Millie’s Escape is the fourth book in the Hartford Manor Series. I found this such an enjoyable and intriguing story that I was compelled to pick it up at every opportunity, desperate to find out what happened next. I finished the book over the Christmas weekend. Beautifully written, heartfelt and emotionally moving. This book had all the ingredients of a great story: endearing, well-developed characters and a storyline that kept me turning the pages. And most importantly, a lot of heart. I especially enjoyed the chapters with Millie and her brother Jonny in them. I could feel the tension mounting as the two runaways set off into the freezing snow-covered countryside bound for Hartford. Pursued by the police for a crime they didn’t commit forced the two youngsters to flee from village to village in search of safety and in the hope of finding their long-lost relatives. Kindness in Mister March and Rosa was heartwarming and gratifying to read. Author Marcia Clayton weaves an intricate story, recounting the lives of multiple families and their interconnected lives in rural North Devon in the 1800s, bringing together the warmth, hardships and authenticity of the period to life in her masterful storytelling of the Fellwood family of Hartford Manor and the families in the surrounding villages.
It was a fabulous read, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommended.

Marcia Clayton writes a compelling story set in the 18th century. The story begins with a typhoid breakout in England. Millie is devastated at the death of her mother. From here on, Millie and her brother's lives are changed forever. Having to take immediate refuge, they are advised to travel a long journey to escape wrath and face challenges along the way. This is such a great and intense page-turner of a read with all the hooks and drama of a great novel.
Another fabulous book from Marcia Clayton.

I’m a huge fan of the Hartford Manor Series, and Millie’s Escape is a wonderful addition to the Victorian Saga. This story surrounds Millie and her young brother Johnathan as they embark on a fifty-mile journey to North Devon to seek out family after losing their mother to Typhoid, leaving them with their elderly grandma, Emily. Emily is only too aware of what will become of her grandchildren when she hears that Sir Edgar has also perished to the disease, and because of this, she has no other alternative than to tell them the truth of who their father really was and what will happen now he is dead. As Millie and Johnathan meet some genuinely good people on their travels, they also come across some unsavoury ones, too, but this doesn’t stop Millie from making sure she and her brother are kept safe. Again, Marcia has done an amazing job at creating a story that you can immerse yourself in. It’s very well written and descriptive, which allows the reader to visualize that period. The new characters fit in great with the old and well-established characters and the story flows seamlessly.
Just like the rest of the series, I thoroughly enjoyed Millie’s Escape and I’m looking forward to what comes next. Highly recommended!

Millie’s Escape is another book in the amazing Hartford Manor series by Marcia Clayton, and it brings with it a chance to meet another off-shoot of one of the families that make up the Hartford community. The series began with a tale about a poor family – Annie and her parents and siblings. It is now a tale about a community with many families – some connected, some new to the area – but all working together for the greater good as their lives intertwine. This latest novel tells us the story of fifteen-year-old Millie and her little brother Jonny. Orphaned and on the run from their father’s wife, they embark on a perilous journey through the bitter winter landscape, afraid for their lives as they know they are being hunted. As usual, Marcia Clayton writes from the heart, and when you read her books, you feel as if you know all these characters as real people.
And you feel they would welcome you with open arms should you happen to pass their way. Excellent.

Millie’s Escape, the latest in Marcia Clayton’s Hartford Manor series, introduces two new characters. Following the death of their mother, fifteen-year-old Millie and her little brother Jonathan are forced to leave their home and trek across the snow-covered Devon countryside in search of long-lost relatives in Hartford. Not only do they face a perilous journey with little money or food, but they also have to evade the wrath of a wealthy woman who was scorned and betrayed and whose deceased husband was Millie and Jonathan’s father. Falsely accused of theft, Millie is in fear of imprisonment, if not the loss of her life. In contrast to this grim tale, the denizens of Hartford are preparing for Christmas, with change in the air and a number of surprises as decisions are taken for the future. Ms Clayton has done her usual excellent job of bringing old customs to life in a realistic way. I especially enjoyed these sections and recognised some of the things that were traditional in my own childhood in Northern Ireland. As always, I was left with a feeling that I had been on a visit with old friends.
If you have not yet read the Hartford Manor series, I can strongly recommend them as your next historical adventure.

In the fourth part of the Hartford Manor story, we once again meet Robert and Annie with their extended family. Sam gets to know his long-lost family. Betsey and Ned make plans for the next part of their lives. There's a lot going on in North Devon. Meanwhile, in the south of the county, young Millie and Jonathan lose their mother and gain a deadly enemy on the same day. Fleeing for their lives, they begin a perilous journey northwards.
Another very enjoyable read from Marcia Clayton, combining engaging story-telling with excellent research to bring us another slice of life in rural Victorian Devon.