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Daughters of the House
Man Booker Prize Nominee (1992)
Booker Prize Finalist, Daughters of the House is Michèle Roberts' acclaimed novel of secrets and lies revealed in the aftermath of World War II. Thérèse and Leonie, French and English cousins of the same age, grow up together in Normandy. Intrigued by parents' and servants' guilty silences and the broken shrine they find in the woods, the girls weave their own elaborate fantasies, unwittingly revealing the village secret and a deep shame that will haunt them in their adult lives.
Booker Prize Finalist, Daughters of the House is Michèle Roberts' acclaimed novel of secrets and lies revealed in the aftermath of World War II. Thérèse and Leonie, French and English cousins of the same age, grow up together in Normandy. Intrigued by parents' and servants' guilty silences and the broken shrine they find in the woods, the girls weave their own elaborate fantasies, unwittingly revealing the village secret and a deep shame that will haunt them in their adult lives.
172 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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About the author
Michèle Roberts
85 books110 followersMichèle Brigitte Roberts is the author of fifteen novels, including Ignorance which was nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction and Daughters of the House which won the W.H. Smith Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her memoir Paper Houses was BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week in June 2007. She has also published poetry and short stories, most recently collected in Mud: Stories of Sex and Love. Half-English and half-French, Roberts lives in London and in the Mayenne, France. She is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
December 28, 2018
As one of the most successful of Michele's novels to date, I guess I expected this to be a work of some worth and consequence and I can't say that I was disappointed. It has certainly made me eager to gather together some of her other novels, to add to my ever increasing TBR list.
It tells the story of two cousins, one French, the other English, raised together for much of their lives, by their respective mothers, at the family home in France.
Twenty years later, the French born cousin Therese, has spent much of her adult life as a nun, living in a convent, whilst Leonie, the English born cousin, has continued to live in the family home, with her husband, children and mother.
Now, Leonie's mother Madeleine is dead, and both women want the family home to be theirs, so we find Leonie taking an inventory of the contents of the house.
The items on her list, become the chapters for the novel, and tell the story of the childhood memories they evoke.
I liked the way that the opening and final chapters of the book are set in the present day, with the middle section being devoted to the childhood events and memories, which all lead up to the current situation.
The chapters are kept short, with short high impact sentences, which kept my attention focused and meant that I could dip in and out of the book, although I would love to have read it in a single sitting.
It was also the first book that I can recall having read, that has no dialogue punctuation, which at first was a little disconcerting, but then became unnoticed.
When they are young, the cousins are very close, bound together by their exclusion from family secrets. Conversations held quietly by the adults tell of wartime secrets, room are designated 'out of bounds' and the woodland shrine a place of awe and horror.
As they approach teenage years, the friendship becomes more strained and is given more sporadically and grudgingly. Underlying jealousies begin to surface and secrets threaten their relationship.
When the shrine in the woods yields it's terrible secret, its links to the house and family, start to strip away the veneer of respectability and divide the girls' loyalties even more.
The last vestiges of friendship between them are destroyed, when an even more terrible secret, this time about their birthright, is uncovered.
After all these years apart, both daughters still only have some of the pieces, but not enough to complete the jigsaw of events, so there can be no peace or reconciliation, for either of them. A complex set of clues lead to many possibilities, but no definitive conclusions, driving each to try and purge their demons, with horrific results....
To me, the novel is solely about the relationship between the two girls, other areas are touched on, but seem of no real consequence to the theme. The characters are all well defined in their roles and where they fit into the overall sequence of events and each are endowed with their unique dangerous energy, which is both subtle and persuasive, whilst being intense and compelling.
A fantastic read, I was sad when it was over.
It tells the story of two cousins, one French, the other English, raised together for much of their lives, by their respective mothers, at the family home in France.
Twenty years later, the French born cousin Therese, has spent much of her adult life as a nun, living in a convent, whilst Leonie, the English born cousin, has continued to live in the family home, with her husband, children and mother.
