Hannah Jackson has no memory of the nine years preceding her injury in an accident the previous Autumn, when a London omnibus in which she was riding collided with a runaway brewers dray on Ludgate Hill.
Sebastian Chetwynd is the heir, following the tragic death of his elder brother Harry, to the Shropshire estate of Sir Henry Chetwynd. Resident on the estate at the time of our story in 1910 are Sebastian’s parent Sir Henry and Lady Adele Chetwynd and his grandmother Lady Emily Chetwynd. Sebastian elder sister and Harry’s surviving twin Sylvia, married to Algy Eustace-Bragge, lives in London.
When a woman is found dead in the grounds of the estate, shadows of the past are cast over the family which have far reaching effects.
Investigating the killing, Chief Inspector Crockett from Scotland Yard looks for a motive but what possible connection could the unknown woman have with the family? This being the time of the suffragette movement, there is speculation that she could have been intent on a demonstration against Sir Henry’s brother, the MP Monty Chetwynd, who was visiting with the family that weekend. But Louisa Fox says her fellow suffragettes always work in pairs. Louisa is Sebastian’s friend, having virtually grown up with him, but now the Chetwynds are keen to keep Louisa and Sebastian apart - this is Edwardian society and Sebastian is expected to marry for position and money, and Louisa, nice girl though she is, says Lady Emily, is not for Sebastian.
The book moves elegantly back and forth in time as Hannah Jackson, encouraged by her doctor, writes down as much of her life as she can remember up to the accident. Her story takes us to troubled South Africa in the late 1890's, and depicts a powerful picture of life during the siege of Mafeking.
Marjorie Eccles portrays so eloquently the elegant lifestyle of the upper classes in the Edwardian era and then slowly and delicately peels away the facade and exposes the lies beneath the elegant picture. Whilst posing to the reader early on the mysterious death of an unknown woman, the strength of the book lies in the lives of the family - their relationships with each other and those whose lives they touch. This is the period just prior to the First World War, after which everyone’s style of life was changed forever. This is ably illustrated by the deference of Crocket towards questioning the family - no being taken down to the station for them; the Inspector is lucky if they will even consent to see him.
I had the great pleasure of reviewing The Shape of Sand which was last
year short listed for the CWA Historical Dagger Award. This book, so beautifully
written and invoking a bygone age, deserves to win thsi year.
. ---------
Lizzie Hayes
Marjorie Eccles also has a series featuring CI Gil Mayo—the books are: Cast
a Cold Eye, Death of a Good Woman, Requiem for a Dove, More Deaths Than One,
Late of This Parish, The Company She Keeps, An Accidental Shroud, A Death of
Distinction, A Species of Revenge, Killing Me Softly, A Sunset Touch, Echoes
of Silence, The Superintendents Daughter,