Happy publication day to this beautiful piece of historical fiction!
Bridget Collins’ first book, ‘The Binding’ was one of my favourite books of last year, so I was very keen to get my hands on this one. I had literally no idea what to expect in terms of plot, but was hoping that it would be every bit as immersive and compelling as ‘The Binding’.
The story follows Leo Martin, a disgraced politician, who is sidelined from ‘The Party’ and sent back to his old university, Montverre. Here, he can continue his work on the ‘grand jeu’, a mysterious game that seems to have elements of music, mathematics and mysticism. The narrative follows him as he experiences life as a guest at the college and, in particular, his building of a relationship with the Magister Ludi, a teacher and ‘grand jeu’ expert.
Alongside this, we read of Leo’s first stay at the school as a student when he built relationships with fellow scholars that continue to impact his present experiences.
As with ‘The Binding’, it’s so hard to do justice to the plot and characters as the whole book is so intricately crafted and it all slots together beautifully in the end – but it’s virtually impossible to describe as everything is linked! Collins has created a book which is so incisive on humanity and relationships, yet so difficult to pin down in other regards.
It is a historical novel in the same way ‘The Binding’ was – a sense of rich history, place and time, without it ever being made totally clear. Instead, the reader is left to put together the puzzle pieces – for my money, I think Montverre is in a (possibly imagined) European country and the historical markers (e.g. a reference to the Depression) make me think this is 1930s, although I really am not sure. It’s certainly rooted in reality, even if the reader is on constantly shifting sands in relation to understanding some elements – there are references to places and historical events throughout and the corruption of the country’s government reminded me of 1930s Germany – however, in this case, the persecution is of Christians. The ‘grand jeu’ itself is another mystery and one I still have no clear idea about.
However, none of this matters – as long as you are prepared to be swept along by the narrative. The novel centres on the theme of – surprise! – betrayal, but again this is multi-layered and there are many perceived and actual betrayals in the book. Again, the reader is on shifting sands as situations and motivations become clearer and sympathies shift.
Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction and dense, rich narratives. The only proviso is that you have to accept that not everything is clear – this is deliberate, but I know that some readers will find it uncomfortable. If you’re prepared to go with the flow, this is a glorious and immersive read.
With thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
You can buy a copy of this book using my affiliate link below – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases. You’re going to want a hard copy of this as it is BEAUTIFUL!
Header photo with thanks to Marius Masalar for sharing their work on Unsplash.
The post I wrote last week about non-fiction books about books seemed to strike a chord with many people… It turns out (surprise!) there are plenty of us in the bookish community who love books about books!
This week, I thought I’d turn my focus to fiction – loads of the replies I got last week talked about people’s favourite stories set in the worlds of libraries and bookshops, or featuring writers and stories within stories.
Without any further ado, here are some great novels set in the world of books. As is usual with me, there is a distinct Victorian/murder mystery theme, but plenty of others too!
All links to purchase books are affiliate links – I do earn commission on these (at no extra cost to you ) and thank you for supporting my blog.
‘The Reader on the 6.27’ by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent (translated from French)
This is the first book in absolute years that I read in one sitting!
It’s the story of a man who works for a company that pulps unwanted books, much to his horror. He takes stray pages from the pulping machine and reads them aloud to commuters on the 6.27 train every morning. One day he finds a memory stick containing private diaries and his life is due to be changed forever.
This book is absolutely gorgeous and charming – the main characters (Guylian and Julie) are lovely, there are some brilliant and very funny supporting characters and the whole thing is uplifting and sweet. Highly recommended!
‘The Journal of Dora Damage’ by Belinda Starling
This was a debut (and only) novel by a writer who is sadly no longer with us – I would genuinely have loved to see what else she had up her sleeve after this one.
I picked this up in a charity shop purely because it had a pretty cover, featured Victorians (yes, my obsession) and was about bookbinders. This is easily one of the best charity shop purchases I’ve ever made!
