The critically acclaimed debut novel The Fever Tree, by Jennifer McVeigh.
1880, South Africa – a land torn apart by greed…
Frances Irvine, left penniless after her father’s sudden death, is forced to emigrate to the Cape. In this barren country, she meets two very different men – one driven by ambition, the other by ideals. When a smallpox outbreak sends her to the diamond mines, she is drawn into a ruthless world of greed and exploitation, of human lives crushed in the scramble for power. But here – at last – she sees her path to happiness. Torn between passion and integrity, she makes a choice that has devastating consequences…
‘Place and people come alive in this book… a gripping story’ Kim Edwards, author of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
‘I loved it. It’s a beautifully written novel of great feeling’ Rachel Hore, best-selling author of The Place of Secrets
‘Engrossing, emotionally poised and elegantly written – I absolutely loved it’ Vanora Bennett, author of The People’s Queen
‘There is nothing more exciting than a new writer with a genuine voice. I loved it’ Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey
‘A compelling read with a Gone with the Wind feel to it – I was hooked’ Katharine McMahon, author of The Alchemist’s Daughter
‘A skilled unfolding of a woman’s struggle with desire, class divide and disease in 19th Century South Africa’ Financial Times
‘McVeigh’s attention to the material culture of South Africa that really fascinates: no object is too small to attract her notice, and through accumulation such objects become evocative and strangely moving – well worth reading’ TLS
‘An epic story of love, deception and courage’ Patricia Wastvedt, author of The German Boy
‘A bewitching tale of loss, betrayal and love’ Vogue
‘Epic, enchanting, emotional and engrossing’ Easy Living ‘Must-read of the Month’
‘An unforgettable journey into a heart of darkness: romantic and tragic, a tale of honour and redemption, it leaves wide vistas of a harsh yet beguiling landscape shimmering in the imagination long after the last page is turned’ Deborah Lawrenson, author of The Lantern
‘All the delicious elements of a romantic classic, seasoned by evocative prose and keen moral commentary. Gobble it up and then shelve it next to the Bronte sisters’ Hillary Jordan, best-selling author of Mudbound
Jennifer McVeigh graduated from Oxford University in 2002 with a First in English Literature. She went on to work in film, television, radio and publishing, before giving up her day job to write fiction. She has travelled across East Africa and South Africa, often in off-road vehicles, driving and camping along the way. The Fever Tree is her first novel.
The critically acclaimed debut novel The Fever Tree, by Jennifer McVeigh.
1880, South Africa – a land torn apart by greed…
Frances Irvine, left penniless after her father’s sudden death, is forced to emigrate to the Cape. In this barren country, she meets two very different men – one driven by ambition, the other by ideals. When a smallpox outbreak sends her to the diamond mines, she is drawn into a ruthless world of greed and exploitation, of human lives crushed in the scramble for power. But here – at last – she sees her path to happiness. Torn between passion and integrity, she makes a choice that has devastating consequences…
‘Place and people come alive in this book… a gripping story’ Kim Edwards, author of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
‘I loved it. It’s a beautifully written novel of great feeling’ Rachel Hore, best-selling author of The Place of Secrets
‘Engrossing, emotionally poised and elegantly written – I absolutely loved it’ Vanora Bennett, author of The People’s Queen
‘There is nothing more exciting than a new writer with a genuine voice. I loved it’ Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey
‘A compelling read with a Gone with the Wind feel to it – I was hooked’ Katharine McMahon, author of The Alchemist’s Daughter
‘A skilled unfolding of a woman’s struggle with desire, class divide and disease in 19th Century South Africa’ Financial Times
‘McVeigh’s attention to the material culture of South Africa that really fascinates: no object is too small to attract her notice, and through accumulation such objects become evocative and strangely moving – well worth reading’ TLS
‘An epic story of love, deception and courage’ Patricia Wastvedt, author of The German Boy
‘A bewitching tale of loss, betrayal and love’ Vogue
‘Epic, enchanting, emotional and engrossing’ Easy Living ‘Must-read of the Month’
‘An unforgettable journey into a heart of darkness: romantic and tragic, a tale of honour and redemption, it leaves wide vistas of a harsh yet beguiling landscape shimmering in the imagination long after the last page is turned’ Deborah Lawrenson, author of The Lantern
‘All the delicious elements of a romantic classic, seasoned by evocative prose and keen moral commentary. Gobble it up and then shelve it next to the Bronte sisters’ Hillary Jordan, best-selling author of Mudbound
Jennifer McVeigh graduated from Oxford University in 2002 with a First in English Literature. She went on to work in film, television, radio and publishing, before giving up her day job to write fiction. She has travelled across East Africa and South Africa, often in off-road vehicles, driving and camping along the way. The Fever Tree is her first novel.
