Can a beautiful young woman’s native wit and uncommon intelligence conquer an overpowering and deep-seated guilt that is destroying her life? That is the central question of Magdalenes, an historical mainstream novel with strong romantic and medical elements set in New Orleans between 1897 and 1906.
When Sarah Beth rents a room from Annedette Cheramie and meets the regal Creole lady’s grandson, Frank, her life is forever changed. Sarah Beth becomes Frank’s nurse, accountant and research assistant. Collecting his bills, helping him with patients using the latest in Victorian medical treatments and seeking a cure for a blinding eye disease, she falls in love with him. Now her terrible secret must be kept from the two people she holds most dear – her mother and Frank. Ever fearful that Frank will discover the awful truth about her, Sarah Beth helps him battle the 1905 Yellow Fever Epidemic, fighting ignorance, corruption and bigotry in a heroic struggle to help Frank banish his own demons. But each victory brings Sarah Beth’s secret closer to being discovered.
Magdalenes is not a typical romance, nor the usual medical thriller. Scrupulously researched, it blends the best elements of these genres into a compelling historical novel of tragedy, betrayal and redemption.
Excerpt
Part 1
Fall 1897
Chapter 1
HER PAW WAS DRUNK AGAIN ... happy drunk, but that would change. It always did.
Not quite thirteen years old and already life battered her, brutal cycles stretching as far into the past as she could remember and as far into the future as she could imagine. In her mind she began her week on Tuesday, sorry-day for paw. He apologized for everything he had done since Saturday, promised never to do it again and tried to make his family as happy as poor white trash with empty bellies could be. Wednesday was find-an-odd-job-day and, with luck, not-so-hungry-day. Thursday was work-or-hunt-day and usually full-pot-at-dinner-day. Friday was complain-day; never-had-a-man-worked-so-hard-for-a-family-so-ungrateful-day. Then came two-jug Saturday--anxious morning, agonizing afternoon, appalling night. Tomorrow the horror of Saturday would continue until her paw could only snore and drool, sleeping straight through until Monday, vomit-and-be-sick-day.
Professional Reviews
Victoria Taylor Murray
5 Stars! This wonderful book is a deeply moving story--rich with historical detail with just the right blend of drama and romance.
Victoria Taylor Murray
Author of Thief Of Hearts and Forbidden
Cindy Penn
5 Stars! Extraordinary! When circumstances and opportunity conspire, young Sarah Beth LaBranche loses her innocence to cruelty in MAGDALENES. But this isn't the tale of self-pity or justification. Nor is this tale of vicarious, perverted detail. Rather, this is a tale of redemption. Author Channing Hayden writes a tale laden with compassion for the travails of an innocent led astray, and yet this author never allows his heroine to decline responsibility for her actions. The result is a deeply moving novel, rich with historical detail, and generous with nuance. Profound philosophical musings intersperse medical drama and romance. Very highly recommended.
Cindy Penn
Senior Editor
WordWeaving
http://wordweaving.com
Danna Friborg-Lewis
Magdalenes: 5 stars
Running from an abusive, drunken father, young Sarah Beth LaBranch finds herself in New Orleans.
Set in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Sarah Beth struggles to make life better for women and helps fight the Yellow Fever epidemic while trying to hide from her past so she is free to love the prominent Dr. Frank Cheramie.
Prepare yourself to be swept by horse and buggy into the life of beautiful Sarah Beth where Channing Hayden will take ... reader[s] back to the past. Realistic characters that I found I could easily come to care for! Magdalenes is a highly recommended read!
Reviewed by Danna Friborg-Lewis for Huntress Book Reviews.
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Reviews for "Magdalenes"
Reviewed by Lori
3/27/2002
I really loved this book. It grabbed me from the first page and didn't let me go. You experience a huge range of emotions while reading this book - humor, shock, horror, frustration, sorrow, pleasure - the author pushes all your buttons. It is also a meaty read - it's not something you'll be able to zip through in a hour or two (like some novels I've read). It has real substance and is packed with information (some factually correct - some not) in an interesting format. Sarah is a very compelling main character. Take my advice and buy this book!
Encountering danger, romance, heartache and tragedy, Catherine Merit strives to fit into a world filled with prejudice, hatred and violence where she is forced to kill a man in order to save herself. Third book of the Indignities Series.
Based on the memoirs of a Pearl Harbor survivor. Letters from two pen pals take the reader on a journey into the past, a past where nightmares came true, and when hatred reigned.
