The Mapmaker’s Wife
You are going to need your hankies for Hannah Evans’ poignant tale about mixed-race marriage and family secrets that spans the 20th and 21st centuries and sweeps across the Caribbean, Britain, and Africa.
It’s a dual-timeline, and in 1954 intelligent, young bookkeeper Bea lives in Grenada with her parents and sisters Millie and Bette. Then Patrick arrives on the island. He’s a surveyor for the Commonwealth Office, and Grenada is a stop off on his travels, drawing maps of far-flung British territories. Patrick and Bea fall in love and plan to marry. That’s when problems start. They face concern from Bea’s family over the challenges of their match, leading to outright bigotry as they travel to England to meet Patrick’s parents. Leaving behind the hostility, Bea accompanies Patrick as he does work. But Britain’s hold on the colonies is threatened by independence which brings further challenges to the couple.
In the second timeline in 2015, Amelia is in Grenada awaiting a visit from aunt Bea, while trying to sell her late mother Millie’s home. When packing, she finds a hidden chest containing letters that unlock explosive mysteries and shake the family to the core.
The story was inspired by the author’s grandparents’ marriage and the stories they told her, so she writes with deep knowledge of prejudices that mixed-race couples faced. A very loving tribute. The Caribbean is brought warmly to life, and the political tensions around independence had interesting and presumably personalised narratives. A good book club choice or summer beach read, especially if you are holidaying in Grenada, but, like I said, don’t forget those hankies.
