Reaching womanhood should be a time of promise and possibility. For Margery Blake, it is the beginning of a nightmare.
Strong-willed and fiercely intelligent, Margery is thrust into an arranged marriage to a man nearly twice her age - a stranger chosen not for love, but for advantage. As her father's ambitions seal her fate, she quickly realises she is nothing more than a pawn in her family's political game. Stripped of choice, voice, and legal rights, Margery is forced into a world where obedience is demanded and silence is survival.
But the reality of marriage proves far darker than she could ever have imagined. Within the confines of her husband's home, Margery comes face to face with the brutal truths of a society that defines a woman's worth by her submission.
Alone and vulnerable, she finds her only refuge in the pages of a hidden diary. There, she records the truth of her turbulent marriage - her fears, her defiance, and her determination to endure.
"He may own my body, but he can never own my thoughts and my feelings..."
A powerful and unflinching portrayal of patriarchal 19th-century life, told through the eyes of a young bride fighting to preserve her spirit.
The first in the 'Diary' series.
Awards & Recognition
Winner of the 2017 Marie M Irvine Literary Excellence AwardWinner of the 2022 Firebird Award for Women's FictionReader's Favourite Five-Star Review, 2018Adapted into a radio play by StoryMore, 2019