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Pamela Holmes
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The Huntingfield Paintress Kindle Edition

by Pamela Holmes (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 283 ratings
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
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  1. Print length
    246 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bloodhound Books
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    June 1, 2021
  6. File size
    3.0 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A slice of Suffolk history brought beautifully to life." —Esther Freud, author, Hideous Kinky

"A genuinely original, utterly enchanting story" —A.N.Wilson, author, Victoria: A Life

“This is a quiet, lyrical novel that skillfully represents the constraints placed on middle-class women of the era.” —Historical Novel Society

About the Author

Pamela Holmes is the winner of the Jane Austen Short Story Award 2014.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09D759HML
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloodhound Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.0 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 246 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1504073271
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 283 ratings

About the author

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Pamela Holmes

Pamela Holmes

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Pamela Holmes was born in Charleston, South Carolina. At the age of eight, she moved with her family to England. She studied nursing at London University after three years on a Somerset commune where she spent her time gardening, milking cows and laying hedges. A few years later, she became a journalist and an on-screen reporter before turning to campaigning for the rights of older people. She won the Chawton House Library Jane Austen Short Story Award in

2014. Her first novel, The Huntingfield Paintress (2016) was followed by Wyld Dreamers (2018) and now The Curious Life of Elizabeth Blackwell. Pamela has two boys and lives in London with her husband. She sings in a rock band and a choir.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
283 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Judy Dunn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I read this book over a week's time as I was intrigued by the posted descriptions.
    It is a very interesting story which is extremely well done by Pamela Holmes. The author brings the mid 1800's very much to life with hints and phrases that paint a very vivid literary picture.
    Not only is the story of the Rector's wife, Mildred, startling and bold for it's time, but the flow of the project she undertakes is well managed by the Author - always keeping the reader informed but yet wanting more .
    I must hand kudos to this lady - a very well written book and a delight to read.
    Robert P Dunn
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  • PattyMacDotComma
    4.0 out of 5 stars What can't the rector's wife do? Dank church becomes artistic masterpiece.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2016
    3.5★
    Between 1848 and 1866, the little Church of St Mary’s in Huntingfield, Suffolk, underwent a transformation from a small, dank country church to the site of what seems to be a glorious internal expanse of religious art. And it was done by the rector’s wife.

    This is a fictionalised account of how that might have happened, with a fair bit of imagination about the people and their interaction. To me, the story is revealed much like a television docu-drama, as if we’re witnessing a true story unfolding with a narrator who is sometimes restrained but occasionally bursts out with a sudden lusty scene.

    I found it less engrossing than some historical fiction, but I know others have loved it. The author creates a good sense of place. William and Mildred Holland have been travelling abroad, where she, particularly, has been enthralled with exotic locales, costumes, and climate. Now William is returning to take over the position he’s been waiting for as the rector of the little St Mary’s Church.

    “A dismal sense of damp filled her nostrils as Mildred pushed open the door of St Mary the Virgin church. In the entrance, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. Air was cold on her cheek and a regular dripping sound echoed from somewhere. A trickle of anxiety ran through her.”

    She is deeply unhappy and lonely in the village while her husband is admired by all and in his element as the new rector. They are cut from different cloth. But she presses him to clean and renovate the church.

    She’d been inspired by a wonderful painted ceiling when she and William visited the Church of St Martin’s in the Swiss alps.

    “What kind of person could be fixated on such a vast, intricate and painstaking task, in the sure expectation that few outside his village would ever see it? Only God would be his witness. Now she asked herself; was she embarking on a similar road?”

    This is the story of how she embarked on that road – how a dank little English church gained new life due to the dedication of Mildred “Millie” Holland.

    There is a lot about paint and painting, but I particularly liked the gold leaf, ordered for the angels’ wings.

    “With deliberate care, books of gold leaf are lifted from the heavy leather pouches in which they have travelled from London. These glittering pages reveal no stories but magic dances on their mirrored surfaces. A gentle breeze could tear the shiny sheets from uncertain fingers, so fine and thinly beaten are they. Only the heat from Mildred’s hand makes the gold leaf rise like a magic carpet from the books of gold.”

    Many thanks to NetGalley and Urbane Publications for allowing me a copy to review. The quotations are from this copy, so they may have changed in the final edition, but they will give you a sense of the author and her style. I expect she will attract many more visitors to Huntingfield.

    Here’s a link to St Mary’s Church in Huntingfield:

    [...]

