‘The Clergyman’s Wife’ Takes A Fresh Look at a Classic Story [REVIEW]

Life looks different after a rose garden is planted in Molly Greeley’s The Clergyman’s Wife. (Photo courtesy Canva)

In Jane Austen’s day, women had well-defined roles in society. Never one to live life by other people’s rules, she frequently challenged the status quo, in print and in life. Now author Molly Greeley takes us back to the beloved world of Pride and Prejudice, where we meet a lonely woman destined for a normal life. But will a new acquaintance give her a chance for something more? Find out in The Clergyman’s Wife.

William Morrow

Charlotte Collins knew what she was getting herself into when she married Husford’s vicar. Hers is a life of respectability as a wife and mother, filled with housework, visits to parishioners, and days spent listening to her bumbling husband’s intolerable sermons. It’s a quiet life, and yet that’s the problem. It’s too quiet, and the repetition of it all is about to drive her mad.

Then she meets Mr. Travis, a local farmer who makes Charlotte actually feel like a woman, perhaps for the very first time. When she’s with him she feels seen, heard, and appreciated, and she loves the connection they share. But when her sensible nature confronts the ache in her heart, she must decide whether to pursue love or remain a clergyman’s wife.

If you’re a Jane Austen fan, you may have wondered about the fate of some of her side characters, including Charlotte Lucas, who Greeley brings to vivid life once again in The Clergyman’s Wife. There have been plenty of Austen imitators in the past, and typically their books feel forced and just frustrate me as a reader. However, although Greeley tackles the fate of an Austen character, she doesn’t lose her own voice in the telling of this story.

The Clergyman’s Wife captures the aura of the time and never deviates from the parameters Austen created in her books. However, Greeley sees that same world with different eyes, and the result is a book that is both fresh and timeless.  She also allows us a deeper look into Charlotte’s back story, her relationship with Elizabeth Bennett, and a woman’s life in Regency England. As such, this is fan fiction at its best, a tale that stands up all on its own, and one which makes us examine the price we are willing to pay for happiness. If you love modern fiction with a classical vibe, don’t miss The Clergyman’s Wife, a candid look at another time and a loving tribute to a beloved author.

Molly Greeley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Molly Greeley earned her bachelor’s degree in English, with a creative writing emphasis, from Michigan State University, where she was the recipient of the Louis B. Sudler Prize in the Arts for creative writing. Her short stories and essays have been published in Cicada, Carve, and Literary Mama.

She works on social media for a local business, is married, and is the mother of three children, but her Sunday afternoons are devoted to weaving stories into books. She lives in Traverse City, Michigan.

To learn more about Molly, visit her home on the Web at MollyGreeley.com. You may also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

THE CLERGYMAN’S WIFE
By Molly Greeley
304 pp. William Morrow. $15.99

Purchase The Clergyman’s Wife at one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, HarperCollins, IndieBound, and Powell’s.

The Clergyman’s Wife is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.