Back of the book :
Thirty years have passed since Greta left Marchmont hall, a grand and beautiful house nestled in the hills of rural Monmouthshire. But when she returns to the hall for Christmas, at the invitation of her old friend David Marchmont, She has no recollection of her past association with it – the result of a dreadful accident that has blanked out more than two decades of her life. Then during a walk through the wintry landscape, she stumbles across a grave in the woods, and the weathered inscription on the headstone tells her that a little boy is buried there.
With Davids help, Greta embarks on a quest to rediscover her lost memories, and begins to piece together the fragments of not only her own story, but also that of her daughter Cheska, the tragic victimof circumstance beyond her control. And most definitely, not the angel she appeared to be …
What I think :
Greta lost her memory in an awful accident over twenty years ago, she can only remember recent memories, however nothing from her early years. When her long time friend, David invites her to his family home for Christmas, she finally agrees. She lived there years ago and David hopes it may help jog her memory. When she gets there she feels a stirring of something, however, its not until the next day, when she is on a walk around the snowy grounds, that her memory comes flooding back. She stumbles upon a small grave, its there that she remembers ….
The book weaves back and forth from 1985, the year the book is set and 1945 onwards, when Greta was younger. we also find out alot about Cheska, Greta’s daughter, and her childhood years and young adulthood as a child star in films. Cheska doesn’t have an easy time, she started making films when she was around four years old and didn’t have a normal childhood, it affected her and she starts to have a few mental problems.
I really liked this book, it tells of love, family and tragedy, its an epic tale that follows the Marchmont family over 40 years. It has such wonderfully written characters. Greta, for instance, has had to fight all of her life to get what she wants, she falls in love then its snatched away from her, so when she has her daughter, Cheska is it any wonder she’s slightly overprotective ? David, Greta’s long time friend, is a lovely, lovely man and so loyal to her.
This lovely book was first published in 1995 with the title of not quite an Angel under Lucinda’s pen name Lucinda Edmonds, it has been partly rewritten, but many of the original elements are remaining.
I give this wonderful book 9/10.
Published by Pan Macmillan on 19/11/15.
I purchased my copy from Waterstones £7:99.
Candys BookCase 