Set in the mid-1800s, The Wild Poppy is Melody Kinsman, daughter of The Brigadier, who first took a job as a teacher at Miss Lawson’s Progressive Academy for the Refined Young Ladies of Gentlefolk. The only good thing that came from this job, which didn’t last very long due to her unwillingness to follow archaic rules, was her friendship with The Hon. Celia Sinclair, daughter of a Baron. Four years later and they are both living in London. Melody has taken a job as a governess to the obnoxious children of the editor of The Times in a bid to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist at a time when the role was forbidden to women, Celia was on a mission to find true love, and they are both chaperoned by Melody’s Aunt Oliver, the Brigadier’s sister.
After months of combing the streets of London for stories and approaching numerous editors to at least give her a chance, she finally confronts Guy Wingate, owner of the Cork Street Journal. Guy reluctantly gives her the chance to prove herself, by overcoming significant, difficult challenges as he tests her resolve and commitment to the newspaper.
He gives her a job, but now she must harder than ever to keep proving her worth and commitment. This commitment ultimately challenges her future happiness with the man she gave her heart to all those years ago, and indeed, her very life is in jeopardy. Will she choose to continue her commitment to the perils of journalism, or opt for an easy life – and does she now have a choice either way?
The Wild Poppy is an exciting, fast paced story with as many twists and turns as a cobbled street in old London Town. The characters are well-written, engaging and full of secrets. Snappy dialogue helps to keep the story moving. The plot-driven narrative holds the reader’s attention, drawing them into the story of a woman of ambition living in the narrow-minded man’s world of the mid- to late 1800s. I have no hesitation in recommending this book and award 5 stars.
