Yours from the Tower by Sally Nichols

In Yours from the Tower, three young ladies overcome obstacles and find true love in late 19^th-century England.

Yours from the Tower by Sally Nichols. Walker Books, 2024, 295 pages.

Reading Level: Teen, ages 12-15

Recommended for: ages 13-up

Tirzah, Polly, and Sophia became fast friends at boarding school, but have now gone their separate ways. Polly the idealist has landed her dream job at an orphanage, sensible Sophia is trying to make a match during the London Season, and Tirzah has been shuttled off to her grandmother’s house in Perthshire (Scotland). Tirzah’s first letter is a cry of loneliness: “Grandmother sees nobody, visits nobody, goes nowhere.” Sophia has her own frustrations as a poor relation staying with her society aunt and pretending interest with men who don’t interest her. Polly runs the risk of getting too wrapped up in the troubles of her orphans.

Over several months the girls pour out encouragement and love for each other in a series of letters. But Tirzah, the youngest and most vulnerable, comes to raise the most concern in the other two. Her grandmother seems incorrigible, her boredom unendurable, and her volatile nature may lead her to do something foolish. She confesses early on to kissing the village blacksmith, the only presentable man for miles around, and the others are horrified: what worse might she do out of desperation? Meanwhile, Sophia is attracted to a charming but frivolous young man whom she can’t possibly marry and Polly is beginning to admire her institution’s director a little too much. Will Tirzah fall off the deep end? Will Sophia overcome her better sense and accept Sebastian’s proposal? Will Polly locate the father of the three O’Fallon boys and find a future with Mr. Thompson?

My lips are sealed, but romantic readers will fall in love with these belles and their beaux. There’s some weight to these characters, and real conflicts they must overcome on their way to happiness. True love is not seen as the answer to all problems; when advising a possible suitor for Tirzah, Polly advises him he’ll have his hands full. Sophia’s admonitions to Sebastian show how a woman can help a man act like a man: “Why, if you really care for me so much, don’t you go off and do something about it? Get a job!” (You go, girl!)

I noted a few anachronisms in a novel set in 1897, such as Polly’s concerns about Mr. Thompson’s age—27. May-December marriages were far more common a century ago than they are now. There might also be too many instances of the d— word for proper young ladies. But these girls, or two of them at least, have their heads screwed on, and Tirzah isn’t too far behind: “I never thought I’d say this, but I think I need to grow up a bit.” It may not be Jane-Austen caliber, but the ladies judge wisely, the men act like gentlemen, and marriage between equals is seen as a worthy goal. What’s not to like?

Consideration:

• Some language: 4-5 uses of “damn” or “damned” and one misuse of God’s name.

Overall Rating: 4

• Worldview/moral value: 3.75
• Artistic/literary value: 4.25

Read more about our ratings here.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Reviews: Buffalo Flats and Hattie Big Sky are satisfying historical romance novels. Also see our starred review of Love and Other Great Expectations, a contemporary romance with a literary twist.
• Reflection: What did your Redeemed Reader Reviewers moon over, both as teens and grownups? See “Those Love Stories We Loved.”
• Resource: See Hayley’s recommendations in “Reading about Romance.”

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