The Forbidden Orchid by Sharon Biggs Waller (A Mad Wicked Folly) is a
romantic adventure story set in the late 1800’s. Action takes place in England, on board ship,
and in rural China for Elodie Buchanan, a young girl trying to save her family’s
fortunes.
The first half of the book explains how
Elodie’s father is a botanist who was captured and tortured in China. Returning to England and the then relatively
new gardens at Kew, he is troubled in both mind and body and remains estranged
from Elodie’s mother and many younger sisters (all named for flowers). Ultimately, the family home is threatened
with repossession and he must return to hunting plants in China, with Elodie
deciding secretly to accompany him. To me, this
is where the story truly begins with some shipboard passages reminiscent of Avi’s
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Next, Elodie’s eyes are opened
further as their group travels by smaller boat and then by horseback through
China in search of a rare orchid.
Despite the constraints of Victorian England, Elodie is a strong, if naive at times, heroine who grows in understanding and independence through her many adventures. The Forbidden Orchid is longish (almost 400 pages), but readers who persevere will be rewarded with a satisfying ending and can then look forward to a possible sequel with more adventures in China. The Forbidden Orchid received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. Sharon Biggs Waller completed formidable research and includes an extensive bibliography and author’s notes.
