The Posy Ring
The Posy Ring is the first in the Annals of Flowerfield series, a spinoff from the author’s previous novel The Curiosity Cabinet. It tells the story of antiques seller Daisy Graham, who inherits an ancient house, Auchenblae, from the old Gaelic “achadh nam blath”, meaning field of flowers, on the fictional Scottish island of Garve. At first, Daisy is daunted by its size and isolation, but as the building, with its jumble of contents and overgrown garden, slowly begins to give up its secrets, she becomes captivated by it. And then she meets handsome Cal Galbraith, who is showing a keen interest in the house and its new owner, although Daisy is suspicious of his motives.
There is, of course, nothing unique about this rather formulaic storyline, but The Posy Ring succeeds in outshining its rivals, largely due to Catherine Czerkawska’s skilful and, at times, poetic writing.
In parallel with Daisy and Cal’s story runs that of 16th-century cousins, Mateo and Francisco, survivors from the ill-fated Spanish Armada, who find safe passage to the island. There, Mateo falls in love with Lilias, the laird’s daughter. The author cleverly intertwines the historical and modern-day stories. The characters in both the past and present are finely drawn and believable, particularly poor Mateo, homesick for Spain as he endures his first, impossibly long, Scottish winter.
The Posy Ring is a gentle, romantic novel, as comforting as a duvet-day, and none the worse for that. Just like Mateo and Daisy, I was entranced by the house, the island and its people, and I eagerly await the next instalment of The Annals of Flowerfield.