The book is about a woman who is married to a bookbinder and has to take over his business when he becomes ill. To make ends meet, she gets embroiled with some rather unsavoury aristocratic characters and takes up binding pornography, while also becoming involved with an apprentice in the business.
What I loved about this book was the strong and resourceful women in what was clearly a man’s world. This book was full of unexpected elements and felt really fresh and interesting – plus the setting was beautifully imagined and written. It really is a surprising and engaging read.
‘Magpie Murders’ by Anthony Horowitz
Let me just say up front – I did enjoy this book, but it was odd…
The novel is essentially two books in one. Firstly, there is the ‘fictional’ murder mystery, ‘Magpie Murders’, written by Alan Conway and featuring his celebrated detective Atticus Pund. Secondly, there is the investigation into Alan Conway’s own death by a publishing executive who is involved in the publication of ‘Magpie Murders’. The two narratives are linked as the fictional story supposedly contains clues to its author’s murder.
Confused yet? I was intrigued as to how this premise could work. How could a story give clues about its creator’s death since they were obviously writing it when very much alive!? The answer lies in the book’s structure – we get the Atticus Pund mystery nearly in its entirety before the discovery that the final chapters are missing. The publishing executive then embarks on a quest to find the missing pages, uncovering clues as she goes.
Both of the narratives are pleasing, full of shady characters, red herrings and plenty of hidden motives. What is a bit strange is that we get the publisher’s views on the Pund book, which essentially boils down to Horowitz critiquing his own story. Clever or a bit weird?
Overall, I would recommend this to people who love cosy crime fiction – there’s no real tragedy or graphic forensic detail here, which I think is positive. However, readers have to be prepared to stick with the two narratives – with all their quirks and flabby bits – as the payoff is ultimately satisfying.
Horowitz has since published other crime books for adults and his latest – ‘Moonflower Murders’ – is a follow-on to ‘Magpie Murders’.
‘An Expert in Murder’ by Nicola Upson
This is the first book in an engaging historical crime series that feature the crime writer Josephine Tey as the main protagonist. Her writing (crime novels and plays) form the backdrop to these books as she takes on the role of detective with her friend, Chief Inspector Archie Penrose.
This first book in the series, centring around a production run of Tey’s play ‘Richard of Bordeaux’, isn’t the strongest of the series but is worth reading as it establishes the characters in this semi-fictional 1930s world. There are some real gems later in the series – ‘Nine Lessons’ in particular is absolutely fantastic.
An engaging series in which a writer takes centre stage – excellent!
‘The Little Paris Bookshop’ by Nina George
This is a beautifully written story about a man, Jean Perdu, who has lost 21 years of his life mourning a relationship in which his partner (who was married to someone else) left him. On hearing news of her death, he decides to travel to meet her husband and discover more of her life story.
It’s also a book about bibliotherapy, an idea I love! Perdu runs a bookshop from a boat on the Seine and ‘prescribes’ books to people. What a great way to explore the power of literature!
Overall, this is a charming story with some lovely touches – the eccentric residents of Perdu’s house in Paris are a treat!
‘Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore’ by Matthew Sullivan
Lydia works at the Bright Ideas Bookshop in Denver surrounded by BookFrogs, the collection of quirky and tragic figures drawn to the warmth, security and comfort of the store. She is hiding her own tragic past, but the bookshop is somewhere that people don’t ask questions. Until Joey, a young BookFrog, kills himself in the store and Lydia is drawn into investigating her own past and the events that occurred 20 years before.
This is an inventive and compelling murder mystery, but it’s also much more than that. It’s also an exploration of human relationships and the psychology of trauma, but is so cleverly and skilfully done that you just keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. The characters are realistic and it is easy to get caught up in their lives. My only criticism – and this is a personal thing – is that it is quite bleak in places.
Highly recommended for those who like contemporary crime novels, although be warned that there is nothing cosy about this mystery.
