The Black Feathers
Yorkshire in the cold, snowy winter of 1852. Annie Stonehouse, not long married to Edward, arrives at his ancestral home, Guardbridge, for the first time with their new baby boy. This is a rambling, partly neglected old pile of a house set in the bleak moors. There are secrets and esoteric mysteries in the house and amongst its inhabitants: Edward’s unmarried sister Iris claims to possess psychic abilities. The sensation of something uncanny is accentuated by the constant ethereal memory of Edward’s previous wife and son, both of whom died, and who, as a society portraitist, he painted many times. Their pictures are balefully located around the house. Annie has her own deeply unpleasant secrets which are gradually revealed to the reader as the story progresses. The tension in the plot tightens as the various inhabitants in the isolated house reconcile their secrets, both with a psychological and supernatural reckoning.
Yes, there is more than a bit of Wuthering Heights and The Turn of the Screw about this novel – the wild windy moor, ghostly presences, and ethereal children in the draughty old house. There are surprises and plot twists that presented this reader with some unexpected revelations, and the story is entertaining and a pleasure to read. The historical context and content are light but come across as accurate, and there are no creaky solecisms. Indeed, it avoids the impression that this is just a standard novel plonked down in the middle of the 19th century. Well worth reading, especially in front of a roaring fire with the winds howling around outside and rain lashing down on the windows and roof.
