Some historical heroines inherit power. Others marry into it. Polly Justice has to fight for hers.
At the center of Julie Dorsey’s The Peacemaker’s Wife is a young woman living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina during the turbulent years surrounding the Civil War. Polly begins her journey as the teenage wife of John Justice, a man admired throughout the community for settling disputes. People call him “The Peacemaker.”
Behind closed doors, however, Polly knows another version of her husband.
John’s drinking, jealousy, temper and violence make their marriage increasingly dangerous. Yet Polly refuses to allow fear or the expectations placed on women of her time to determine the limits of her life. She has a calling of her own.
She intends to heal people.
Polly’s determination begins with tragedy. As a girl, she helps during the difficult birth of her twin sisters and carries crushing guilt after one of the babies, Lucindy, dies. Instead of allowing that painful memory to destroy her, Polly eventually turns it into motivation. She resolves to learn everything she can about childbirth, medicine, herbs and healing so that ignorance will never again leave her helpless.
That journey leads her to Nan Clark, Blue Ridge’s experienced “granny woman,” who becomes Polly’s teacher. Nan introduces her to traditional remedies, herbs, roots and the practical knowledge required to care for sick neighbors and women in labor.
But Polly has greater ambitions for herself.
She does not want simply to be known as another granny woman. She decides she will become “Doctor Polly.”
That small declaration reveals much about her character.
Polly lives in a world where women are expected to manage households, raise children, obey husbands and accept many of the boundaries society places around them. Polly may cook meals, care for her family and fulfill countless domestic responsibilities, but she refuses to believe those duties erase her ability to pursue meaningful work.
Her husband certainly does not make the journey easy.
John wants Polly to remain primarily a wife and mother, especially as his own reputation grows. Polly, however, continues answering calls from neighbors who need her. She treats injuries, illnesses, broken bones and complicated births. Slowly, the frightened girl who once struggled at the sight of blood becomes someone Blue Ridge depends upon.
Her story is not simply one of professional ambition. Polly is complicated, passionate, stubborn, compassionate, imperfect and deeply human.
She also remains emotionally connected to Sam Edney, the man she once loved before marrying John. Their relationship introduces another difficult question into Polly’s life: What happens when the person you married and the person you believe you truly belong with are not the same man?
Meanwhile, danger spreads throughout Blue Ridge. Mysterious deaths, black crow feathers, suspicious footprints, family secrets and eventually the devastation of war force Polly to become more than a healer. She must observe, question, survive and decide how far she is willing to go to protect herself and the people she loves.
That complexity is what makes Doctor Polly memorable.
Julie Dorsey’s The Peacemaker’s Wife offers readers a historical heroine who does not simply endure her circumstances. She learns, changes, challenges them and gradually claims a life that belongs to her.
For readers who enjoy historical fiction filled with strong women, family drama, forbidden love, mystery, frontier medicine and unforgettable Appalachian settings, Doctor Polly is a woman worth meeting.
Discover The Peacemaker’s Wife by Julie Dorsey and step into Polly Justice’s remarkable world.
