WILDFLOWER HILL by KIMBERLEY FREEMAN

WILDFLOWER HILL

BY KIMBERLEY FREEMAN

THE BLURB:-

Glasgow, 1929. Beattie Blaxland dreamed of a life of fashion and fabrics. She never thought she would find herself pregnant by her married lover, just before her nineteenth birthday, and be forced to leave home.

London, present day. Emma Blaxland-Hunter is living her dream as a prima ballerina- until the moment her career is ruined and she loses everything.

Separated by decades, both women must find the strength to rebuild their lives. A legacy from one to the other will lead to Wildflower Hill and a house that holds traumatic family secrets, but also the place where Emma can stand alone for long enough to realise what she really wants.

THE REALITY:-

Well... My last book review was only six days ago, AND I've been busy with work, AND I made the time to visit a tourist attraction; so that will give you some idea of how unputdownable I found this little masterpiece! Bought at the Kenneth More Theatre in Ilford, from their little second-hand shop, pre-performance and with a conscientious decision to help local theatre, it's name appealed to me. Why? The name is similar to Wildfowler (I misread the title at first) and that's the name of the pub I used to meet my friends at as a teenager. Oh, the nostalgia of it...  Also, it's recommended by Kate Morton, one of my favourite authors, and it's set in Australia, somewhere I hope to visit, and sooner rather than later.  The cover photo is very atmospheric and moody- but whoever designed it did not bother to match the head of the girl on the cover with the body. Also, is it a picture of the front of a body with the arms on backwards? I noticed this and found it disconcerting and extremely weird.

Back to this fine read and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it: from the variety of well-depicted characters to the settings of both Glasgow and Tasmania. It was easy to put myself right into the time and place, as the customs and morals of those times were so clearly spelled out. I've said it before and I'll say it again- I find the beliefs of that pious generation OFFENSIVE. Beattie was really up against it but she used her skills to outwit and survive; these being both dressmaking (another reason for being attracted to this book) and poker, as observed by her previous existence working in a gambling den. The storyline was completely unpredictable, what with her (spoiler alerts coming!) winning Wildflower Hill in a card game and falling for her Aboriginal employee.  I also got a good inkling of what life on a sheep farm is really about.

The modern day character of Emma was also very realistic, and I could certainly relate to her being a bit of a loner; self-absorbed and not altogether confident with- maybe even wary of- people. I did not, however, understand what she saw in Josh, or why she wanted this cheating cad back. He was a complete and utter arsehole, and I'm glad she left London behind and (more spoiler alerts!) settled in Tassie (see, even I'm given it an affectionately abbreviated name...!)

The way seam after seam of a mystery was uncovered- in this novel of two different time dimensions- was interesting, and we are never quite sure that what we are being told is more than Emma has worked out about her beloved gran. But it doesn't matter. That's because the whole novel is fantastic and touching. I believe Emma's involvement with the Down Syndrome dancing girls brought a tear to me eye...

My only criticism is that I would have loved to have seen Beattie meet up with Lucy: her long-lost daughter. Instead we have Emma do that, and that relationship is never brought up to date. Oh well, you can't have everything, I suppose...

A brilliant read and I shall look out for more Aussie-inspired novels by this author.