The angel of Waterloo by Jackie French

Henrietta Bartlett is a surgeon’s daughter and a survivor of the Napoleonic Wars. But she is more than that, Henrietta went by many different names, the soldiers called her the Angel of Waterloo, her husband she loved called her Hen and the patients she treated in secret called her Auntie Love. Hen was so many things to so many people. She was always helping where ever she could.  Hen always saw the best in people, and on occasions this did not work out for the best.  She started to learn that not everyone was good and did what they said they would.

The new colony of New South Wales sounded like an adventure, a new beginning. When she arrived in New South Wales she didn’t find what she had expected.  The poor people were not well looked after and she found herself helping them whenever she was able.  Hen had grand plans for her life in the new colony and what she wanted to achieve. She slowly became aware that there were people in the new colony that were not happy with her plans. She also started to learn that she could not trust everyone, people don’t always do what they say.

During Hen’s long journey she begins to understand more about herself and the people around her.  She grew as a person and manages to build a life for herself in the new colony of New South Wales.

This book was difficult to put down and had a number of twists that you don’t see coming.  

The little recipes and tips at the beginning of each chapter were great, I think I might even try some of the recipes particularly the Portable Lemonade.

I highly recommend this book.

Karen Colliver