Jan Selbourne
Wheen history shispers,
I pass it on.
Wheen history shispers,
I pass it on.
Marry in haste, repent at leisure is the last thing on Sarah Forsythe’s mind when she and the son of a local minister elope to the American colonies. She wasn’t to know abandonment, misery, poverty and shame would follow. As the colonies rebel against British rule and the siege of Boston worsens, alone and afraid, Sarah hides her desperation behind a hard shell. To survive, she is forced to steal from the safe of her employer. Instead of the cash she needs, she finds Bank of England documents. Sensing they might have some value, Sarah protects them through months of deprivation until she finally secures passage home to England. Unknown to her, two men are following, intent on claiming those documents. At any price.
Bank of England fraud investigator Neil McAllister faces the biggest challenge of his career when a woman from Boston demands a reward for returning lost documents to the bank. Then two men with the same name and nearly identical stories arrive in England, each claiming ownership of them. Who is lying? Or are all three accomplices in a plot to swindle the bank? As the obstinate, secretive woman gets under Neil's skin, he trusts that she was an unwitting witness to the crime of cold-blooded betrayal and treason before the fall of Boston. Now it’s up to Neil to protect Sarah because the traitor wants her dead.
5 Stars: "Highly recommended
Jan Selbourne's 'The Woman Behind the Mirror' does not disappoint. Historical, action packed, romantic and full of suspense, a real page turner that you'll not want to put down."
Diane Guntrip
5 Stars: "Favorite Jan Selbourne book so far
Thoroughly enjoyed this latest book, really got caught up in the story and loved the pace and the intrigue. My late night reading took its toll, but just had to keep turning the page."
Amazon Customer
5 Stars: "Another wonderful book from a great author!
A pleasure to read, kept me engaged with the characters and the plot. Kept me guessing and had great balance of history and intrigue and just enough romance."
Cjm
5 Stars: "Brilliant!
Sarah Forsythe is strong minded and marries a wastrel. Things soon become pear shaped and Sarah has to survive on her wits.""
Loved this book. Fast paced and interesting. This writer knows her history."
Cathleen Ross
5 Stars: "Great historical mystery
This is an awesome book! I would recommend it to history and mystery lovers!"
Carol Rising
5 Stars: "Historical mystery and suspense
In 1771 Sarah elopes with a minister’s son, David, a rascal. She sails with him to The New World which she hopes will be “a new life free without the restraint and brutal oppression”. In Boston during the American War of Independence, Sarah is forced to choose between jail and prostitution in a brothel. After the owner is arrested and the brothel closed, Sarah returns to the building to search for money. She finds documents which will be of interest to The Bank of England. Sarah sails to Nova Scotia with other loyalists and then to England, followed by those who will go to any lengths to obtain the documents.
The Woman Behind the Mirror is an enjoyable, historical suspense story. I don’t hesitate to recommend it."
Rosemary Morris
5 Stars: "From an impetuous decision that would lead to disastrous consequences to a complicated and unprecedented plot to defraud the Bank of England, The Woman Behind the Mirror by Jan Selbourne is the wonderfully evocative story of one woman's fight to stay alive in the face of adversity.
With a rich and compelling narrative, Selbourne has penned a book which is part historical fiction, part romance, part thriller, and part mystery. It is a story that captured my imagination, and it was one that was utterly enthralling. This novel commanded my attention from the opening paragraph and continued to hold it until that final full stop.
Sarah is a character who begins this story as an idealistic young woman who longs for adventure and a way to escape an arranged marriage. Trapped between her domineering father and a wholly unsuitable courtship, Sarah chooses the courtship. What happens to her next could never have been foreseen. Sarah is a character that suffers terribly in this book, and she becomes quite a hard and abrupt woman, who at times is difficult to like. Yet, with a gentle nudge, Selbourne reminds us that Sarah has this beautifully compassionate soul who will share her meagre rations with strangers or even a dog. Sarah is non-judgemental, and yet she fails to see her own worth. As the story progresses and Sarah becomes more acquainted with Neil McAllister, the real Sarah begins to shine through this cold exterior that she displays to the world. I thought Sarah's depiction was fabulous. Her story is heartrending, but at the same time, it is filled with hope.
I adored the depiction of Neil McAllister. Initially, Neil and Sarah are incredibly wary of each other, and neither is quite sure of the intentions of the other. Neil is one of the only characters who despite his initial judgement, discovers the real Sarah. He sees things that others do not, and what he sees he likes a lot. His determination to keep Sarah safe from her enemies, but more so, his acceptance of her past, made him a worthy hero for our brave protagonist. Neil was a character that I enjoyed reading about. He is clever, quick of wit, and more importantly, kind.
