"Jewel Sowers: A Novel" by Edith Allonby is a poignant family saga set in a rural farming community, capturing the essence of small-town life. At its core, the novel explores the intricate relationships, hardships, and resilience of the characters against the backdrop of tradition and ambition. Through the lens of romance and coming-of-age, Allonby intricately weaves together the threads of love, sacrifice, and redemption. The narrative follows the journey of Jewel Sowers and her family as they navigate the challenges of rural life, facing both internal and external conflicts while clinging to their traditions and values. Amidst the secrets that threaten to unravel their tightly-knit community, Jewel learns the importance of resilience and the power of love to overcome adversity. As she comes of age, she grapples with the sacrifices required to uphold family honor and uphold the legacy of her ancestors. Through moments of hardship and triumph, "Jewel Sowers" emerges as a compelling portrayal of the human spirit and the enduring bonds that tie families together in the face of life's trials and tribulations in a small-town farming community.
Edith Allonby was an English writer and teacher. (Her surname was occasionally spelled Allanby or Allenby.) She created two novels set on a fictional planet before committing suicide in an attempt to draw attention to her third work. Allonby was born in Cark as the daughter of Joshua Allonby and Jane Deborah Orr Allonby. Her mother died while she was a little child. She attended Whitelands College. Allonby worked as a teacher and schoolmistress at St. Anne's National School in Lancaster. She wrote three novels, Jewell Sowers (1903), Marigold (1905), and The Fulfillment (1905). Frustrated by editors' requests for modifications and the lack of attention her prior novels received, she committed herself by consuming carbolic acid in Lancaster in 1905, at the age of 29. She had obtained three bottles of the poison by sending an aide to buy each one, claiming that it was required for a school lesson. Her suicide note, which concluded with the phrase "I have died to give God's gift to the world with as few stumbling blocks as possible," was extensively circulated, notably in The London Standard and The New York Times. Within months of her death, The Fulfilment was published, with minor editing and annotations added.
