Once upon a time, there was a writer. She was both famous and incredibly mysterious. In all her interviews, she never gave a truthful answer about herself or her family. Instead, she would tell a new, wonderful story each time. Just before her death, she invites biographer Margaret Lea to visit, promising to tell the true story of her life.
And she does tell it. It’s a tale as intricate as the plots of her other books, perhaps even surpassing them.
It’s a rather dark story, reminiscent of Jane Eyre (a book mentioned several times in the novel) and Consuelo. Yet it’s told in such a way that one cannot doubt it could have truly happened. Margaret Lea, and therefore the reader, has no reason to doubt.
The story ends, the lives of all the characters are recounted, and the mysteries are revealed. Only two questions remain unanswered. The old writer herself didn’t know the answer to the first. The second question isn’t even a question, but rather a small box filled with childhood treasures. Its appearance at the end of the book could signify something simple, or it could suggest that everything told was just another fairy tale and nothing more. But we’ll never know the answer—the writer has passed away.
The book is often described as a new Gothic novel and a revival of classic English literature from the Brontë era. I think the book will appeal to those who love the atmosphere of mysteries and secrets in decaying English estates, where both servants and masters have their own secrets, hidden safely within the old mansion, and the story spans multiple generations.
A film adaptation was released in 2013. I only saw the trailer, which captures the novel’s spirit well. However, I had pictured Margaret Lea as much younger.
