The Trial of Lotta Rae: The unputdownable historical novel of 2022

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The devastation that follows one horrific night for Lotta is truly haunting and I feel like this book will be one I remember for a long time. Lotta and her circle express the optimism of the late Edwardian period, a sense that the new century would bring social change, equality and freedom. We know the devastating tragedy which was to unfold in the First World War and this makes the earlier optimism more poignant.

The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan | Waterstones The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan | Waterstones

A gripping story of injustice, intrigue and revenge set at the turn of the 20th century' - Irish Times But the verdict is devastating, the consequences unimaginable. When Lotta discovers she has been betrayed, she vows to deliver her own justice. I have seen my name become notorious. Lotta Rae. The talk of London. There was talk, much talk for sure. But was there truth? Was there justice?" After her unjust court case Lotta faces further hardship throughout her life. She joins the Suffragette movement whilst she begins an addiction of opium in her grief. The Trials Of Lotta Rae is very well researched and this made the novel feel very authentic. Although fiction, it was easy to believe that the events in the novel could easily be real and I think that is partly why I took Lotta to my heart so much. I will remember this novel for a long time to come.

The Trial of Lotta Rae (Charlotte Rae) is a harrowing insight of the tremendous differences that existed in the early 1900’s between the honest, poor, hardworking people and the elite in society not only in monetary terms but justice and respect. At this time Emmeline Pankhurst and her suffragettes were fighting for the emancipation of women, marching through London in the hope that Prime Minister H H Asquith would sign a Bill giving women the right to vote. Charlotte Ray affectionately known as Lotta is raped by a despicable, wealthy male, Henry Allen Griffiths. Supported by her mam and pap, she makes the decision to press charges against him, believing that her lawyer William Lindon will fight the good fight and do her justice. Twelve years later, as the suffragettes rise and the ghost of WW1 looms large over London, William is joined again by Lotta Rae. Now they will travel to a fateful destination, where truths must be faced and wrongs will be righted. Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown

The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan Review : The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan

The repercussions of this terrible rape are devastating to not only Lotta but subsequently her family and friends , betrayal, imprisonment, hunger strikes, death and more are some of the consequences. This book was fascinating from start to finish. I loved the emotions it evoked in me, everything from heartbreak to anger. What surprised me the most about the book was that the trial itself wasn’t the book’s main focus but rather the aftermath. I really liked that about the story as it was a refreshingly new take on a woman scorned and out for revenge after being taken advantage of by men, especially a man who was supposed to be on her side to help her get justice.When the verdict isn’t in her favour, the repercussions are devastating and far reaching for Lotta and her family. Some years later, Lotta meets William’s son Raff and she thinks to punish her barrister for everything she has lost despite his promises and becomes friendly with Raff thinking she can get some sort of revenge on William. It is a monumental work, not always easy to read, often harrowing in its descriptions of the brutal treatment meted out to hunger striking women and the horrors of trench warfare. But there are lighter moments, too, not least in the delightful episodes featuring Lotta's child. The book starts in 1906, covering events on the run up to World War 1 as well as the political goings on in the United Kingdom with the suffragette movement which both Lotta and Raff become involved with. A teenage girl, Lotta Rae, at the dawn of the 20th century makes plans for future which are shuttered one night and which open ways to several tragedies befalling herself and her family. A strong female protagonist and her male counterpart become rivals involved in a dangerous game which is called having knowledge and power. This is a good read and kept me interested, however, as the plot unravelled, I felt bigger distance towards Lotta. There was something missing in her to make me connect with her more. And I found echoes our own age. The Spanish flu of 1918. So called not because it originated in Spain but because a neutral Spain had no need censor their press to keep morale high. Consequently, they were first to report the pandemic, so like the Covid we have lived with. That we live with still.

The Trial of Lotta Rae, a review by Shelley The Trial of Lotta Rae, a review by Shelley

For some reason, I seem to resist a lot of historical fiction, even though when it is written as well as The Trial Of Lotta Rae, it can be completely consuming and compelling. I chose to read this book almost on a whim, and I am so glad I did, as it turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year so far. MacGowan handles such strong emotions which are all described so beautifully that I could imagine myself walking alongside these characters, despite their lifestyle and beliefs being very different to mine. Just finished this beautifully written book and now sat with a headache from crying and all the thoughts I'm feeling now I'm finished.

The plot is nice but I found it quite weakly supported by historical facts except for the Suffregette movement with some historical figures that appear in the storyline. For the rest, it is pure fiction. I was curious in the end to see if the author would have explained it was loosely inspired by real facts but apparently is not. From my knowledge of the the history of crimes related to gender based violence and related trial, it sounds improbable that a woman from the working class in those years would have ever press charges against a rich man for rape. It would be nice to imagine it could have happened but, as a lawyer who has read and studied the first of such trials, the way dialogues are developed and Lotta's standing in the trial is how a much more modern woman would have approaches it. It sounds really unrealistic. This was quite disappointing for me. Through Lotta’s eyes we experience the hideous cruelty of force‑feeding of women on hunger strike. And we get a sense of the suffragettes’ comradeship and heroism. It seems we imagine there will be a harbinger of those days that come to shatter our lives. Will herald their arrival not with duplicitous blue sky, but a clutch of foreboding clouds. That we will be granted a sign. But the day it happened dawned comforting in its simplicity: sunny, fresh and bright. " The Trial of Lotta Rae captured my imagination as right from the start I was on Lotta's side and yet as we discover justice isn't always on the side of the righteous. Bringing the mean moody streets of the East End of London to life we get to experience Lotta's downfall, her naive trust in authority and her search for justice and retribution.