On the Run

As soon as I put down Garry Disher's Peace (2019), I grabbed a copy of Consolation (2020) to continue the story of Constable Paul Hirschhausen. 

In the sleepy town of Tiverton someone is preying on the vulnerable. Elderly women are having their undergarments stolen from washing lines by a 'snowdropper'. Some men posing as roofers are seeking cash in exchange for unnecessary repairs. And some mail has gone missing in a possible fraud. Father and son survivalists have gone on the run, stealing cars and making threats. On top of all this, Hirsch gets a call from a teacher asking him to do a wellbeing check on a student. Plus, with Sergeant Brandl out of action, Hirsch is temporarily managing the Redruth station and his own beat. It's a lot of pressure, so when a stalker starts sending him texts Hirsch is making a few mistakes which could have dire consequences.

There is a lot happening in Consolation, but Disher's brilliant pacing does not overwhelm the reader.  Set in an icy cold winter, with frost building on the mallee scrub and tyre tracks freezing into corrugated channels, the rural landscape and environment is realistically crafted. 

Hirsch has now been in Tiverton for eighteen months and Disher has evolved his outsider's gaze to one tinged with an insider's respect, love and care for his community. He has settled in now, forged relationships and truly understands the rhythm and  heartbeat of his patch. It is also lovely how his relationships with work colleagues have grown over this time. 

I have really enjoyed the Hirschhausen series - Bitter Wash Road (2013), Peace (2019) and Consolation (2020) - and with only one left I feel the need to pace myself before reading Day's End (2022). Garry Disher is an under-appreciated Australian novelist, and I look forward to getting into his other crime series like the Wyatt novels and the Challis and Destry novels, as well as his standalone stories.

Manifesto

In the eastern lowlands of Bolivia lie dozens of Mennonite colonies, including the Manitoba Colony, named after the Canadian province. Here the community members live plainly, speaking Plautdietsch (an endangered German dialect), farming and abiding by ultraconservative values. From 2005 to 2009, the women of this colony lived in fear as a group of men (their husbands, brothers and fathers), would sedate the household with an animal anaesthetic and then rape the women and girls. In total there were at least 151 victims, ranging from age three to sixty-five. The men were caught and were imprisoned. 

This shocking true story is the basis for Miriam Toews' bestselling novel Women Talking (2018) and the recent film adaptation. 

In the novel, the story begins when the men have been caught and taken away to the city to stand trial. Other men from the community are heading to the city to bail out the attackers. The bishop of the colony, Peters, has encouraged the women to forgive the men, to guarantee everyone goes to heaven. Peters advises the women that they will be excommunicated if they cannot forgive. Knowing that the accusers will be in danger when the men return, a group of eight women gather to decide what to do next. They meet secretly in a hay loft and determine they have three options: stay and forgive; stay and fight back; or leave. 

Over two days, the women gather to hold a referendum. They talk through the various options, the pros and cons of each. They all agree they want to keep themselves and their children safe, but do not know the best way of doing this. They also realise the risks of each decision. To stay and forgive means succumbing to future abuse, to fight back will result in violence and not everyone will survive, to leave means abandoning the elderly and they will not be able to take their teenage sons. These women also have no resources, are illiterate, and do not know whether they will be welcomed in other Mennonite colonies. Their faith is a driving force in their lives, and has been put to the test through this difficult decision.

Toews' novel is fascinating, and the female characters are all clearly drawn. What troubled me about the novel while reading it is that the narrator is August Epp, the colony's school teacher. August is invited to join the women and record the minutes of the discussion, as the women cannot read nor write. I initially found this device jarring as these poor women are denied agency once again to have their story transcribed by a man who chooses what does and does not get recorded. Plus, he is not a disinterested narrator, and includes his own musings in the minutes. But as I came to the end of the novel, I realised that is the whole point. Depriving women even a basic education means that they are powerless to do anything without the assistance of men. 

I am really interested to see the film version of this novel and I suspect it will actually be better than the book. Written and directed by Sarah Polley - who won an Oscar (and many other awards) for her screenplay adaptation - the film stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Sheila McCarthy, Judith Ivey, Frances McDormand and Ben Whishaw. Will provide an update once I have seen it.