The Woman Behind the Mirror — was ever a book so aptly named? The mirror reflects the different stages and hardships in Sarah's life – from a hopeful young woman, a painted, perfumed whore, a homeless woman fleeing from a war, and eventually a lady who can once again hold her head up high. There is a scene where Sarah, after so much adversity, is invited to a ball and when she looks into the mirror as one would do before leaving the house, she can only see this ugly distorted image of herself reflected back, which I thought was heartbreakingly poetic. Sarah comes across as this very courageous and strong woman, but that is only a facade. What she is instead is a woman who has been appallingly used, abused and left destitute. The mirror shows her the sins that she has been forced to commit because of her husband and because of the abandonment of her husband's family. It is ironic, when one thinks about it, that the images she sees are of the sins of man, not of women, for Sarah did not bring any of her misfortune onto herself. She is dominated by her father, disappointed, as well as discarded by her husband, forced to work in a gentleman's club, and then cruelly stalked because she tried to take some tiny fragment of control back. Which leads me onto another theme that runs through the course of this book, and that is the countability of man. It is not just Sarah who suffers because of what a man has done to her in this novel. This book is set in a time when a woman's reputation was everything and once lost, was lost forever. For a man, as long as they paid their debts, their reputation was not at all slighted by having mistresses or keeping company with whores. The whores were considered despicable creatures, but not the men who used them. It was a woman's fault if she fell pregnant out of wedlock — no blame was put upon the man. This strange imbalance of morals is played out with care and diligence throughout this book.
The Woman Behind the Mirror by Jan Selbourne is a sprawling stirring story that is unputdownable. This is the kind of book one can lose themselves in. I Highly Recommend.
Mary Anne Yarde, The Coffee Pot Book Club
5 Stars: "Another great book
I have just finished Jan's latest book.". The Woman behind the mirror". It is a great credit to her that all her books have been published. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to the next one."
Daph-Alan M.
5 Stars: "Selbourne’s book carried her heroine from a privileged background in England to the American colonies at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. During Boston’s siege, Sarah Forsyth’s life changes from the dreams of a young girl to horror, pain, and betrayal. A desperate theft in the night sets off a string of events that will threaten her life even as she fights her way back to England—and right into the attention of Neil McAllister, the fraud investigator for the Back of England. Can strength, determination, and yes, lying through her teeth, bring Sarah through?
I loved this book from the very beginning! Ms. Selbourne has written a strong woman who lets nothing stop her in her goal to return home from the horror and disappointment that was America. Then…she comes up against a solid barrier that requires even more strength than Sarah has. She’s lucky that Neil McAllister is there to force her onward! Neil is a hero I adored! He and his family are some of the characters that take you right back to 1776! Selbourne’s usual historical accuracy make the book a joy to read. You won’t regret picking up The Woman Behind the Mirror is you enjoy historical suspense and romance! Highly recommended!"
Dee S. Knight
A voice from behind made her jump. “Why aren’t you dancing?”
Sarah whirled around. “Because…” She didn’t know what to say.
“No one asked? I can barely believe it.”
Feeling stupid and awkward, she remained silent.
“Don’t tell me you can’t dance,” Neil taunted.
“Take care of your bank business and I’ll take care of my shortcomings,” she bit back.
“I can’t take care of my bank business if you won’t allow me to take the documents to London.” he said sharply.
“I told you I want a written assurance of a reward. I know and you know I will never see them again.”
Neil leaned closer. “I told you we can apply to the courts for a warrant to seize them.”
“You will seize a pile of ash.”
“You could go to prison,” Neil replied coldly.
“Really? I should have burned them in Boston to keep warm.” She shrugged. “I believe they are quite genuine, otherwise you wouldn’t be in such a fuss.”
“They must be examined properly. Forgeries are the bank’s biggest headache.”
“If they are genuine, the bank can hold them for Claude Westfield and give me an appropriate reward for bringing them safely to you.”
“You are not shy in demanding money,” Neil said caustically.
“No, I’m not. I rely on my brother for a roof over my head and it—” She broke off as her cheeks flushed. “Go and enjoy yourself and leave me alone.”
As she moved away Neil put his hand on her arm. “There is no need to be unpleasant. If they are genuine, we will discuss it further.”
“Nothing more to discuss,” Sarah’s eyes never left his. “Remove your hand.”
Neil’s face hardened. “You think you hold all the cards, madam, but rest assured, until you are more amenable, you’ll get nothing.”
“Neither will you, sir. Beneath your smooth bank exterior, you are no better than your forebears who loaned their gold at outrageous interest.”
Neil’s fingers dug into her arm. “You are no better than a street hawker yourself.”
“Get your hand off me,” Sarah’s voice rose as she wrenched her arm away. “Leave me alone!”
Neil’s expression changed from irritation to disbelief to shock. “Good God,” he breathed. “It was you.”
