moving work that illuminates the present as much as the past … a rare treat’ LUCY TRELOAR
ABOUT BERNICE BARRY
Bernice Barry moved to full-time writing after a career as a teacher, adviser and international consultant in the teaching of literacy, with many publications in the education field. Her previous books (The Mind That Shines, Pan Macmillan, 2016 and A Lady’s Pen, UWAP, 2023) reflect her passion for discovering and telling women’s stories. Originally from the UK, she has lived on Wadandi Country, on the coast near Margaret River WA, for twenty-three years, caring for a native garden in the bush. She is a regular presenter and speaker on a wide range of topics from wildflowers and botany to history and heritage. Sarah Evans is her first novel.
How To Enter:
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- Ensure you are subscribed to the HNSA newsletter.
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- Leave a comment on our Instagram [link], Facebook [link] or blog post [link] to go into the draw.
5 winners will be drawn via Random.org
- Leave a comment on our Instagram [link], Facebook [link] or blog post [link] to go into the draw.
Contest ends 27 September at 5pm AEST. Good luck!
The contest is limited to Australian and New Zealand readers only.
7 thoughts on “Giveaway – Sarah Evans by Bernice Barry”
A powerful meme that needs more exploration to bring to life the importance of relationships in times of great hardship and unceasing stigmatisation of colonial women from poverty. Congratulations on a superb take on the theme.
Sounds like an amazing read!
I so enjoy novels that explore women’s struggles in our historical past. A firm genre favourite and would love to win a copy. Thank you.
Congratulations Bernice. Good luck with your debut.
I have been inspired and given hope for the future of women by the myriad stories in the marketplace of historical fiction. It is a joy to see women’s accomplishments being recognised in the wider society today.
The best way to experience the past is to read meticulously researched historical fiction!
All my criteria for a fantastic historical book . Strong woman overcoming adversity and poverty with the hope of building a better future against all odds. Cheering already !!!