Mallee Scrub

It's nearly Christmas in Tiverton, South Australia. Constable Paul Hirschhausen spends his days conducting welfare checks, finding lost dogs, and forging relationships in the community. After being demoted from Detective and sent out to this one-cop town a year ago, Hirsch has made peace with his situation. 

But this sleepy town has its share of crime. Someone has been stealing copper, disadvantaged teens have taken a ute for a joyride, vandals are defacing properties, a young child is locked in a hot car, and a drunk driver has crashed their vehicle into the Tiverton pub. Hirsch handles each of these matters relying on his intuition and experience. Just when he thinks he may enjoy a quiet Christmas with his girlfriend Wendy, the crime rate rises. When the violence starts - a slaughter of animals, a murder, and then some missing children - Hirsch is joined by Detectives from Adelaide and Sydney and a manhunt is underway. There will be no peace for Hirsch this Christmas.

Peace (2019) is the second novel in Garry Disher's Hirschhausen series. I really enjoyed the first, Bitter Wash Road (2013), and was keen to see the evolution of Hirsch as he settles into this town.  While focussed on the main character, Disher paints a vivid portrait of this dry and dusty community. The townsfolk are realistically portrayed and through them Disher provides insight to the social and economic complexities that  are the reality of living in rural towns.

I have read a lot of Australian rural noir - including Jane Harper's Exiles, Hayley Scrivener's Dirt Town, and Chris Hammer's Treasure and Dirt - and Disher should be as well known as these authors. A master of tension and pace, Disher is a gifted writer, who has crafted an engaging page-turner. So glad to know there are two more Hirsch books - Consolation (2021) and Day's End (2022) - as well as a dozen other Disher novels to explore. 

Revisiting Agnes Grey

While her sister Charlotte was writing Jane Eyre (1847), Anne Bronte was working on her own novel about a young governess, Agnes Grey (1847). While the two debut novels explore similar themes, the latter is less well known and sadly forgotten. This is a shame, as Agnes Grey is a delightful novel and should be held in higher esteem. It is a novel that deserves a much wider readership.

Agnes Grey lives a modest family life with her minister father, mother and older sister Mary. Her father has made some bad financial decisions and the family find themselves in debt. Agnes is determined to support the family by working as a governess. 

Her first position is for the odious Bloomfield family. Wealthy beyond measure, the children are spoiled and feral. The eldest, Tom, is a bully who talks back and cruelly tortures animals. Mrs Bloomfield adores her son, and does not support Agnes in her efforts to educate the children, undermining her at every turn. Agnes finds a new position with the Murrays - an even wealthier family. Here, her job is to shape the two girls, Rosalie and Matilda, into refined marriage prospects. Rosalie is flirtatious and determined to wed. Matilda is a tomboy who prefers her horses to boys. While not as terrible as the Bloomfields, here Agnes is ignored and lonely. She misses her family dreadfully.

As a minister's daughter, Agnes is deeply Christian and conducts wellbeing visits on an elderly woman Nancy Brown. Nancy has poor eye sight, so Agnes reads The Bible and helps Nancy with her mending. Here she meets Mr Weston, the new curate, and over time develops a fondness for him. A family tragedy requires Agnes to return home. While she is happy to be able to be with her family again, she is saddened to lose her growing connection with Mr Weston. Will they find each other again?

 

It has been at least 25 years since I last read Agnes Grey and I had forgotten most of it. At the time I recall viewing it as a pale imitation of Jane Eyre, but now, having reread them both consecutively, I really appreciate Agnes Grey in its own right.

Anne Bronte is such a gifted writer and I loved how she infused her protagonist with empathy, ethics, self-deprecating humour, and a love of animals. Some of the lines in the novel were so brilliant, like: 

'One glance he gave, one little smile at parting—it was but for a moment; but therein I read, or thought I read, a meaning that kindled in my heart a brighter flame of hope than had ever yet arisen.'

'I always lacked common sense when taken by surprise.' 

'But our wishes are like tinder: the flint and steel of circumstances are continually striking out sparks, which vanish immediately, unless they chance to fall upon the tinder of our wishes; then, they instantly ignite, and the flame of hope is kindled in a moment.'

'Then, having broken my long fast on a cup of tea and a little thin bread and butter I sat down beside the small, smouldering fire and amused myself with a hearty fit of crying.'

The 'amused myself' in that last sentence absolutely slays me!

