Joan Moules

The Straw Halter - Published August 2007
ISBN-978-0709082767: Hardback 224 pages

Reviews and comments
"This engaging read tells the story of a young servant-girl, Betsy, sold at 18 to a farmer in need of a housekeeper and wife. On discovering that her real father is an aristocrat, Betsy sets out to discover her birthright. Sent into hiding after running away from her husband, she finds herself living in the home of the fiance to the man who she thinks may be her father, unaware that the farmer is desperately looking for the woman with whom he had fallen deeply in love. Joan Moules, with her emotive and descriptive writing style, is adept at taking a classic plot line and adding a fresh twist. Her attention to historical detail and clear affection for the characters draws the reader into the story, making this a real page-turner. The Straw Halter is set in 1820, a time when women had few rights and were bought and sold as possessions. The storyline brings to life the desperate situation in which many young women lived, particularly those who, like Betsy, started life with few advantages. The dedication of the young heroine to advancing equal rights for all reminds the reader just how far we have come and how lucky we are in the West to be living in the 21st century. This is a good read, and one which I would recommend whole-heartedly."

"Cracking story. Joan Moules portrays people as they are and this has a strong impact on the reader - and I count myself as the average sort of reader. It is people doing what people do. The sobering thought is that this selling of women took place legally such a short while ago. And goes on all over the world. Thank you Joan for an inspiring read."

"Betsy Salden was 11 years old when she was sent into service with Mrs Wallasey who taught her to read and write. At 15 she was married to George Hatton and 3 years later, wearing a straw halter, was taken to the market and sold to Daniel Forrester, a local farmer She had never got on with her own family, always being made to feel an outcast and outsider, but, on the death of her mother, she finally learns the reason why she was so unwanted and why her Aunt Agnes so clearly hates her. This is a moving story set around a custom that was quite common in the 18th and 19th centuries. Divorce was difficult enough for the aristocracy and virtually impossible for the ordinary people. To solve this problem, unwanted wives were sold in the marketplace with a straw halter around their necks. The same practice was the theme of Thomas Hardy's classic novel "The Mayor of Casterbridge". The custom was finally abolished during the Victorian age. I enjoyed the book very much. The plot moved at a good pace, the final outcome was never obvious and the characters were well drawn. Recommended."

"I enjoyed this hugely. Joan Moules does the historical writing so well, with nothing added for period flavour, just what occurs naturally through the plot, and it comes across with a real sense of the time. She also addresses the issues of the men's sexual misdeeds without ever viewing them from a modern standpoint. It's beautifully done and doesn't shirk anything. And it's an intriguing, believable story with Betsy as a strong personality."

"Thoroughly enjoyed this book - it was one of those I didn't want to come to an end."