This book starts with a brutal attack on a young woman by a member of a higher social standing. This then leads to the criminal trial of the individual which means that it turns into an attack on the victim. It is after this is all over that we find out that the people meant to protect the victims have conspired to ensure that the man is vindicated and the woman vilified.

This then has a knock on effect on the story and eventually leads to the woman putting into place a plan for revenge which does not go according to plan. Through the authors story telling we then find ourselves gripped between the dual pov's of the two main characters - the young woman and the man who was her laywer.

The author shows how everything has a cause and reaction and finds a way to put this story into words so that you can be on the side of both of them but still be emotionally attached to the woman by the end of the story. This is a strong story about survival and resilience of people during a time when women were the underdogs and had to fight for their rights.

I have only read a couple of chapters but I can tell that this isn't a book for me. The language is trying to hard to be authentic old English and I am also finding the switching between third and first person perspectives very strange. Sorry not for me.

Set to the background of the suffragette movement in London, The Trial of Lotta Rae follows Lotta who is raped and the man is found not guilty. What follows is the story of both Lotta and her lawyer William, and how their lives continue to entwine years after the trial.

This book is very dark and the writing style takes a while to get used to, it flits between first, second and third person narrative but once you’ve settled into the style it really is an addictive read.

It starts off quite slow but there is a twist early on that shocked me completely and had me desperate to read on - the pace really picks up after that.

A really bleak but brilliant look at what life was like for women in the early 1900’s, it’s very sad and not one for fans of an uplifting read but I loved it. I’ll be haunted by Lotta for a long time.

The Trial of Lotta Rae is a devastating novel as it charts the fall of a young woman who was going about her business when a richer more powerful man, decided to have sex with her. The story is almost too awful to read, as it vividly charts the moments before and afterwards which have an impact throughout this woman's life.

The characters, the setting and the plot are all realistically painted which makes it all the harder to set the book aside despite the feeling of awaiting yet another train crash that pervades the whole story.

Powerful and devastating in equal measure.

The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan

Halloween night, 1906. Lotta Rae is assaulted by a wealthy gentleman and bravely takes him to trial alongside her barrister, William.
But the verdict is devastating, the consequences unimaginable. When Lotta discovers she has been betrayed, she vows to deliver her own justice.
Twelve years later, William and Lotta meet again: this night, their final reckoning.
The day in court is done. But tonight he will hear her testimony.
Without giving too much away this is very much about a woman getting justice at a time when woman were very much classed as 2nd class citizen's . Throw in early 20th centuary class system , and the author has wrote a very thought provoking novel which could easily be based on fact.
Enjoyed it.

An interesting novel about both the individual (Lotta's rape trial) as well as the political ( the suffragette movement). Whilst I wasn't blown away with the novel, it was an interesting and emotional read and a nice way to pass a few hours

I loved the setting and thought the period was well realised. I really empathised with Lotta, but the story didn’t keep me gripped in the way I would have hoped.

I ummed and ahhed over the rating for this one. I loved the start, hated the second quarter, growing bored, and enjoyed the rest. It's a three star for me, enjoyable enough but not going to stick with me

3.5 stars

Very enjoyable the way the book weaves the characters in and out of each others lives.
Starting with two seemingly innocents, and watching as they become older, wiser and more jaded.
Lotta Rae is an inspiring character, strong through so many struggles. The story adds the suffragette movement in well, giving a real sense of how things actually were for women back then.