The Bone Flower
Our Victorian hero is the young Edward Monteith, only son of his isolated and wealthy father. An indolent innocent, Edward is spending his days and money idly socialising with a group of men at his exclusive club in the West End of London. Edward meets and falls passionately in love with Settie, a very beautiful Romani flower-seller who reciprocates his feelings. Although marriage is out of the question, the affair blossoms. When Settie becomes pregnant an abortion proves fatal to both mother and child. Guilt-ridden and broken-hearted, Edward leaves England and travels miserably and aimlessly, eventually finding happiness in a marriage to a young Sicilian heiress, Marisol.
It is when the happy couple return to London to set up home and prepare for their coming child that the malevolent and vengeful capabilities of Settie’s Romani family take centre stage of the story, and it is here that Charles Lambert uses a memorable device. Rather than attempting to scare us with too many bizarre happenings—which, all too often, in “ghost stories” become risible—he puts his horror into our minds and those of his main characters, so that their reactions to the rituals and ceremonies of the Romany people impart a logic to them, which recognises Edward’s guilt and acknowledges his “crime”.
Charles Lambert sets up and keeps a good pace, but he seems much more interested in his storylines than in the feelings of his major characters who, apart from Settie herself, neither encourage nor receive much analysis. Marisol is particularly weak in this respect, remaining so undeveloped and vapid that she might as well not be there at all. Notwithstanding these deficiencies, The Bone Flower is a classic page-turner and is full of well-managed suspense. Recommended as a really entertaining read.
