Book Review: The Seaforth Heiress

Reviewed by Kristine Eckart

A gripping Regency adventure

Inspired by the life of Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie, a woman who’s left mysterious traces of influence in Scotland and India, The Seaforth Heiress fills in the gaps between documented details of Mary’s life and tells an inspiring story of a woman ahead of her time. 

Journey back in time to Barbados in 1803, then a colony under British rule. Mary Mackenzie, a descendant of the Mackenzie clan in Scotland, is adjusting to life in balmy Barbados with her family. While her father tries to improve life on the island, Mary discovers racial disparity and the impact of slavery. She also uncovers her father’s surmounting debts and decreasing health and worries about the future of her family without him. 

Mary does her best to help her family, but the words of an old Scottish prophecy spells doom for their dynasty. This could be the end of the Seaforth line. But life must go on, and so must Mary, who marries Sir Samuel and returns to England. Their new life together takes them (and us) on adventures to India and to visit Mary’s ancestral home in Scotland. Will Mary’s adventures take her closer to fulfilling the disturbing prophecy, or will she be able to save those she loves from their dreadful destiny?

Mary is an excellent protagonist to follow around the world. Her personality and outlook on life—too forward-thinking for her time—will resonate with readers of women’s fiction and endear those who are fans of Penelope and Eloise in the Bridgerton series. Mary begins the novel by questioning her desire to get married and inserting herself into political discussions so she can translate for her father. These might be out of touch for the Regency period, but they are in perfect alignment with modern sentiments and this inspiring real woman. 

“More and more, I longed for the brighter world I once knew. A world in which it was easier to convince myself of a power stronger than evil.”

Perhaps most captivating is the novel’s theme of the battle of good and evil. Mary must deal with the matter of slavery in Barbados and the impact of the British Empire on its colonies, both of which inform her actions later in the book. In some scenes, Mary bemoans her position as a woman with no power and her inability to impact change on the disparities she sees in the world. 

Even though this novel takes place in a different time period, many people in our world still struggle with how to create change in the world. Mary’s story is compelling on its own, but it also discusses something important and relevant to all of us today.

This book is the second in a line of historical novels focused on women of the Scottish Highlands, and it’s promising that it does it so well. Luckily, you do not need to read the previous book to enjoy this one. If you’re into historical fiction that immerses you in a very real past with captivating settings, make sure to add the gripping The Seaforth Heiress to your TBR pile.

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