The Secret Bridge

A Review of “The Secret Bridge” by Amy Le Feuvre

The Secret Bridge is a book, published by Lamplighter Publishing

The Story

A young woman, Bridget, travels to London from the United States after her father dies and leaves her nearly destitute and alone in the world, save one uncle. She arrives in London only to find that the uncle who had offered her a place to live has passed away while she was making the journey.

Now Bridget must figure out how to survive in a world with no relatives or friends, save one English gentleman whom she met on the journey to London.

This gentleman becomes the key to her new life as his actions lead to Bridget finding a miracle. You might think the miracle would be money or stability, but in fact this miracle is much bigger than that. This miracle is her faith.

And through the process, Bridget and her gentleman discover a great treasure.

Characters

Bridget – The main character of this tale

Godfrey Bullingham – The gentleman who becomes Bridget’s Husband

Mr. and Mrs. Bullingham – Godfrey’s parents

Mr. Jocelyn – A Friend who knows a lot about the Bible

Mrs. Fitzroy – Bridget’s Grandmother

Mrs. Dent – Housekeeper

Chapter 1 -Fellow Passengers
Chapter 2 – A Bold Venture
Chapter 3 – A Speedy Separation
Chapter 4 – A Carved Chimney-Piece
Chapter 5 – First Visitors
Chapter 6 – A Song
Chapter 7 – Audrey Bullingham
Chapter 8 – A Discovery
Chapter 9 – Her Husband’s Home
Chapter 10 – An Eventful Sunday
Chapter 11 – The Shamrock Gown
Chapter 12 – A Secret To Be Kept
Chapter 13 – Coming Home
Chapter 14 – An Interrupted Story
Chapter 15 – Husband and Wife
Chapter 16 – Godfrey’s Confession
Chapter 17 – Bridget’s Confession
Chapter 18 – Won By A Letter
Chapter 19 – Reconciliation
Chapter 20 – A Sailor’s Wife

Central Message of The Secret Bridge

The aim of the publisher, Lamplighter Press, is to “develop Christlike character one story at a time,” and this story certainly falls in that category.

The Secret Bridge is a tale written to encourage young women (ages 12 and up) to open themselves to God and listen to the voice within themselves as they come of age and make their way in the world.

The reason for the title? Secrets are tantalizing, but they do complicate things and as Bridget and Godfrey build their life together, mostly through letters to each other, secrets accumulate that must eventually be revealed.

The Author

If you do not recognize the name Amy Le Feuvre, do not worry – not many people today would. She is an author, born in 1861, who lived in England her whole life. Amy Le Feuvre, whose actual name was Amelia Sophia Le Feuvre, also wrote under the pen name of Mary Thurston Dodge.

Much of Le Fuevre’s life was dedicated to writing stories for children that would illuminate biblical principles for them to understand and emulate. She wrote many, many such books and “The Secret Bridge” was written when she was 38 years old.

Le Fuevre died at the age on 68 in 1929 in Portland Lodge, Exeter, leaving behind a wealth of books and stories for children.

How We Liked It

I began the book and enjoyed the first few chapters, before handing it over to my daughter to read. I am now looking forward to having the chance to read the book for myself.

My teen daughter read this book and here is her feedback:

The relationship between Bridget and her husband is strange to me. They hardly know each other and yet they get married. She does what he says and doesn’t seem to decide things for herself.

I feel that in many ways the Christian messaging is irrelevant to the plot. The only benefit to adding Christianity into the story, from my point of view, is the cool friend (Mr. Jocelyn) who knows everything about the Bible. That part was great.

The pacing of the book has issues for me. You set up the fact that Bridget is the old lady’s granddaughter and that she is marrying into the family her grandmother hates, and the next chapter she tells her grandmother after saying she would keep it secret from everyone. It does not seem believable to me.

That said, the story is a good one.

(these next reactions may be largely influenced by my daughter’s dyslexia)

The story is fine on its own except the writing style is not to my liking. The story is confusingly structured because there are not double spaces between scenes and paragraphs so you have no idea what is going on most of the time. Also the font used to print the letters that Bridget and her husband write to each other is hard to read for me.

Book Stats

Title: The Secret Bridge

Author: Amy Le Feuvre

Length: 272 pages

Year written: 1899

Binding: Hardbound, Leather

Target Age: Girls Age 12+ and their mothers. (the overall theme and focus of the story is probably not interesting to younger girls even though the material is fine for girls as young as 12)