The Woman in the Mirror
In 1947 Cornwall, Alice Miller accepts a post as governess to the two motherless children of Captain de Grey at Winterbourne, a remote mansion by the sea. In present-day New York, art gallery curator Rachel Wright receives a surprising letter informing her that she is a descendant of the de Greys and heir to Winterbourne. When she goes to Cornwall to visit the house and learn more about her ancestors, she finds a treasure trove of secrets and mysteries. There are diaries, letters, and objects that seem to have supernatural powers (a mirror, a painting, doors that lock and unlock without human agency). Rachel is especially fascinated by the mysteries surrounding the fate of Captain de Grey’s wife and the two consecutive governesses, including Alice Miller.
James is skilled at creating the dark, creepy atmosphere necessary for this subgenre, and some of the mysteries unfold with just the right amount of suspense. However, the references to classics of gothic literature such as The Turn of the Screw, Rebecca, “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” and even The Phantom of the Opera are unsubtle and distracting. I also found the protagonists’ motivations baffling and obscure. Alice in particular seems so insane early in the story that it’s difficult to sympathize with her or even understand why she acts as she does. Anachronisms abound as well: in the 1947 timeline, Alice thinks of the governess position in modern terms as “too niche,” whereas her male interviewer sounds like a Victorian ingénue when he says “You might deem me improper.” While this novel might satisfy readers new to gothic fiction, others would be better off reading one of the classics it references.