‘Murder on the Eiffel Tower’ by Claude Izner (translated from French)
This is the first book in a series featuring Parisian bookseller Victor Legris as the investigator of a number of murders.
As with the Nicola Upson series described above, the first book isn’t the strongest of the series but it is worth a read to immerse yourself in Victor’s late nineteenth-century world. The murders are page-turning and the settings are just fabulous – the Eiffel Tower, the Pere-Lachaise cemetery, Montmartre. Plus, there’s a bookshop as a focal point…
‘The Bookish Life of Nina Hill’ by Abbi Waxman
This one was shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020.
Nina Hill works in a bookshop in a quirky area of Los Angeles. She’s happy with her life, with its pub quiz fixtures, cinema trips and plenty of time scheduled for reading. In fact, Nina prefers books to people and is quite content sharing her life with Phil, her cat. However, her life changes forever when she gets the news that her absent father has died, leaving her a bequest and a big, complicated family to deal with. A handsome quiz rival further pushes Nina to question her attitude to life.
This is a jolly, light-hearted book – although Nina suffers from anxiety, it’s not all doom and gloom and there is the sense that nothing truly awful will happen. It’s cosy, escapist fiction and I think it should be appreciated as such – I enjoyed it, read it quickly and it left me feeling happy. Surely then it’s met its objectives!
‘Flaubert’s Parrot’ by Julian Barnes
A book ostensibly about Flaubert wouldn’t be a hit with me, although I did read Flaubert’s ‘Madame Bovary’ at university and remember liking it. However, in Barnes’ hands, this becomes the story of obsession as scholar Geoffrey Braithwaite grapples with life and love through his Flaubert fixation. On the way, we learn a lot about the great French writer.
This – while tackling some big issues about life and art – is readable, funny and full of in-jokes for anyone who knows ‘Madame Bovary’.
‘The Truth’ by Terry Pratchett
Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that I’m not a massive fantasy fan. However, I can easily make an exception for the witty, wise and wonderful Terry Pratchett.
The Librarian at Unseen University (an orang-utan, for those uninitiated into Pratchett’s Discworld series) would make this list on his own merits, but instead I’ve chosen the fabulous ‘The Truth’.
It’s about writers – in this case journalists – and the introduction of the printing press to Discworld by William de Worde. As someone who unwittingly introduces the first newspaper to Discworld, he then has to deal with the can of worms he has unleashed! With its exploration of ‘fake news’ and the power of publication, this (written in 2000) feels like it really should be having its moment now.
OK, so journalism isn’t quite books, but printing is absolutely on message for this list and this book is so hilarious that I hope you forgive me wandering a little from the brief!
It is also worth mentioning some books that I’ve already featured on the blog. These would absolutely belong on this kind of list, but I thought it was cheating to feature them again when there were so many books I haven’t talked about!
‘Eight Detectives’ by Alex Pavesi – crime novel delving into the tricks of crime novels! A clever debut and reviewed here.
‘Shadowplay’ by Joseph O’Connor – brilliant novel about Bram Stoker writing Dracula during his time as manager of the Lyceum Theatre in a vividly-drawn Victorian/Edwardian world – reviewed here.
‘The Binding’ by Bridget Collins – a fantastic novel about an apprentice to a bookbinder who learns the dark and mystical secrets of the trade – reviewed as part of my ’10 Brilliant Historical Novels You Should Read’ here.
‘Swan Song’ by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott – a fictionalised account of Truman Capote’s life and relationships with the women he called his ‘swans’ (but ultimately betrayed in his writing). Interesting stuff and reviewed again as part of my ’10 Brilliant Historical Novels You Should Read’ here.
‘A Theatre for Dreamers’ by Polly Samson – gloriously sun-drenched novel about a community of artists and writers (including Leonard Cohen and Charmian Clift) living on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s. I reviewed the audiobook here.