Agnes Grey is described as an autobiographical novel. Anne Bronte worked as a governess in York, and had a disastrous first attempt. She too was the daughter of a curate, and the family struggled to make ends meet. The boredom, isolation and frustration she experienced as a governess is brought to life through Agnes.  

While Anne Bronte didn't get the praise she deserved for this novel, unfavourably compared with Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights, all published around the same time, in many respects I think Agnes Grey is superior. It is a certainly more relatable and realistic, and is a sophisticated critique of class and gender. I am so glad I revisited Agnes Grey.

Stella Prize Longlist 2023

The 2023 Stella Prize longlist has been released! The annual literary award celebrating women and non-binary writers of both fiction and non-fiction is named after Australian author Stella Miles Franklin. 

Past winners include some of my favourite books on recent years:

Evelyn Araleun for Drop Bear (2022)

Evie Wyld for The Bass Rock (2021)

Jess Hill for See What You Made Me Do (2020)

Vicki Laveau-Harvie for The Erratics (2019)

Alexis Wright for Tracker (2018)

Heather Rose for The Museum of Modern Love (2017)

Charlotte Wood for The Natural Way of Things (2016)

Emily Bitto for The Strays (2015)

Claire Wright for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka (2014)

Carrie Tiffany for Mateship with Birds (2013)

On 2 March 2023, the longlist was revealed with 12 nominees. I have not read any of the titles, and many of the authors are unknown to me, so I look forward to exploring these books further.

The 2023 longlist is as follows:

Mandy Beaumont  - The Furies

Teenage Cynthia's family is falling apart. Her mother has been taken away by police, and her father has walked out. Alone, she walks around the landscape of her outback home, looking for traces of her sister Mallory. The judges describe this novel as 'A powerful meditation on gendered, inherited and historical trauma.' This is Beaumont's debut novel.

Grace Chan  - Every Version of You

Chan is a psychiatrist and author of speculative fiction. In this debut novel Chan has created Gaia, a hyper-consumerist virtual reality. Tao-Yi and her partner Navin spend most of their time in Gaia, working, socialising and practically living in this online space, while their physical bodies lie suspended in pods in their apartment. I love speculative fiction, so will try to check this out.

Debra Dank  - We Come with this Place

Author Dank is a Gudanji/Wakaja woman. In this memoir, she writes about country and family. The judges report that 'Dank shares with us a life that is at once extraordinary and familiar. Dank's words are lucid and beautiful. Her skill not only as a keen observer of her own life, but as a narrative builder and scholar of it, is obvious.' 

Eloise Grills  - Big Beautiful Female Theory

From award-winning essayist Grills, comes a graphic memoir or illustrated memoir-in essays. Described as 'part feminist manifesto, part comic book', Grills explores identity. The judges describe this book as 'at times theoretical, heavy, but not dense, her work attends to an under-examined body of Australian literature.' 

Sarah Holland-Batt  - The Jaguar

I adore the cover of this poetry collection! Holland-Batt's poetry is about the grief and loss of her father from Parkinson's disease. These poems reflect on mortality. Holland-Batt has previously been recognised with the 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award for poetry. The judges write 'Accessible, lyrical and wise, this is a book from a poet at the height of her powers.' 

Adriane Howell  - Hydra

This is Melbourne-based writer Adriane Howell's debut novel. Anja is an antiquarian, classifying furniture in deceased estates. When she finds herself needing a change, she leases a beachside cottage, but a ghostly presence haunts its grounds. The judges describe Hydra as a 'startling original novel' and 'a truly weird and awe-some book in the best sense of those words, with an eccentricity that is never posturing or forced.'

Ngaire Jarro and Jackie Huggins  - Jack of Hearts: QX115894

This biography is written by two sisters about their father. Jack Huggins grew up in Ayr, North Queensland. During World War II he was captured by the Japanese in Singapore and spent much of the war on the notorious Burma-Thailand Railway.  His daughters seek to learn more about his journey. I have great admiration for Jackie Huggins and have always enjoyed the way she tells stories. I am intrigued by this book as so little has been published about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander soldiers and the Thai-Burma railway has fascinated me since reading Richard Flanagan's brilliant The Narrow Road to the Deep North (2013).