Now, Leonie's mother Madeleine is dead, and both women want the family home to be theirs, so we find Leonie taking an inventory of the contents of the house.
The items on her list, become the chapters for the novel, and tell the story of the childhood memories they evoke.
I liked the way that the opening and final chapters of the book are set in the present day, with the middle section being devoted to the childhood events and memories, which all lead up to the current situation.
The chapters are kept short, with short high impact sentences, which kept my attention focused and meant that I could dip in and out of the book, although I would love to have read it in a single sitting.
It was also the first book that I can recall having read, that has no dialogue punctuation, which at first was a little disconcerting, but then became unnoticed.
When they are young, the cousins are very close, bound together by their exclusion from family secrets. Conversations held quietly by the adults tell of wartime secrets, room are designated 'out of bounds' and the woodland shrine a place of awe and horror.
As they approach teenage years, the friendship becomes more strained and is given more sporadically and grudgingly. Underlying jealousies begin to surface and secrets threaten their relationship.
When the shrine in the woods yields it's terrible secret, its links to the house and family, start to strip away the veneer of respectability and divide the girls' loyalties even more.
The last vestiges of friendship between them are destroyed, when an even more terrible secret, this time about their birthright, is uncovered.
After all these years apart, both daughters still only have some of the pieces, but not enough to complete the jigsaw of events, so there can be no peace or reconciliation, for either of them. A complex set of clues lead to many possibilities, but no definitive conclusions, driving each to try and purge their demons, with horrific results....
To me, the novel is solely about the relationship between the two girls, other areas are touched on, but seem of no real consequence to the theme. The characters are all well defined in their roles and where they fit into the overall sequence of events and each are endowed with their unique dangerous energy, which is both subtle and persuasive, whilst being intense and compelling.
A fantastic read, I was sad when it was over.
March 25, 2014
What is wrong with having a plot? Why are there endless books where nothing happens?
April 5, 2014
Anglo-French writer Michèle Roberts writes the story of cousins, one English, one French. Every short chapter is triggered by some household object in the house where Thérèse and Léonie both live in their teenage years. The book paints a vivid picture of French country-house life in the post-war years, and was a device I enjoyed, just as I enjoyed observing the girls' somewhat love-hate relationship develop, despite their closeness. But I was uninvolved in the plot itself, which I found rather slight. For me, this book was very much a case of style over substance.
December 17, 2020
This was a really well-written book that really brought to life the French countryside in the 1950s. The two cousins Therese and Leonie are at times confidants and friends and others quite spiteful towards each other brought about by insecurity and a little bit of jealousy. I liked the fact that each very small chapter had the title of an item in the house which then brought to mind a memory of when the girls were in their early teens. They learn about life together and share their thoughts but there are so many secrets in that house. Secrets whispered about by the servants, things not to be spoken about in front of the girls. What was it that happened during the war? It seems that the whole village has something to hide.
Although I really enjoyed the story I so wished that the author had spent a little more time explaining the events of some of the chapters. I personally felt that I was missing things that were left for the reader to read between the lines. On several occasions I found myself asking myself "well did that happen or not? Was it real? And especially towards the end, I wanted to know so much more about what happened in the chapel and what Therese did afterwards.
Although I really enjoyed the story I so wished that the author had spent a little more time explaining the events of some of the chapters. I personally felt that I was missing things that were left for the reader to read between the lines. On several occasions I found myself asking myself "well did that happen or not? Was it real? And especially towards the end, I wanted to know so much more about what happened in the chapel and what Therese did afterwards.
August 18, 2012
2.5 stars. I expected that I would love this book; it has so many of my favorite plot elements. Ancestral family home? Check. Long buried family secrets? Check. A slightly unreliable narrator? Check. And yet, put all together, all these checks ended up adding up to a mediocre read, at best, for me.
A large part of my problem was the writing style. The chapters, each centered around an object in the Martin family home, were so short (typically just a few pages long) that I never really got into the story. There was no flow. And the secrets, forever hinted at and such a large part of Therese's and Leonie's life, were mostly left as secrets. While I understand that the point wasn't necessarily that there were secrets -- that the possibility of them was enough to do the damage, as it were -- it still left me frustrated.