‘The Postscript Murders’ by Elly Griffiths – cosy, twisty mystery about the death of a ‘murder consultant’ to crime writers. Reviewed here.
‘Frankissstein’ by Jeanette Winterson – excellent modern retelling of Frankenstein with an AI twist, interspersed with scenes of Mary Shelley writing the original novel. Reviewed here.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my list – please do recommend me more books about bookshops, libraries and writers!
I’ve written a lot recently about newly released novels – of which there are many. However, there are a vast number of excellent books that I’ve not written about in order to keep on top of waves of new ones.
With this in mind (and with a brief pause between the waves!), I thought I would introduce you to my favourite historical novels of recent years.
These are in no particular order – just books that strike me as deserving to find new audiences. They are all – as far as I know – stand alone novels. If historical crime series are your thing instead, you can find my recommendations here.
‘Shadowplay’ by Joseph O’Connor
Thanks to Sonder Quest for sharing their work on Unsplash.
I really love anything about the Victorian period, although I did not know much about Bram Stoker, the focus for this book, apart from the fact he wrote ‘Dracula’. The whole book was a bit of a revelation, in fact, putting Stoker in the context of his life’s works and the wider view of Victorian and Edwardian society.
The novel focuses on Bram Stoker’s life from his days as a clerk in Dublin to his time managing the Lyceum Theatre in London through to his death in 1912. The main part of the book really concentrates on his tricky relationships with the famous Shakespearian actor Henry Irving (owner of the Lyceum Theatre) and Ellen Terry, great actress of her day. Although heavily based in fact, this is a fictional account and it really brought the historical figures to life through the (fictionalised) diaries of Stoker, the letters between the characters and even some (again fictional) transcripts of conversations and interviews.
I really enjoyed the way that so much of Stoker’s day to day life at the theatre seemed to provide the inspiration for ‘Dracula’ – as a long time admirer of that classic novel, it was lovely to see ideas coming together, from character names to places and events and motifs. I wasn’t aware until reading this that Stoker never realised that ‘Dracula’ was destined for fame and fortune – it is a tragic element of his story that he never saw its success in his lifetime.
There was a lot to enjoy in this book for people who like well-researched historical fiction. So many people and places and events were incorporated into this story that Google was my constant companion so I could see and read even more!
There are a couple of reservations – Florence (poor Florence!) could have been developed more and I’d have liked a tiny bit more pace in places, but these are slight niggles only.
Overall, this is an enjoyable read for those interested in Victorian society and theatre or Bram Stoker and his writing process. It is an engaging and ultimately moving account of one man’s life and relationships in a fascinating era.
‘The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock’ by Imogen Hermes Gowar
It’s so hard to explain why this book is so bizarre and yet so fantastic (in both senses of the word). It defies genre and delivers a wholly satisfying story that I couldn’t wait to unravel.
It is 1785 and Jonah Hancock, a merchant in London, is living a narrow existence and waiting for news of his ships that are sailing across the world with the cargo that is his livelihood. One of the ship’s captains returns with a strange offering, a mermaid, an event which marks the start of Jonah’s change in fortune. As he rises in the world by feeding the public’s desire to see the mermaid, he crosses paths with Angelica Neal, a beautiful courtesan, and his life changes forever.
Thanks to Nsey Benajah for sharing their work on Unsplash.
The story moves between Jonah’s view of events and Angelica’s; both are utterly engrossing and introduce the reader to different levels of Georgian society and a whole host of fascinating characters. Although the novel is ostensibly historical fiction, there is also a slightly supernatural element which is interesting. It reminded me of some of Angela Carter’s novels (‘Nights at the Circus’ being a firm favourite of mine) in that there is a grotesque element to some of the writing and the reader is sometimes unsure what is reality and what is illusion.
Overall, I loved this book and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves historical novels (Georgian London is presented in absorbing detail), mystery and intrigue (is the mermaid real?), wonderful characters (Mrs Chappell is delightfully awful) or who just simply want to read a great story. Beautifully written and absolutely engaging.