Tracey Lien  - All That's Left Unsaid 

Denny Tran is brutally murdered on a night out to celebrate his high school graduation. His sister Ky is devastated and enraged when bystanders claim to have seen nothing, so she attempts to track down witnesses herself. Set in Cabramatta in the 1990s, Lien writes about a richly diverse migrant community. This is her debit novel.

Louisa Lim  - Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong

Journalist Louisa Lim has spent over a decade in China as a correspondent for BBC and NPR. In her book on Hong Kong, she not only explains what is happening in the city, but questions the role of journalism in shaping an understanding of the world by bearing witness. The judges say that this book 'is a vibrant international literary achievement, speaking to the shifting geopolitical moment we find ourselves in while also examining the ongoing legacy of imperialism and colonialism.' 

Fiona Kelly McGregor  - Iris

This is probably the book I am most interested in of all the longlisters. Set in Depression-era Sydney, Iris Webber arrived looking for work. She busks with her accordion, and scams to make ends meet. She meets Maisie, a young sex worker, but queer desire is hardly punished. Written in the vernacular of the time, Iris depicts sly-groggers, gangsters and good-time gals in Sydney's underbelly.

Thuy On  - Decadence

Following on from Turbulence (2020), Decadence is Thuy On's second collection of poetry. The judges describe this 'as a book of poems about poems... when the collection looks outside to apply or play out its theories, On provokes us as readers to reconsider the role of poetry in our lives.'

Edwina Preston  - Bad Art Mother

Veda Gray is a frustrated poet, needing some peace and quiet to write. A wealthy, childless couple, the Parishes, offer to take her son Owen so she can create. The judges describe this as 'an account of fictional poet Veda Gray struggling with the bounds of convention in a post-war Australia deeply inhospitable to women writers'. Author Preston is a Melbourne based writer and musician.

For more information and the complete judges comments, see the Stella Prize website. 

Over the past few years, I have been having mixed feelings about the Stella Prize as the selection criteria has broadened to include more diverse genres. It seems odd to me that they have cast such a wide net, but at the same time ruled out plays or children's books. As a reader, I am not really excited by this longlist and there are only a handful of titles that I am keen to read - McGregor's Iris and Chan's Every Version of You. The short time period between announcements of long and shortlists also limits the ability to seek out these titles before the nominees are whittled down. 

The Shortlist will be announced on 30 March 2023 with the winner announced on 27 April 2023. 

Women's Prize Longlist 2023

On 7 March 2023, the 2023 Women's Prize longlist was revealed! The annual literary award celebrating women writers has previously recognised the talents of so many gifted writers, including these past winners:

Ruth Ozeki - The Book of Form and Emptiness (2022)

Susanna Clarke - Piranesi (2021)

Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet (2020)

Tayari Jones - An American Marriage (2019)

Lionel Shriver - We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005)

Andrea Levy - Small Island (2004)

 

The 2023 longlist is as follows:

NoViolet Bulawayo - Glory

Glory is a postcolonial fable, set in a fictional African country Jidada where an elderly tyrannical horse is disposed. A chorus of animals narrate this tale as Bulawayo tells the story of the military overthrow of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's President (1987-2017). The judges called this novel: 'An ingenious and brilliant political fable that bears witness to the surreal turns of history'. Bulawayo was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022 for Glory. 

Jennifer Croft - Homesick

In Oklahoma, Sisters Zoe and Amy are homeschooled. Amy is sharp, excelling at languages. Zoe suffers from illness and so Amy cares for her sibling.  This coming of age story is described as an illustrated memoir. American author Croft won the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for this book, and the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for her translation of Olga Tokarczuk's Flights.

Jacqueline Crooks - Fire Rush

Bernardine Evaristo said she 'felt charged and changed' by Crooks' debut novel. Born and raised in London, Yamaye loves clubbing at the weekend, dancing to dub reggae at The Crypt. She meets Moose, a carpenter who likewise has Jamaican heritage. Fleeing violence, Yamaye travels to Jamaica to learn more of her past. Crooks is a Jamaican-born British writer, best known for her short stories. This is her debut novel.

Camilla Grudova - Children of Paradise

Holly starts work at the dilapidated Paradise cinema where she cleans toilets and sweeps up popcorn. She is pretty lonely, ignored by her colleagues, but over time she is accepted by the group and becomes an insider. With the ushers she learns the history of the Paradise. When the owner dies and the Paradise is taken over by a cinema chain, this history may be lost. Grudova is a Canadian author, best known for her previous work The Doll's Alphabet.