    And here’s a link to the Swiss Church of St Martin’s, where Millie got her inspiration:

    [...]
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  • paul cann
    5.0 out of 5 stars ) story following the fine tradition of questing 19th century heroines such as Isabel ...
    Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    A delicate and very touching (true?) story following the fine tradition of questing 19th century heroines such as Isabel Archer and Dorothea Brooke. There is fire in Mildred's belly and it triumphs over tragedy, prejudice and infirmity. So much sensuous celebration of rural life, and beautifully caught human mini-dramas. Encore please.. .
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  • Surfergirl
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Good
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  • A Mother’s Musings 🌹
    4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and inspiring story!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2017
    I fell in love with this delightful book "The Huntingfield Paintress" from the very first enchanting page, wrapping you in its warm, gentle and unique story set in Suffolk during the 1800's.
    Mildred Holland and her vicar husband William, finally get the life they longed for in a tiny Suffolk village in 1848 after travelling and discovering Europe for many years. However, Mildred finds her new life boring and after the longed-for child does not arrive she sinks into despair and despondency. What options exist for a clever and creative woman in such a cosseted environment? After a sudden chance encounter, Mildred embarks on a herculean task that demands courage and devotion, to create a 15th century ceiling within their parish church. Golden angels, wild colours and myriad images are painstakingly created by the dedicated and headstrong woman.
    This beautiful tale is perfect for weekend reading and I found myself in Mildred's delicate and atmospheric world, feeling and sensing every emotion as she lived at Huntingfield Rectory.
    The author has captured the era perfectly, the village, parishioners, diseases etc even including how families were having financial difficulties as machines took over their jobs and how offspring often left their working families for a supposedly better life in the bigger towns.
    I was hugely surprised when I realised this was based on the true story of Mildred Holland who indeed created a stunning display of religious iconography single-handedly in St Mary's Church in Huntingfield. Truly inspiring and the author Pamela Holmes has very successfully told of her story - even though fictionalised, absolutely perfect!!
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Huntingfield Paintress
    Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2016
    "Flushed and feverish angels" adorn the hidden ceiling that has been concealed for years at the St. Mary the Virgin church in Suffolk.(1848). Childless Mildred Holland wife of Pastor William take up their life in the village after years of exotic and exciting travels. Abandoning all hope of a family Mildred sets off on an internal struggle to find fulfilment, eschewing self indulgent misery, determined to find purpose and meaning to her life.Surrounded by gossip and superstition she finds a professional who can teach her everything she needs to restore the church to its former glory. Inspiring all those around her, Mildred fights off passionate temptation as we are artfully drawn into this woman's bravery and courage,a woman who fly's in the face of historical conventions. She is as glorious as the ceiling she attempts to paint. Will she finish it?
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Jesterkat
    5.0 out of 5 stars A True Story vividly depicted
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I absolutely loved this book! Pamela Holmes, working with minimal biographical material favour the vicar's wife, Mildred Holland. The author has used her considerable skills to knit together what is known with some fictional elements, to produce a beautiful story about the painted ceiling and carved angels of St Mary's, Huntingfield and the incredibly talented Mildred who, against all odds, created it all. Thank you, Pamela Holmes, for bringing this story back to life.
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  • Bonnie Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
    Reviewed in Canada on November 30, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Well researched, this is an amazing story and intimate portrayal of an unknown
    artist who by strength of her will accomplishes a dream to paint the 60 foot ceilings of a church.
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  • Elke
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fesselnde Biographie einer Frau im viktorianischen England
    Reviewed in Germany on August 20, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    "The Huntingfield Paintress" ist die Geschichte einer außergewöhnlichen Frau im viktorianischen England, die voller Kraft und Leidenschaft ihren Weg geht. Die einfühlsame Sprache erzeugt eine atmosphärische Dichte, die den Leser behutsam und doch zwingend gefangen nimmt und nicht wieder loslässt. Eine wunderbare Sprache! Man mag das Buch nicht mehr aus der Hand legen; ein Genuss!
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  • S. Penelope
    5.0 out of 5 stars La determinazione di una donna della metà dell'800.
    Reviewed in Italy on September 24, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Il libro mi è stato raccomandato da qualcuno che ha visitato la chiesa del libro. Il libro è stato inspirato da una storia vera, ambientata nella metà dell'800. La moglie di un vicario di campagna ha voluto dipingere il soffitto della loro chiesa nonostante l'opposizione della gente del paese soltanto perché era donna. È una bella storia di determinazione, facile a leggere e mi è piaciuto molto.
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  • Jillian Dellit
    5.0 out of 5 stars Making sense of a 19th Century story
    Reviewed in Australia on December 18, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    (Shared from Goodreads) I very much enjoyed this. It brings a twenty-first century sensibility to a nineteenth century story, making a great deal of sense of it. Holmes manages to evoke place, environment, expectations, attitudes and, above all, empathy. By writing Mildred Holland’s story, imagining what it must have taken for a woman to do what she did in her time, she has drawn us into the world of an early Victorian Suffolk village and the lives of villagers.

    It is a narrative that enlightens and, focused on understanding, avoids any stereotyping. It has given me a valuable context for family history.

    I’d love to see the Huntingfield church, but regardless I am richer for the story.
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