Midwife of the Blue Ridge

by Christine Blevins

A stirring debut novel-of love, struggle, and savagery on America's colonial frontier- (Bernard Cornwell).

They call her Dark Maggie for her thick black hair, but the name also has a more sinister connotation. As the lone survivor of an attack on her village, she was thought to be cursed, and unfit for marriage. Maggie is also gifted with quick wits and skilled in medicine, trained as a midwife. Venturing to the colonies as an indentured...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425221687
• ISBN13: 9780425221686
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Berkley / Nal
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

great book

I was born in the Blue Ridge mountains, with Scottish heritage. I LOVED IT!!!!!

Midwife of the Blue Ridge is a Great Read!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Was reminiscent of one of the Outlander novels, the one that takes place in North Carolina. The book was entertaining and engrossing, especially for those who enjoy historical fiction.

Amazing Adventure

This novel will grab you from the very first page and won't let go. In the opinion of someone who reads a lot of books, but never really cared much for the romantic genre, this is not a romantic novel. Instead this is a sweeping epic about love, freedom, redemption, adventure, and personal strength. The main character poses herself as one of the most impressive heroine's of anything I have read in a long time. She embodies so many qualities of the classic heroic character without ever becoming unbelievable or campy and is the perfect representation of what is so fantastic about this novel, that on every page you can see how much the author truly cares about the characters she has created. I cannot tell you how many times I have lost interest in a book because the author just used supporting characters as fillers that had no worth and contributed nothing to the overall setting or feel of the story. "Midwife" on the other hand weaves a complex and tangible setting that lends itself to the immense scope of the novel. Throughout the entirety of the story amazing and wonderful things happen, struggle of titanic proportions occur and never once are you pulled out of the world that Christine Blevins created. This is clearly attributed to the shear volume of knowledge she possesses about this period in time. In short, this is a novel I would recommend to anyone. there is truly something within these pages that anybody can identify with and enjoy if your looking for a great last minute gift idea or even just want to treat yourself to a great read go get this book you will not regret it.

A great romantic pioneer read.......

This was a very engrossing novel. I had a little trouble getting into it at first, mostly due to trying to get used to the heavy Scottish accents and language. Once I got past the first couple of chapters, I had a really hard time putting the book down. I just had to know what was going to happen next. This book tells the story of Maggie Duncan, a Scottish woman, who leaves Scotland for America as an indentured servant. The story starts with Maggie as a young girl, being the sole survivor of a violent raid on her village. She escapes, and saves a wounded soldier in the process. She gets him to his home before he dies, and his wife, Hannah, takes her in. Hannah is a midwife, and teaches the craft to Maggie. After Hannah's death, Maggie is left in a village that believes she is cursed by death, and scorns her. In despair, she decides to take an offer to become an indentured servant in America, in exchange for passage on the ship, the Good Intent. On board the ship, she befriends the captain and the crew and the other passengers, save one. Julian Cavendish, the son of a Duke, decides he wants her for his slave, and she does all she can to avoid him during the passage. Once the ship reaches the colonies, the captain does Maggie a favor and makes it where Cavendish is unable to purchase her contract. She becomes the property of Seth Martin, who purchased her contract to have someone to help his pregnant wife with the chores and the other children. They leave the coast of Virginia, and head to the Blue Ridge mountains. Once at Seth's homestead, Maggie becomes more like a part of the family. She is even looked upon as a valuable member of the community of Roundabout, for her medical knowledge. Many different things happen to the Martin family and Maggie, as they live in a perilous time. The Indians are on the warpath, and the Duke is dispossessing people from their homesteads that were mistakenly set up on his land. The story goes on to detail many of the things that befall the little community and the people living in it. It tells how Maggie goes from the Martins, to being bought by Julian Cavendish, to living among Indians, to getting rescued by the man she has fallen in love with. I really like to read stories that are set in the time period of this story, the early years of the American settlers. The trials of trying to stay alive in wild country, and trying not to get scalped by Indians really interest me. Then when you add romance to the mix, it makes for one hell of a good read. And that, to me, was what this book was. I read some reviews saying that this was very cliche and predictable. While there were a few parts that might have been cliche, they are also the same parts that are the reason why most people read romantic fiction. I never get tired of the girl getting her guy, and having a happy ending of sorts. I just like to see how it manages to happen. And this story, to me was pretty good about creative ways of

I could not put the book down

The story was fantastic. I truly enjoyed this historical novel. It could quite possibly become a series...I would love to know what happens to Tom and Maggie, Seth and Naomi's children. I look forward to more books by this author.

Great story full of vivid details

In a nutshell: I couldn't put it down - literally! Three nights in a row, my poor husband woke up around midnight to find me still reading in bed with a tiny light so I could finish the book! The story begins in 1746 Scotland, and continues in America 1763. The story surrounds Maggie Duncan, a young Scottish girl orphaned at an early age due to the massacre of her village by the English. After helping a wounded Scottish man to his home, she learns her skills as a midwife from his wife Hannah, who dies and leaves her alone in a village where the people believe she is bad luck. She travels to America as an indentured servant, intending to trade four years of service in exchange for freedom. She overcomes every hurdle encountered in this new life. This is a story of endurance, hope and love. Christine Blevins has cleverly included many details from the period to give readers a very vivid dose of what life was like in those times. She also gives us a glimpse of viewpoints from both the American settler and American Indian. This was an amazing book, and I particularly appreciated the fact that she wove both the good and bad into her story, which gave the reader a better sense of the times and the realities that people faced. Perfect for : Book Club Reading (Note, the author has included a list of thoughtful questions at the back of the book) , Lit or History class reading, Personal reading For a complete review visit my blog at [...]

excellent colonial romance

The Scottish assume that Maggie Duncan is cursed because she as an eight years old child was the only survivor of the overflow of the Culloden massacre in her nearby village of Bailebeg. She was taken in by Hannah Cameron, the midwife of the Village of Black Corries; thus no surprise she became a midwife too. However, by 1760 the twenty-two year old Maggie knows she has no future in Scotland because her fortune to survive years earlier is treated by others as if she has the black eye. She pays her crossing fee to the colonies with four years of indentured service. While on the ship crossing the Atlantic, drunken viscount Julian Cavendish tries to rape her. In the Virginia Colony, Seth Martin needs Maggie's skills to save his wife so he buys her servitude contract. His best friend Tom Roberts is attracted to the Scotswoman and she reciprocates, but Lord Julian plans to finish what he started at sea. This excellent colonial romance works because Christine Blevins paints a powerfully vivid portrait of the often horrific lot of women on both sides of the Atlantic, but especially in the colonies. Lord Julian feels it is his God given right to rape an unmarried Scottish commoner; he sets somewhat the tone. Contrasting him are the kind hearted frontiersmen Seth and Tom. However, the key to this character driven historical is optimistic magnificent Maggie, whose realism re her plight is tempered by her Pollyanna hopes for the future. Harriet Klausner