Historical Midwifery Novel
Emerald to Pounamu - A Midwife’s Odyssey
SYNOPSIS: The story of two Irish sisters, Bedelia and Veronica, who have lost everything due to the harsh conditions in Ireland at that time. They are sponsored to emigrate to New Zealand through a scheme in the 1840/50s encouraging settlement and bringing potential brides to the colony. The first chapter is laying the background on board ship and includes the first birth the protagonist, Bedelia, attends. Characters, who have an impact on the sisters lives, emerge throughout the book.
The proceeding chapters on board the ship form Part One of the book. Four stopovers on the way carry descriptive passages of adventures encountered by the sisters. There is another birth and several deaths, therefore the tension, crises and high points form mainly around these incidents. Bedelia’s past life in Ireland is remembered during and after the critical events, which highlights how the rookie midwife develops in character, knowledge and confidence.
Part two of the story covers the immigration and challenges the sisters encounter and is woven into geographical and historical facts of the area they settle in, the history of midwifery at that time and many life, death, medical and birth events Bedelia is involved in.
The novel gathers in German settlers, a mother/daughter midwifery partnership invite Bedelia into their practice where she learns many useful skills in saving the lives of mothers and babies in this perilous time. Through birth events, the lives of these midwives become intertwined. Bedelia works alongside the ship’s doctor who also settles in the area and sets up practice. He sees and encourages Bedelia’s gift and potential as a midwife in a growing community.
Bedelia has a love interest that develops throughout the novel and this causes conflicts, peaks and troughs as the story progresses. The tension rises as the culture and expectations on women of the time impinges on her ideas of marriage and her desire to cultivate her vocation as a midwife. Veronica’s love interest develops later in the story and melds with that of her sister, culminating in a happy ending with plenty of wriggle room for another book.
REVIEWS
“This is history brought to life in an engaging story that draws on colonial history, family history and professional experience. This combination has resulted in a story that entertains and educates.”
- Paul Nation | Emeritus Professor of Linguistics, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand.------------------------------
"Highly readable novel with a fascinating insight into midwifery history."
- Sue Saunders | Fertility Counsellor
(Author of Infertility & Maybe Baby)
ARTICLES