‘Tipping the Velvet’ by Sarah Waters
This is a fabulous historical novel set in the Victorian theatre world – I have re-read this one a lot. It’s so beautifully written and absolutely absorbing.
The narrative follows Nancy Astley as she leaves her Whitstable home and embarks on a music hall career in London. Led by her love for Kitty Butler, a music hall artiste, she learns about her own sexuality and character as she moves through different levels of Victorian London society.
The characters she meets are varied and interesting, and always presented with subtlety and humanity, be they aristocracy or prostitute, Socialist activist or servant, theatre star or charity worker. Nancy herself is a complex and slightly frustrating narrator; she is human and real and sometimes makes bad decisions, but the reader can’t help but be charmed by her.
As well as the characters, the settings are also beautifully evoked. Nancy moves from the vibrancy of the Victorian music halls to the seediest boarding houses to the mansions of London’s wealthy and all are written in vivid detail by Waters.
The novel is often categorised as a romance, which it undoubtedly is, but I’d say this is also bildungsroman – Nancy leaves Whitstable as a young, innocent girl and embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she finds her place in life. I really love this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes their historical fiction with intelligence and a whole lot of heart.
‘Bone China’ by Laura Purcell
I loved Laura Purcell’s ‘The Corset’ and so was very excited to read her new book, ‘Bone China’.
As I trust the author, I deliberately did not read about it before I started reading so that I could be pulled along by what I knew would be an engaging and suspenseful narrative. I really wasn’t disappointed!
The story centres on Morvoren House in Cornwall, a family home set on the top of cliffs. A maid, fleeing the secrets of her own past, arrives to take care of the elderly Miss Pinecroft (and her extensive collection of bone china, of course!) The household are rather unconventional and Cornish myths and superstition run rife, especially with Creeda, companion to Miss Rosewyn Pinecroft. Just as the maid, Hester Why, starts to find her feet in this strange family, the narrative shifts back 40 years and we start to learn the secrets of the tragic Pinecroft family.
This book is a beautifully written piece of historical fiction. As with Laura Purcell’s previous work, there is a strong sense of the creepy and sinister, this time in the exploration of the old Cornish beliefs about fairies (who are far from the benevolent and cute figures that Disney might have us believe!) There is also plenty of vivid description which really brings to life the unusual settings such as the caves beneath Morvoren House and the characters that inhabit the story.
I would recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction. Even if you are sceptical about the supernatural elements (I’m queen of the cynics – I don’t usually read this genre for that reason), you cannot help but be drawn into this beautifully plotted, carefully researched and fascinating story.
‘The Binding’ by Bridget Collins
With Collins’ second novel arriving soon (and it’s absolutely amazing), I couldn’t not include this one here.
I have no real clue how to categorise this or describe it, but this book is absolutely wonderful!
Emmett lives with his family on a farm. He’s trying to pull his weight with the physically demanding work, but he has been ill and can’t really remember a dark, feverish period of his life. A mysterious letter arrives asking for him to be an apprentice to a binder, a woman living in a remote area who is widely considered to be a witch. With no real choice in the matter, Emmett takes his place in the binding workshop, learning the secrets and skills of transferring memories to paper. But things aren’t as they seem and the world of bookbinding has those who abuse their power over people’s minds.
Picture thanks to Cristina Gottardi for sharing their work on Unsplash.
I really don’t want to give any more of the story away because I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it was because I did not quite know what to expect. I’m not even really sure what category I would place this in – the setting feels historical, but also like a parallel world in which books have mysterious power. It certainly isn’t my usual genre, but I absolutely loved it.
The novel is beautifully written and hugely imaginative – I read it in a day, which is fairly unusual for me. The only criticism I have is that I found it quite difficult to imagine the physical appearance of the characters. Scenes and emotions in the novel are written in great and absorbing detail, but I just wanted to be able to see the characters in my mind. A small niggle for me!
