Fever Tree (McVeigh) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
[A] bewitching tale of loss, betrayal and love.
Vogue (UK)


McVeigh’s distinctive first novel is a lush, sweeping tale of willful self-deception set against a political attempt to hush up a smallpox epidemic...in late 19th-century South Africa. Frances Irvine is left destitute by her father’s death.... Frances chooses [to marry] Edwin, though...once in South Africa, Frances refuses to help run the house, is disgusted by her husband’s quest for justice for the Boers, and is easily swayed by pro-colonial arguments. It’s difficult to retain sympathy for Frances, who refuses to face her mistakes for much of the book.... However, the sensory detail and sweep of the novel are exquisite, particularly for a debut.
Publishers Weekly


In Victorian London, only-child Frances Irvine is...marginally accepted into society. However, when her father dies suddenly...Frances is forced to choose between becoming a live-in nurse for her aunt's children or moving halfway around the world to marry her cousin, Edwin Matthews, a man she hardly knows and does not particularly like.... Verdict: McVeigh's debut paints vivid portrait of a part of the world we rarely experience in Victorian-era romance. Although it is crafted around a protagonist who is naive to the point of frustration and, while the story line is slow to get off the ground and requires much patience on the part of the reader, the writing is solid and delivers in the end. Fans of historical fiction with romantic elements will enjoy this one. —Natasha Grant, New York
Library Journal


South Africa's corrupt and disease-riddled diamond industry in the 1880s serves as a gritty setting for newcomer McVeigh's historical novel about a young English woman's journey toward self-enlightenment. When Frances Irvine's father dies and leaves her penniless, she reluctantly accepts a distant cousin's marriage proposal...in South Africa.... Frances sets sail for her new home, but during the voyage, she falls in love with William Westbrook....[who] fails to follow through on their plans to be together after the voyage.... [Frances] slowly realizes there's more to her husband than she first assumed, and she discovers that many people respect him, not only for his work as a medical doctor, but as a human rights advocate.... Forceful and direct, yet surprisingly lyrical, McVeigh's narrative weaves top-notch research and true passion for the material with a well-conceived plot.... Overall, this story's a gem.
Kirkus Reviews