Title: The House on the Green
Author: Betty S. Hilton
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
ISBN: 1665582537
Genre: Literary Fiction; Historical
Pages: 196
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Pacific Book Review
In The House on the Green by author Betty S. Hilton, the protagonist, Penny, receives a new opportunity to venture on her own for the first time when she moves to London to work as a maid. This is just the beginning of where her life takes her with a few complications in the road when she falls for a handsome doctor, courted by her good friend John Cooper, and raises a family with a backdrop of a quest for fortune and a brewing battle. Penny’s path comes with struggle, love, and new beginnings as she strives to build a fulfilling life. Will is a charming doctor who longs to marry Penny but he’s drawn away when his brother delivers news of wilderness and gold. He embarks onto a journey of fortune, adventure, and makes a promise to return to marry Penny.
The story focuses upon Penny’s life with a historical backdrop as she grows from a young girl to a married woman. The beginning of the story starts with her as a fourteen- year-old girl getting work as a shop assistant as a way of introducing her view of the world before jumping to her leaving home for the first time. Betty S. Hilton weaves the historical details as basic parts of Penny’s life experience such as the disappearance of her friend in London, Will’s search for fortune, and the vying courtships of John and Will for Penny’s hand in marriage. The struggles of the various characters around her help
pinpoint the time period such as her sister suffering from consumption and the struggles of her friend Molly who faces going to the workhouses after giving birth. Each of these aspects are woven into Penny’s life as a natural part of her experiences with the author exploring the historical elements through a character-driven plot.
The literary style of the writing provides an emotional and reflective core for the characters versus being driven by the setting or the action. The end of the story promises a hopeful future for the family when Penny is gifted a true family home that delivers a promise for a brighter future. The House on the Green by author Betty S. Hilton weaves a literary style and a historical setting for a character-driven story about discovery, growing up, the search for fortune, a love story, and the strength of family.
