Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Catherine's
Ring - Elena Dorothy Bowman, Author
Catherine’s Ring – 5 Star Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of
Stir, Laugh, Repeat
“Nicholas deftly opened the package. He had to be
careful with it because of how delicate it was from being tossed around the way
it had been. Inside was a thick padding of The Boston Evening Globe dated
April 21, 1915 and tied with a red ribbon to secure it. As Nicholas
removed the ribbon the newspaper began to fall away revealing a note wrapped
around a red velvet box which had been placed in the middle of the thick
padding for protection. When he opened the box he could hardly believe
what he was looking at – a beautiful Diamond, Emerald and Ruby ring was staring
up at him. Maria was flabbergasted at the sight of the ring. She
couldn’t help wondering how anyone could send something that beautiful through
the mail without insuring it. But in those days, I guess they didn’t have
to worry about the mail not going through? Hah! The mail didn’t go
through then either did it? Never mind, that was then and this is
now. Nicholas hadn’t said a word, he just held the ring in his hand and
stared at its beauty and wondered who sent it to whom and why? And on
that same day, in an elegant Georgian Country Home, in the suburb of Cambridge,
England, a young girl named Catherine Alexander-V was presented with a ring
that was the twin of the one that Nicholas held in his hand – an incident that
neither Nicholas nor Maria could know would have a significant impact on their
lives. Maria insisted that Nicholas stop staring at the ring and read the
note that was included with it. There had to be a reason and obviously the
reason was in the note. Nicholas wondered how she could be so sure, her
only answer was, that there was a note with the ring It was
obvious. Nicholas opened the note and began to read it while Maria looked
on…Catherine’s Letter to Nicholas: 25 April 1915’
The post office in Nicholas Lindin’s home town was being
remodeled and when one of the counters was moved a mysterious package was
found. The package was addressed to Nicholas Lindin but the posted date
was 1915…98 years earlier. The package contained a ring and a letter from
Catherine Barton and was addressed to the boy she
loved.. Nicholas Lindin, the Great-Grandfather of the Nicholas Lindin of
today. Apparently Catherine’s father refused to allow his daughter to
marry a man outside of the family religion so he decided to separate them by
sending her to England for a
year. He had no idea that she would never make it to England but
instead end up at the bottom of the ocean.
Catherine’s father, Joseph Barton was a gemologist who
traveled the world acquiring priceless gems. On one of his trips he ran
across a Tribal Leader who was also a Medicine Man and Spiritual Leader of his
tribe. He had a pouch of gems that he was willing to sell to Joseph for a
mere $500 in gold coins. But, he told Joseph, the gems were
special. They were mystical and to prove this, the man cut his own wrist
with a sharp rock and placed several of the gems on the bleeding wound.
The cut healed almost immediately. Joseph paid the man with the intention
of having the stones made into a necklace for his mother, which he did.
As time proceeded, Joseph and his wife had twin girls and as a gift to her
granddaughters, Joseph’s mother had 2 identical rings made using some of the
diamonds, rubies and emeralds for both girls. Their names were Catherine
and Caroline and they were inseparable, that is until Joseph decided to send
Catherine to England.
Catherine’s twin sister Caroline’s ring was passed down over
the generations and finally ended up in the hand of her Great-Granddaughter
Caroline Alexander. But what happened to Catherine’s ring? Could it
have actually sat under the counter for almost 100 years and not been
discovered? That sounds quite unlikely. Could a friend have hidden
it and it finally turned up after all of those years? As the 2 rings come
back to form a full circle, some of the questions are answered.
Catherine’s Ring is full of mystery, suspense and
ghosts. And as an added treat, there you will even learn a little
history. The only problem I had with Catherine’s Ring was that I wanted
it to continue. I wanted it to take me into the next generation and then
the next. But the ending was beautiful, I just hope Author Elena
Dorothy Bowman will carry on with the ring’s next journey.
2010
165 pages
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