Natalie Haynes - Stone Blind

Haynes is known for her retelling of classics, such as The Children of Jocasta and A Thousand Ships. Her latest, Stone Blind, brings new life to the myth of Medusa. The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa experiences aging and weakness not understood by her family. Assaulted by Poseidon and then punished for his transgressions, she is transformed into a monster that will turn living beings to stone. I picked up this book a few months ago and I am really looking forward it.

Louise Kennedy - Trespasses

Set in Northern Island during the Troubles, this novel is about a young woman living in Belfast. Cushla teaches at a parochial school and at night works in her family's pub. She meets Michael, a barrister who defends IRA members. Despite him being Protestant, older and married, Cushla commences an affair with him. As the Troubles escalate, she finds herself conflicted and her choices impact her family and community. Trespasses is Kennedy's debut novel. 

Barbara Kingsolver - Demon Copperhead

Arguably the most commercial book on the longlist, Kingsolver's novel is a retelling of David Copperfield set in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. A boy born to a teenage single mother grows up in poverty, surviving foster care, poor schools, addiction, and worse. Kingsolver is best known for her novel The Poisonwood Bible and won the Women's Prize in 2010 for The Lacuna. I have this novel and reckon it has a good chance of advancing and possibly even winning. Better get reading!

Sophie Mackintosh - Cursed Bread

Mackintosh is best known for her novel The Water Cure, longlisted for the 2018 Booker Prize. In Cursed Bread, Mackintosh bases her tale on a real unsolved mystery of a 1951 mass poisoning in a French village.  Eloudie, the wife of a baker, becomes intrigued by a new couple that move to the small town. Meanwhile, strange things are happening in the town - horses found dead, ghosts appearing, people experiencing hallucinations. Slowly, the town becomes gripped by madness.

Elizabeth McKenzie - The Dog of the North

Newly divorced, Penny Rush has a lot to manage. Her parents are missing in the Australian outback. Her grandfather is moving into a retirement home and her grandmother keeps experiments in her fridge. Penny needs a fresh start, so she jumps in an old van and embarks on a road trip. McKenzie is the author of The Portable Veblen.

Priscilla Morris - Black Butterflies

In Sarajevo, 1992, nationalists erect barricades to divide the city by ethnicity. Residents push the barricades inside during the day.  Teacher Zora sends her husband and elderly mother to England when violence erupts. Zora stays behind, believing the conflict will be resolved quickly. But when it escalates instead, the residents of her building come together to fins a way to cope. This is Morris' debut novel.

Maggie O'Farrell - The Marriage Portrait

This wonderful novel is a fictional imaging of the brief life of the Duchess of Ferrara.     When she was thirteen years old, Lucrezia de' Medici was married to Alfonso d'Este, the future Duke of Ferrara. Her time in Ferrara was short-lived as she died at the age of 16 from a mysterious illness, amid rumours she had been poisoned by her husband for failing to produce an heir. O'Farrell takes small threads of what is known of this woman and weaves a portrait of her life. I read this novel last year and absolutely loved it (read my review here). O'Farrell won the Women's Prize in 2020 for Hamnet. 

Sheena Patel - I'm a Fan

'I stalk a woman on the internet who is sleeping with the same man as I am.' Thus begins this first person account, told in short vignettes, of a 30-something, 'second generation immigrant' woman in South London. She shares her experience of an unequal, unfaithful relationship, with a unique character voice. This is Patel's debut novel. I have read a few sample chapters online and I am definitely intrigued. Will need to track down a copy.

Cecile Pin - Wandering Souls

Another debut novel, this book is about three Vietnamese siblings who flee war by boat to Hong Kong. Their parents and other family members are lost on the journey. The siblings eventually seek refuge in the UK and try to establish a life for themselves despite the sense that they are not welcome in Thatcher's Britain.

Laline Paull - Pod

Ea is a dolphin. Unlike the other members of the pod, Ea is deaf and cannot perform the spins required to fit in. Ea leaves the pod and ventures off into the ocean, finding predators at every turn. Paull was shortlisted for the Women's Prize in 2015 for her novel The Bees. This novel does not excite me at all. While I enjoy experimental fiction, I read a brief sample and was not engaged and found it hard to get in to.

