Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I found The Midwife's Revolt, set in Braintree, Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War to be a thoroughly engrossing tale. It is the tale of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bolyston, a midwife and a widow of the Revolution. Lizzie is a very unconventional young lady, she rides astride a horse like any man, has been known to don men's clothes when it has been highly convenient and who wants to go undercover to help the cause of the patriots of the Revolution. Lizzy is also friends with Abigail Adams and her farm - which she maintains herself with the help of two servants, one her midwife in training, Martha who comes from a Loyalist family, and the other a farmhand - adjoins the land of the famous Colonel Quincy. Given all of this the story gives a very accurate account of the Revolutionary War from the perspective of those left behind in the small towns up and down America. How slowly news reached them, how deeply every victory or defeat affected them, and what life in general was like for those left behind. Daynard does a wonderfully convincing job the story and you forget you are reading a fictional account of historical events because she has put such time and effort into learning every detail she could of events of the times to make the story ring with a truly amazing amount of authenticity. By the end of the story I found myself wondering which characters and events were real and which were fictional. I won't give any of it away, but I will tell you that if you are fan of wonderfully accurate fiction about the American Revolution and about the roles women played during it, then you have got to read this book. I have never read anything quite like it and don't know that I will find such a literary masterpiece again. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is on my list of books you must read and own. *I received a copy of this book free from author in return for an honest and frank review*