The Huntingfield Paintress

A vicar’s wife embarks on a remarkable personal quest in this “lyrical” novel set in Victorian England and inspired by a true story (Historical Novel Society).

Mildred Holland revelled in the eight years she and her vicar husband spent travelling in 1840s Europe, recording beautiful artistic treasures and collecting exotic artefacts.

But her husband’s parish in a tiny Suffolk village is a world away from her previous life. When a longed-for baby does not arrive, she sinks into despair. What options exist for a clever, creative woman, hemmed in by social expectations?

Then chance encounter fires Mildred’s creative imagination. With courage and tenacity, she embarks upon a herculean task. Defying her loving but exasperated husband, and mistrustful locals who suspect her of supernatural powers, Mildred rediscovers her passion and begins to live again . . .

Drawing on the true story of Mildred Holland and the parish church of Huntingfield in Suffolk, this novel by the author of Wyld Dreamers is unique, uplifting, and beautifully crafted, just like the history that inspired it.

“Skillfully represents the constraints placed on middle-class women of the era.” —Historical Novel Society