The Lie

by Mary Chamberlain

TWO SISTERS, ONE DANGEROUS LIE,
AND A DEVASTATING TRUTH.

Joan, once a singing star of the 1940s and 1950s, now ekes out a lonely, impoverished existence – until a chance encounter promises a comeback concert and an album. Her sister Kathleen is a successful medical researcher who has been offered the directorship of a prestigious institute in Los Angeles as she contemplates the recent break-up with the love of her life.

Over the years, Joan and Kathleen draw closer together until a figure from Joan’s past threatens everything they’ve built. As the sisters excavate the lies that bind them, a more profound truth threatens to drive them apart.

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2023

About the author

Mary Chamberlain is a novelist and historian. Her book Fenwomen: a portrait of women in an English village was the first book to be published by Virago Press in 1975. Since then, she has published six other works of history, and edited a further five. Her first novel, The Mighty Jester was published by Dr. Cicero Books in the US. Her British debut novel, The Dressmaker of Dachau was published by HarperCollins in the UK and, under the title The Dressmaker's War, by Random House in the USA. In all, it sold to 19 countries and was an international best-seller. Her novel, The Hidden, was published by Oneworld Publications in February 2019. The Sunday Times listed it as their MUST READ choice of the best recent books in February 2019. This was followed by, The Forgotten, 2021 and The Lie, 2023 both published by Oneworld. A special 50th anniversary edition of Fenowmen will be published by Virago in September 2025 as part of their Virago Modern Classics, with a new introduction by Alexandra Harris and a cover design by Eleanor Rose.

Reviews

[Mj Territo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lie is a cracking good read, dramatic, suspenseful and compelling. As always, Mary Chamberlain takes a difficult, and not fully considered, historical situation and brings it to life with nuance, creating very human characters, who are heroic and determined, but also flawed, not always likable, unpredictable. In The Lie, Chamberlain takes on the fate of babies born during World War II to women who were not married to the men who fathered their children. These women were treated inhumanely, by their families, by the harsh and judgmental care they received at the hands of the governmental agencies charged with their care, and not least by the men with whom they were involved.
Joan, a 16-year-old East Anglian farm girl who becomes star singer in the post-war years, makes impetuous choices when she is left pregnant by an American GI. After the birth of her baby girl, Joan constructs a Jenga tower of lies that provide an unstable footing for her daughter, the prodigiously intelligent Dr Kathleen Spalding, who becomes a respected scientist. Chamberlain skillfully develops the story as if making a patchwork quilt, stitching together the pieces, some old, some new, many the worse for wear, into a satisfying whole. From Joan's hardscrabble early life in the fens to Kathleen's quintessentially apartment in LA where she directs a scientific institute, from Joan's years entertaining the troops to Kathleen's doctoral studies at Harvard, Chamberlain keeps her focus on strong women navigating societal strictures and sexism from wartime to the early aughts.
Read this book, not only for its sweeping narrative, for its ingenious plot twists and complex characters, but also to be reminded of what women put up with. It was not so very long ago.

[Caroline Knowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel traces the parallel and discrepant lives of two women who are apparently sisters. The reality of their relationship is much less straightforward and much more interesting and emotionally entangled, which slowly becomes apparent as Mary Chamberlain unfolds them. Their stories begin from the time of the Second World War and continue until 2008. In the process readers glimpse the worlds of academia through Kathleen and the songbooks of Joans life as a singer. Their intertwined stories are beautifully paced in shifts between time periods . The temporal shifts in this novel work really well and add another layer of mystery and intrigue as plot and characters develop together in surprising ways. The aching longings of both women for love, success, recognition and life generally are drawn with style and writing skill at its very best. While the characters stand out the most because they are so beautifully drawn, evocations of place are equally impressive, especially the small details. This is an excellent read. It is beautifully written. Highly recommended.

[Richard Fursland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super novel — my most enjoyable and fulfilling read this year. Powerful theme (an under-reported tragedy which blighted the lives of thousands); strong characterization; solid plot development; consistently clever (never confusing) movement between time periods; evocative atmosphere; and (as always with Chamberlain) excellent, fluid writing. So captivating I read it in two sittings (very unlike me). Looking forward to her next.

[Norma Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely engrossing. I was looking for a novel I could be immersed in and this was it. It's the sort of novel you don't want to finish, and the cleverly managed time shifts somehow suggest you might never have to - there is, after all, so much to say we might as well keep going back and finding out a bit more or forward to what happened next. It's beautifully written as well as subtly composed.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a well written and emotionally charged story of two sisters, their relationship and the unconfortable thruth that could distance them again.
Well written and poignant.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Sally Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping and vivid postwar family drama - compelling read, elegant prose. Strongly recommend.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a good read (audio book) but there were parts that spoilt it for me

[Philippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise and not as formulaic as I thought it might be. The chronological jumping around wasn't to my liking though.

[Stephanie Cawley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been great but didn’t love any of the characters