Excellent read Fascinating insights into the world of diamond mining in South Africa overlaid with the personal story of Frances, the young English girl forced to emigrate and marry a man effectively against her will, the only alternative being a life of drudgery in Manchester. Her new husband turns out to be an idealist, prepared to put up with penury and terrible living conditions in his pursuit of truth, setting himself against the rich diamond mine owners who wield all the power. Frances is just about coming to terms with her life and her marriage in a tumbledown cottage on the veldt when she finds herself moving to a tent in the midst of total squalor – no wonder the girl brought up in polite London society finds it hard to cope. And always in the background is the romantic figure of the man with whom she had a shipboard romance, promising to take her away from all this. So yes there are cliches, in the sense that shipboard romances and loveless marriages were fairly common currency in Victorian times, when women were beholden to men for their very survival.But this does not in any way detract from a powerful story in which, in the end, true love prevails.
A stunning debut (four and a half stars) Following the untimely death of her father Frances Irvine is left alone and penniless; the choices before her are bleak and limited. With nothing left for her in England she accepts an offer of marriage from Dr Edwin Matthews; however, it is a marriage which Frances feels trapped into, and she struggles to adapt to the harsh realities of her new life in South Africa. Hardly helping matters is her secret burning love for the dashing William Westbrook, whom she meets upon her voyage to the Cape; a man who is worlds apart from her husband, and whom she simply cannot banish from her mind. Caught between these two vastly different men, and in a land corrupted by the greed of the diamond mining industry, plagued by smallpox and left famished by drought, Frances finds herself on a path to self-discovery!Set in the 1880s, The Fever Tree is a sweeping and epic tale, and one which readily draws you in; from the high society of London to the stretching plains of the African veldt and the ramshackle tents of the diamond mining town Kimberly, the scenes simply burst into life almost as if you were watching them on the silver screen.McVeigh captures the horrors and atrocities, the poverty and disease, the human corruption and exploitation at hand in South Africa commendably,whilst at the same time painting its natural beauty and resilience.It all plays as a brilliant backdrop for Frances, who at the start of the novel is nothing more than a rather over-indulged and self-absorbed Englishgirl, to begin to slowly appreciate the wider world around her; and the story is really about her gradual evolvement into a more mature young woman.It has to be said that Frances is often quite unlikable, and some of the decisions and choices she makes are disastrous; however, at the same time one is almost willing her to wake up to the real world, and she does evoke a certain sympathy. The love triangle between the three central characters is well drawn, if perhaps a tad predictable; however, it is hard not to be drawn into this story of a slow-burning romance as Frances gradually comes to realize the true worth of the man she is married to.Overall The Fever Tree is a classic old-fashioned tale, with romance, adventure and well drawn characters whom you come to care about, not to mention a wonderful insight into some of the social conflicts and colonial life in Africa of that time. The descriptions and prose are beautifully vivid, and the attention to detail and historical research commendable. A brilliant debut and McVeigh will certainly be an author I shall be watching out for in future!
A ‘lite’ book about some big themes It’s 1880, and when Frances’ father dies, she goes to South Africa to make a new life for herself. Caught between two men (of course), she has to face choices, learn to judge character, and develop an emotional maturity of her own.This is nicely-written and feels like it takes its example from classic nineteenth century novels: the writing is very descriptive, overly so in places, and the whole thing has quite a leisurely air about it.Sadly, Frances doesn’t have the charisma of authentic nineteenth century heroines: she’s naive, judgemental, frequently rather silly, and I was never really convinced by her story, especially the scenes on board the ship. The two men in her life fare better, however, and there’s a nice tension between the way they appear at first sight and the way they develop.The book gestures towards big themes – capitalist colonialism, the plight of South African `natives’ – but only in a very `lite’ way.So this is more than a chick-lit style historical romp, but it doesn’t ever become intelligent literary fiction – I enjoyed the story well enough as an entertaining read but it won’t linger in my mind: 3.5 stars from me.