Parini Shroff - The Bandit Queens

Geeta is enjoying her life as a widow. While she didn't kill her husband, everyone thinks she did. Consequently, she develops a bit of a reputation, and other women in the village seek her advice on how to get rid of their husbands. This is American author Parini Shroff's debut novel. I quite like the sound of this novel, and think it will be a hoot. Sounds a bit reminiscent of Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, The Serial Killer. Will have to track it down.

Tara M Stringfellow - Memphis

Miriam flees her husband, and returns to her childhood home in Memphis with her two children Joan and Mya. Covering 70 years and three generations of women, the story is told in differing narrative voices, in a non-linear fashion. Stringfellow is a poet and former attorney. This is her debut novel.

Last year's longlist gave me many hours of reading pleasure, so I am hopeful that this year's list will do the same. 

While I have only read one novel on this list (Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait), I have copies of Demon Copperhead and Stone Blind so will start my exploration there. I am keen to track down the works by Bulawayo, Shroff, Kennedy, Macintosh and Patel. 

I was surprised that Kate Atkinson (Shrines of Gaiety), Kamila Shamsie (Best of Friends), and Elizabeth Strout (Lucy by the Sea) did not make the cut. But it was nice to see nine debut authors gain exposure for their work by these nominations.

If I had to pick a shortlist, I would choose on Bulawayo, Kingsolver, O'Farrell, Mackintosh and Haynes to be among those listed. 

The shortlist will be announced on 26 April 2023  and the winner will be revealed on 14 June 2023. Happy reading!

The Willows

Elizabeth Von Arnim's novel Vera (1921), allegedly based on her disastrous marriage to Frank Russell, is the story of a naive young woman and a narcissistic, demanding man. 

While on holiday in Cornwall, Lucy Entwistle's beloved father dies suddenly leaving the twenty-two year old in a state of shock and grief. Shortly after his passing, Lucy goes out for some fresh air and, while leaning on the front gate at the edge of her garden, Everard Wemyss, a 45 year old widower, is passing by. He strikes up a conversation with the sorrowful girl. Wemyss' wife Vera died a week prior and, upon discovering Lucy's heartache, he uses their shared grief as a foundation for companionship. Wemyss sweeps in, assisting with funeral arrangements and providing support to Lucy and her Aunt Dot, who is under the impression he is a friend of her late brother. 

When Lucy and Dot return to London, Wemyss wheedles himself into Lucy's life despite the concerns raised by her Aunt Dot and friends of Lucy's father. They are concerned about his attentions to a young woman half his age, and more so because Vera died in suspicious circumstances. Vera fell from an upper floor window in the Wemyss' home The Willows to the flagstones below, but rumours abound about whether she jumped, was pushed or accidentally fell. Regardless, most view it as unseemly that Wemyss should be courting a young woman without observing a respectable period of mourning. 

Lucy is smitten, and proceeds to marry Wemyss and be whisked off to his country property The Willows. Here Wemyss' true self is revealed and Lucy becomes obsessed with Vera. 

While not a phrase used at the time of writing, this is a case study of a man bent on coercive control. Wemyss is a bully, making dreadful demands of his staff who only put up with him because he pays well and is away on weekdays in London. Lucy is infantilised as Wemyss' 'baby' or 'good girl', and scolded when she asks questions or tries to do anything in her own home. As an example, the house has an extensive library and Lucy is a voracious reader. But Wemyss has the library locked tight, refusing to allow anyone to touch his books. His piano must remained covered at all times, his meals must be served at exact times and so on causing his staff and Lucy to walk on eggshells.

Von Armin's novel starts slowly but gradually gains momentum creating a thriller-like page-turner. But the story was let down terribly by the ending. While the character of Wemyss was well crafted, Lucy did not experience much growth even as the truth about her husband's true nature was revealed. Aunt Dot is my favourite character - the spinsterly aunt who genuinely wants the best for her niece and attempts to befriend Wemyss. Von Armin has a sly wit and in many respects has written a darkly comic and stinging character assassination, portraying Wemyss as sulky, demanding and brutally cruel. No wonder her husband was angered by its publication. 

Reading Vera, I could not help but think of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. In both novels young women are wooed by older men, intrigued by the spectre of a previous wife, and set in stately country homes. While I much preferred Rebecca, I am pleased to have read Vera and look forward to reading more by Elizabeth Von Arnim.