However, this is a lovely and engaging novel. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read something a bit different. It is not at all what I expected, but was a pleasant surprise.
‘The Devil Aspect’ by Craig Russell
Wow. Just wow!
The story is set in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s. Nazism is on the rise, showing itself in small ways to the staff and residents of the asylum at the centre of the plot. This asylum is like no other, housing ‘The Devil’s Six’, killers of such depravity that they are isolated in a remote castle location. The castle itself also hides secrets, with locals thinking it stops up the mouth of Hell itself.
Into this grim and dark place comes a new psychiatrist, Victor, keen to prove that people have split personalities, a ‘devil aspect’ in each of us that has capacity for great harm. He arrives fresh from Prague, a city terrorised by a serial killer called ‘Leather Apron’, and starts to uncover some unexpected things about the castle residents.
It’s hard to write a summary of the book that really does it justice. It cleverly weaves the mythology and folk tales of Central and Eastern Europe with trends and discoveries in psychiatry, while also maintaining a constant sense of darkness through the historical setting. As Nazism makes itself felt in Czechoslovakia, not least to the Jewish character in the novel, Russell also winds in the grimness of Victorian London’s Jack the Ripper crimes being mirrored on the cold and gloomy streets of Prague.
It is meticulously researched and fascinating. It’s also all described vividly – sometimes a little too much so, given the brutality of the crimes involved and the disturbing madness at the heart of the novel.
I just can’t praise this enough. It genuinely kept me turning pages right to the end and left me thinking about it long after the end. Yes, it’s extremely dark and gruesome. Yes, it’s about some very grim subjects. Yes, it’s quite disturbing. But it’s also wonderfully clever and inventive and compulsive. Please read it now.
‘Blackberry and Wild Rose’ by Sonia Velton
This is the story of two women living in Spitalfields during the reign of George III. One (Esther Thorel) is the wife of a respected Huguenot weaver, the other (Sara) is a prostitute at the seedy Wig and Feathers tavern. When Esther pays for Sara’s freedom from her life of prostitution and gives her a job in the Thorel household, both women’s lives are changed forever and not in ways they could foresee.
Thanks to VIBHUTI GUPTA for sharing their work on Unsplash.
There is so much that is fabulous about this novel. The chapters alternating between the perspectives of the two women make the story compelling; although this isn’t a radically new device, in this novel it takes the reader on a rollercoaster of emotions and results in constantly shifting sympathies. I honestly couldn’t decide whose side I was on as it kept changing! Also, the descriptions of Georgian London are vivid and engaging – this is a grimy and dangerous London where mobs can rule and justice is far from guaranteed. The plot is tight and there is a serious feeling of menace at times – I could not put this book down!
Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction. This is a beautifully written and captivating novel that deserves wide readership and critical acclaim.
‘The Doll Factory’ by Elizabeth Macneal
This book is about twin young women working in a doll factory in quite early Victorian London. Iris longs for escape, while Rose is more resigned to her situation, keen to appear respectable and do as her parents wish. Nearby, the Crystal Palace is being built for Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition and items are being sought for both this and for the Royal Academy’s annual exhibition. It is these things that will change the twins’ lives forever as they get caught up with the burgeoning Pre Raphaelite movement and a shady taxidermist called Silas.
I really loved this book for so many reasons. Firstly, the setting felt vibrant and interesting – this is London as the centre of innovation and full of opportunity. However, it’s also a London that is dangerous and seedy, and Macneal does not hold back from portraying the poverty and prostitution in the city that exists alongside the promise of the future.
I also loved the character of Iris, a woman prepared to take risks to be free to paint. The Pre Raphaelite artists themselves are also engaging subjects for a novel, although quite sanitised if what I’ve read about them elsewhere is to be believed! Finally, the sense of tension sustained throughout the book is cleverly done as Silas changes from odd loner to something much creepier.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who likes historical fiction. My only quibble is the title – it’s a bland and unexciting title for something that offers so much more than the story of a doll factory.
