THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER
BY KATE MORTON
THE BLURB:-
My real name, no one remembers.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.
In the depths of a nineteenth-century winter, a little girl is abandoned in the narrow streets of London. Adopted by a mysterious stranger, she becomes in turn a thief, a friend, a muse and a lover. Then, in the summer of 1862, shortly after her eighteenth birthday, she retreats with a group of artists to a beautiful house on a quiet bend of the Upper Thames...
Tensions simmer and one hot afternoon a gun-shot rings out. A woman is killed, another disappears, and the truth of what happened slips through the cracks of time.
Over the next century and beyond, Birchwood manor welcomes many newcomers but guards its secret closely- until another young woman is drawn to visit the house because of a family secret of her own...
As the mystery of The Clockmakers Daughter begins to unravel, we discover the stories of those who passed through Birchwood manor since that fateful day in 1862. Intricately layered and richly atmospheric, it shows that, sometimes, the only way forward is through the past.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.
In the depths of a nineteenth-century winter, a little girl is abandoned in the narrow streets of London. Adopted by a mysterious stranger, she becomes in turn a thief, a friend, a muse and a lover. Then, in the summer of 1862, shortly after her eighteenth birthday, she retreats with a group of artists to a beautiful house on a quiet bend of the Upper Thames...
Tensions simmer and one hot afternoon a gun-shot rings out. A woman is killed, another disappears, and the truth of what happened slips through the cracks of time.
Over the next century and beyond, Birchwood manor welcomes many newcomers but guards its secret closely- until another young woman is drawn to visit the house because of a family secret of her own...
As the mystery of The Clockmakers Daughter begins to unravel, we discover the stories of those who passed through Birchwood manor since that fateful day in 1862. Intricately layered and richly atmospheric, it shows that, sometimes, the only way forward is through the past.
THE REALITY:-
I bought this on holiday, in Cornwall, but didn't get to read it until much later. And then, after I had raced to the end, I felt I had rushed it, so I read it all over again! And both reads were highly enjoyable...
I read some other reviews about it, and agree with the reviewer who thought the title of the book was irrelevant- the fact that Birdie is the daughter of a clockmaker was not something that was relevant or explored- so could the publishers simply be jumping on the 'somebody's daughter' bandwagon of successful novels? I've heard that nowadays publishers (and agents) do have ideas for what title will make for a bestseller and then try and find a writer's piece of work that fits that particular mould. If that's true, then that's disgusting- I know that commerciality is important, but not at the cost of true creativity.
I don't, however, agree with the reviewer who thought that the modern-day character of Elodie was weak (not everyone in a novel can be overpowering) or that the book, set in many different time frames was confusing. Yes, Kate Morton tends to usually go through two or three different eras and in this work we see the lives of Edward, Lucy, Ada, Leonard, Juliet, Tip, Elodie and Jack (and of course Birdie) depicted but they're all sectioned off and any overlapping happenings explained. If anything, the author's style of writing is more simplistic than in previous novels and each section is clearly dated. It's not much of a spoiler alert to mention that the story is narrated by a ghost as that is, very early on, apparent, and I quite liked it.
The concept of a really special house with almost magical warmth really appealed to me and, when you add in a beautiful, atmospheric countryside setting, along with hidden priest holes, and then juxtapose this with filthy, 19th century London, then it's going to be really hard for me to dislike the work. My only problem was with a touch of reality. Could Elodie, on an archivist's salary, really afford to rent a flat in Barnes, west London, by herself? And would she really travel everywhere by bus, including all the way across London and through the rush hour? Jesus, in reality, she'd never get anywhere! And would she really have walked all the way from Barnes to Chelsea Embankment before hopping onto a bus? Trust me, I've walked from Hammersmith Bridge (near Barnes) to Putney Bridge (the next bridge up) and that's quite a trek. So, add the distance of yet another two bridges and it makes this little trot alongside the Thames a bit of a mission. A small thing, but it makes this area of the book look unresearched.
On the whole, though, I loved this novel. I wouldn't say it's the most gripping of Kate Morton's work, but it did seem easier to read with less complex twists and less flowery language (not that I mind those things). Yes, it did seem, at first, that some characters were not fully expanded upon and loose ends not tied up, but on closer inspection both of these discrepancies were dealt with and anyway, I often think it's nice to let the reader fill in the gaps of a story themselves. For my own work, I've learnt that it's not necessary to spell everything out in black and white to the reader. Readers aren't imbeciles.
With a great conglomeration of stories contained within one novel and a host of likeable and unlikeable characters (Birdie and the wonderful Tip were my favourites) I found this an enchanting, highly recommended read.
I read some other reviews about it, and agree with the reviewer who thought the title of the book was irrelevant- the fact that Birdie is the daughter of a clockmaker was not something that was relevant or explored- so could the publishers simply be jumping on the 'somebody's daughter' bandwagon of successful novels? I've heard that nowadays publishers (and agents) do have ideas for what title will make for a bestseller and then try and find a writer's piece of work that fits that particular mould. If that's true, then that's disgusting- I know that commerciality is important, but not at the cost of true creativity.
I don't, however, agree with the reviewer who thought that the modern-day character of Elodie was weak (not everyone in a novel can be overpowering) or that the book, set in many different time frames was confusing. Yes, Kate Morton tends to usually go through two or three different eras and in this work we see the lives of Edward, Lucy, Ada, Leonard, Juliet, Tip, Elodie and Jack (and of course Birdie) depicted but they're all sectioned off and any overlapping happenings explained. If anything, the author's style of writing is more simplistic than in previous novels and each section is clearly dated. It's not much of a spoiler alert to mention that the story is narrated by a ghost as that is, very early on, apparent, and I quite liked it.
The concept of a really special house with almost magical warmth really appealed to me and, when you add in a beautiful, atmospheric countryside setting, along with hidden priest holes, and then juxtapose this with filthy, 19th century London, then it's going to be really hard for me to dislike the work. My only problem was with a touch of reality. Could Elodie, on an archivist's salary, really afford to rent a flat in Barnes, west London, by herself? And would she really travel everywhere by bus, including all the way across London and through the rush hour? Jesus, in reality, she'd never get anywhere! And would she really have walked all the way from Barnes to Chelsea Embankment before hopping onto a bus? Trust me, I've walked from Hammersmith Bridge (near Barnes) to Putney Bridge (the next bridge up) and that's quite a trek. So, add the distance of yet another two bridges and it makes this little trot alongside the Thames a bit of a mission. A small thing, but it makes this area of the book look unresearched.
On the whole, though, I loved this novel. I wouldn't say it's the most gripping of Kate Morton's work, but it did seem easier to read with less complex twists and less flowery language (not that I mind those things). Yes, it did seem, at first, that some characters were not fully expanded upon and loose ends not tied up, but on closer inspection both of these discrepancies were dealt with and anyway, I often think it's nice to let the reader fill in the gaps of a story themselves. For my own work, I've learnt that it's not necessary to spell everything out in black and white to the reader. Readers aren't imbeciles.
With a great conglomeration of stories contained within one novel and a host of likeable and unlikeable characters (Birdie and the wonderful Tip were my favourites) I found this an enchanting, highly recommended read.
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