I did appreciate how Roberts presented both the main characters in a way that left me constantly switching to whom I felt the more sympathy. First Therese in the present, then Leonie in the flashback, and finally in the end, both. Which I guess was the point of the story, and well done.
But overall, I found this rather dull and had to force myself to pick up the book; never a good sign!
A large part of my problem was the writing style. The chapters, each centered around an object in the Martin family home, were so short (typically just a few pages long) that I never really got into the story. There was no flow. And the secrets, forever hinted at and such a large part of Therese's and Leonie's life, were mostly left as secrets. While I understand that the point wasn't necessarily that there were secrets -- that the possibility of them was enough to do the damage, as it were -- it still left me frustrated.
I did appreciate how Roberts presented both the main characters in a way that left me constantly switching to whom I felt the more sympathy. First Therese in the present, then Leonie in the flashback, and finally in the end, both. Which I guess was the point of the story, and well done.
But overall, I found this rather dull and had to force myself to pick up the book; never a good sign!
July 13, 2019
This novel may be short but it shows skillful layering and evocation of different characters at different times of their lives as well as atmospheric scenes of village life in France after the second world war. The unfolding relationship between the two young cousins Thérèse and Leonie is what keeps the different threads of the stories together and explains the difficulties they have to find common ground when they eventually meet again twenty years later, when Thérèse returns to the village for the first time since joining a nunnery. An intriguing read that held my attention throughout!
August 17, 2018
Murdoch could be responsible for my of this book. After reading 'Under the Net', this book felt heavy, dramatic and unnecessarily so.
Every family has secrets of what they think are of high importance. Non interesting to a voyeur most likely. That's how I felt about this book. Too much dramatization (the writing was pretty decent though) over nothing at all. Hmm.. Much ado about nothing, really.
Every family has secrets of what they think are of high importance. Non interesting to a voyeur most likely. That's how I felt about this book. Too much dramatization (the writing was pretty decent though) over nothing at all. Hmm.. Much ado about nothing, really.
May 11, 2025
I found the concept interesting with each chapter based around an object. It was an easy enough read and interesting enough to keep my attention. However, for me it only went half way in its story telling leaving many half answered questions and I’m still trying to work out exactly what happened at the end. Very frustrating!
July 6, 2025
She could write about the phone book and it would be luscious and deep.
April 18, 2020
A house in post-war Normandy already hides a secret. Add two cousins with the fantasies and secrets that naturally occur in pubescent girls.
It’s Michelle Roberts’ particular achievement to create an atmosphere of tension, obsession and mystery played out amid the utensils of domesticity.
All the main characters are women – daughters, mothers, servants – even the house itself is characterised by the smells and functions of female occupation, laundry, orchard and above all the kitchen, expressive of Frenchness, family and its relationship with the outside world.
While down below lies the cellar tempting the curiosity of young Leonie, with its ‘darkness pressing up around like a stealthy animal.’
She, like the author, is half-English, half-French, and there is a delightful passage describing crossing the English Channel where the waves and the words seem to cross from one language to the other. Throughout one feels in the small details of rebelliousness, in childish inventions and early interest in sex, what it was like to experience those emotions of changing from girlhood into young woman.
Somewhat unsettled by rivalry with cousin Therese, Leonie claims to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary, to which Therese responds with a manifestation of her own. But any suspicion that the story was heading in an unwarranted spiritual direction is soon allayed as their stories are first dismissed by a hypocritical priest, then exploited by an opportunistic bishop.
It’s a small piece of misdirection compared with the greater one revealed at the end. You just know what’s going to happen, I remarked early on. Wrongly, I'm glad to say.
It’s Michelle Roberts’ particular achievement to create an atmosphere of tension, obsession and mystery played out amid the utensils of domesticity.
