Jennie Trilogy Series by Elisabeth Ogilvie

In 1809, marriage was the best a spirited, healthy, and intelligent girl could hope for, especially if she was an orphan without a fortune. Jennie Hawthorne has been hustled to London by her well-meaning aunt to secure just such a marriage, though Jennie despises the prospective wife parade and yearns for her childhood home by the North Sea. All that changes when she falls for the dashing soldier Nigel Gilchrist, marrying him after a whirlwind romance... moreIn 1809, marriage was the best a spirited, healthy, and intelligent girl could hope for, especially if she was an orphan without a fortune. Jennie Hawthorne has been hustled to London by her well-meaning aunt to secure just such a marriage, though Jennie despises the prospective wife parade and yearns for her childhood home by the North Sea. All that changes when she falls for the dashing soldier Nigel Gilchrist, marrying him after a whirlwind romance. Nigel wastes no time whisking his bride to the Scottish Highlands where he will serve as manager to the family estate.In Scotland Jennie is faced with the realities of the Highland Clearances: tenant cottagers forcibly evicted from their homes by lairds to make way for sheep and grazing land. When Jennie learns that both Nigel and his brother are complicit in such clearances, she finds her heart warring with her conscience. She defies Nigel and his brother, doing what she can to help the cottagers, and helping Alick Gilchrist resist the clearances. But their efforts bring disaster: a tragic accident makes Alick a hunted fugitive, and Jennie is compelled by circumstance to throw her lot in with his as they face an arduous journey across mountains to ultimately escape the strife-ridden Highlands. less

Jennie and Alick Glenroy arrived in Maine with nothing, not even their names, starting anew in a different land, leaving the turmoil and violence of Scotland behind them. Almost twenty years later, the "Godless Glenroys" are a prosperous, though sometimes controversial, family. Alick is the proprietor of a successful shipyard, and Jennie has raised their five children to think for themselves, a trait that occasionally raises the ire of their staid neighbors... moreJennie and Alick Glenroy arrived in Maine with nothing, not even their names, starting anew in a different land, leaving the turmoil and violence of Scotland behind them. Almost twenty years later, the "Godless Glenroys" are a prosperous, though sometimes controversial, family. Alick is the proprietor of a successful shipyard, and Jennie has raised their five children to think for themselves, a trait that occasionally raises the ire of their staid neighbors.The Glenroys find themselves facing issues that they've long been sheltered from: slavery, enmity, and violence. Jennie and Alick must defend their children against malicious accusations and guide them through the trials of adolescence, but also allow them the independence and space to grow into intelligent and principled adults. When a figure from their fugitive past sails into town, everything they have worked to build over the past twenty years is in danger of being torn asunder; ultimately they must face these new challenges with the same courage and persevering spirit that carried them over Highland mountains so many years before. less