#BlogTour God's Children by Mabli Roberts

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour God's Children by Mabli Roberts. It's historical fiction, a memoir of sorts and a mystery to boot.

About the Author
Mabli Roberts lives in a wild, mountainous part of Wales. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and has worked as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Wales, Newport. Most of her inspiration comes from her love of history and from long walks in the timeless landscape around her.

Mabli also writes as Paula Brackston, PJ Brackston and PJ Davy. Nutters was shortlisted for the Mind Book Award and The Witch’s Daughter was a New York Times bestseller.

Her work has been translated into five languages and is sold around the world. You can find out more about her books on her website www.paulabrackston.com, her Author’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/worldofpaulabrackston/ and YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/paulabrackstonbooks as well as the God's Children Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Gods-Children-1476228589147399/

Follow World of Paula Brackston on Facebook, God's Children on Facebook, Paula Brackston Books on Youtube, on Goodreads, Visit paulabrackston.com
Buy God's Children

About the book
'Kate Marsden: nurse, intrepid adventurer, saviour of the lepers or devious manipulator, immoral and dishonest?'

As she lies on her deathbed visited by the ghosts of her past, who should we believe, Kate or those who accuse her of duplicity? Memory is a fickle thing: recollections may be frozen in time or distorted by the mirror of wishful thinking. Kate’s own story is one of incredible achievements, illicit love affairs and desperate longing; those of her accusers paint a very different portrait – of a woman determined on fame and fortune.

The reader navigates a narrative as fractured as the Siberian ice Kate crosses in search of a cure for leprosy, and as beautiful as Rose, her lost love, as the full picture emerges of a life lived when women were not expected to break the mould.

Review
Who was Kate Marsden? Was she a woman intent on providing care and a cure for those suffering from leprosy, with big plans to build hospitals? Or was she a clever manipulator and con woman? The question that remains in the end is whether Kate Marsden was the woman she wanted everyone to believe she was or just an organiser of a well executed scam.

She uses her professional experiences and extensive travels to make more connections. Her fans include the British and Russian royal family, and a spate of wealthy women. Her benefactors want to see her succeed because she acts in God's name. A little bit like an evangelical tv star, but without the medium of television.

She holds town hall meetings to encourage people to spend money and invest in her very ambitious plans. Of course society wants to be seen helping those less fortunate, because it makes them look like better people.

Kate hints occasionally at some unspoken horror experienced at the hands of certain men whilst travelling the isolated areas looking for people stricken with leprosy. That thought sort of petered out during the tale though.

Her sexual preferences are hinted at, but never go further other than to suggest moments of titillation and flushed cheeks. Love is suggested, but desire remains in the imagination of the beholder.

In retrospect it's hard to be completely clear on the truth. Were her detractors extremely successful in plotting her downfall because they were presenting the sordid truth or because their need for revenge had become an obsession? I suppose it depends on which account you are more likely to believe.

It's historical fiction, a biography of sorts and a mystery to boot. Even towards the end, Kate is uncertain what is truth and what is fiction courtesy of the critics.

Buy God's Children at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads at any other retailer. Published by Honno Press in paperback and ebook format on 11th April 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Blackwell's. Buy at Hive. At Google. At Foyles. Barnes & Noble. Buy at Honno Press.