Solid, satisfying, traditional historical fiction. I felt immersed in the period, and totally absorbed by the story. The pacing was perfect, with a slow but steadily increasing tension. I deducted one star for the ending, which felt a bit rushed and had some minor implausibles

Spoiler

John and Emily expect that the emigrant ship will have room for them and will take them despite the fact that they have no money, or certainly not enough for transport? And they will be able to start a new life in Canada with only the clothes on their backs? Or do we assume that when they arrive in Canada john will sell the family home and they'll live on credit until then? I guess we can assume that he is the sole owner of the estate and his sisters have no stake in it? I'm getting in the weeds here, but the book had no implausibles up to this point, so these little holes feel big.

. The IMDB database shows that a miniseries is in some early stage of development. It would make a fine six- parter as long as it doesn't go too heavy on the love story, which is well-handled in the book - it's no bodice-ripper.