‘A Single Thread’ by Tracy Chevalier
I’d read a few of Tracy Chevalier’s books before and so I was expecting a well-researched, evocative and beautifully crafted historical novel. I was not disappointed.
This book is about Violet Speedwell, a single woman in her late thirties who is living in Winchester in 1932. Still mourning her losses in the Great War, Violet is trying to escape the future that society has planned for her as a ‘spinster’ and ‘surplus woman’. Instead of settling with her mother in Southampton as everyone expects, she moves to Winchester, gets a job as a typist and becomes involved in the Broderers, a group of women embroidering items for the cathedral. Through this, she meets an interesting set of people who show her that there are other ways of living outside of society’s rules.
Violet is an appealing and engaging heroine whose situation evokes sympathy in the reader; she struggles to assert her independence in a society that seems to want to thwart her every move. The setting is beautifully described, the characters are vivid and there is lots of interesting information about the embroidery techniques that Violet is learning – sewing is not my thing at all, but I did find it added to the novel.
This is a charming book that follows a lively and unconventional heroine. Although Chevalier touches on the big issues of women’s rights and the rise of Nazism before the Second World War, the focus never leaves Violet, her friends and family, her struggles and successes, her hobbies and her beliefs. A lovely book and one I would wholeheartedly recommend.
Thanks to Olesia Buyar for sharing their work on Unsplash.
‘Swan Song’ by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
I didn’t know much about Truman Capote before I picked up this novel, but I was intrigued by the idea of telling his story through the women he was closest to – his ‘Swans’, a group of wealthy socialites who gave him access to their privileged lives and darkest secrets before he betrayed them by writing thinly-disguised versions of their stories.
I was interested in how biography can become fiction, although I soon realised that Capote himself was a master of blurring the lines between truth and fiction as several sections in this novel show – key events are told and retold from different perspectives and with dramatic features added, so the reader is always aware that truth is an illusion.
The novel covers the period between the 1930s (when Capote is a child) and the 1980s when Capote is living in relative exile following his controversial decision to fictionalise his Swans’ lives in print. The narrative switches between Capote himself and his friends, a collection of wealthy and influential women whose names are often familiar to us – we see Jackie Kennedy and her sister Lee Radziwill, Babe Paley, CZ Guest, a Churchill and the Guinesses among others. The story then drops in so many familiar faces and names that Google is a necessary companion to this novel – Frank Sinatra, Mia Farrow, Gore Vidal, John and Bobby Kennedy, Harper Lee… the list goes on as Greenberg-Jephcott draws a vivid picture of the social whirls surrounding Capote.
I know that other reviewers have mentioned that they found the book confusing and I can see this – the timeline does skip around a bit and the cast list is extensive, although I found the more I read, the clearer the distinctions between the women and their individual lives became. Some reviewers have also said that the characters are unpleasant and unsympathetic, but I didn’t find this at all. They are undoubtedly self-absorbed, but I think that the novel shows that lives that seem gilded still have problems. Yes, the ladies lunch and are extravagant and spoilt, but they also seem human and their lives aren’t perfect.
Capote himself is a challenging figure – bitchy and clever and untrustworthy, but his background and final days still evoke pathos.
I found myself caught up in these glamorous yet often tragic lives and feel that the book will stay with me for some time.
Overall, I think this is a superb piece of writing that vividly evokes a particular historical era and social set. I thought it was beautifully written and fascinating – I definitely want to learn more about the real lives of the characters and even read some Capote, something I now feel is a shameful gap in my reading history! It’s a long book and challenging in places, but it’s also compelling and engaging. It’s been thoroughly researched and lovingly written and is definitely worth a read.
With thanks to NetGalley for giving me these books in exchange for honest reviews. As always, opinions are entirely my own!
Header photo with thanks to Jason Wong for sharing their work on Unsplash.