All the main characters are women – daughters, mothers, servants – even the house itself is characterised by the smells and functions of female occupation, laundry, orchard and above all the kitchen, expressive of Frenchness, family and its relationship with the outside world.
While down below lies the cellar tempting the curiosity of young Leonie, with its ‘darkness pressing up around like a stealthy animal.’
She, like the author, is half-English, half-French, and there is a delightful passage describing crossing the English Channel where the waves and the words seem to cross from one language to the other. Throughout one feels in the small details of rebelliousness, in childish inventions and early interest in sex, what it was like to experience those emotions of changing from girlhood into young woman.
Somewhat unsettled by rivalry with cousin Therese, Leonie claims to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary, to which Therese responds with a manifestation of her own. But any suspicion that the story was heading in an unwarranted spiritual direction is soon allayed as their stories are first dismissed by a hypocritical priest, then exploited by an opportunistic bishop.
It’s a small piece of misdirection compared with the greater one revealed at the end. You just know what’s going to happen, I remarked early on. Wrongly, I'm glad to say.
April 6, 2025
I can see how others might greatly enjoy this work by Michèle Robert’s, however it was definitely not for me and I am severely disappointed.
I thought it was clever to make the chapters the objects Leonie was listing, anchoring you simultaneously to the books beginning in their present day and the past memories which the objects symbolized. It was well written in terms of description and story presenting but those might be the only positive aspects I can describe.
I felt that the storyline was uninteresting (and perhaps nonexistent) and the “secret” to be unimpressive. I also understand that it was meant to be a darker work which are meant to make you uncomfortable but not a child describing how she likes the feeling of shit coming out type of uncomfortable. It was a hard read. I found the sexual content between children to be unnecessary and distasteful.
I thought it was clever to make the chapters the objects Leonie was listing, anchoring you simultaneously to the books beginning in their present day and the past memories which the objects symbolized. It was well written in terms of description and story presenting but those might be the only positive aspects I can describe.
I felt that the storyline was uninteresting (and perhaps nonexistent) and the “secret” to be unimpressive. I also understand that it was meant to be a darker work which are meant to make you uncomfortable but not a child describing how she likes the feeling of shit coming out type of uncomfortable. It was a hard read. I found the sexual content between children to be unnecessary and distasteful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2009
The English writer Michèle Roberts wrote Daughters of the House. The novel is a narrative about provincial French Catholics in post-WWII Normandy and thirty years later. Cousins Thérèse and Léonie are the protagonists within the familial and village setting. The reader enters the intimacy of the girls' lives. We poach mackerel in the kitchen, experience sexual awakening, and celebrate the Virgin Mother in a nocturnal forest. Suspense is carried by random bits concerning a tragedy in the village's history. A further twist is the possibility of a secrecy in the cousins' background. The girls disentangle the web of events the years covered over.
December 22, 2018
Set in rural France, this book captures the atmosphere of an inward-looking village, the weight of personal history, and the role of objects as well as people in our childhood memories.
The narrative repays slow reading, in fact it demands it, to absorb the detail. Notwithstanding, I read it quickly in order to find out what happens next ... ( I still do not really know) ...
The writing is unusual - very short chapters - and modern bookends to a 1950s childhood.
It is a book which will linger in the memory.
The narrative repays slow reading, in fact it demands it, to absorb the detail. Notwithstanding, I read it quickly in order to find out what happens next ... ( I still do not really know) ...
The writing is unusual - very short chapters - and modern bookends to a 1950s childhood.
It is a book which will linger in the memory.
July 27, 2011
I found this book to be very much a case of style over substance. There are some wonderful descriptions of the French village setting and cuisine, but that isn't enough to hold the uncoherent plot together.
July 24, 2013
I received this as part of a postal book group
I thought I would enjoy this book more than I did. The writing style annoyed me and the inference that the writer knew more about what was going on than the reader. I still didn't really know what had happened or who had done what at the end.
I thought I would enjoy this book more than I did. The writing style annoyed me and the inference that the writer knew more about what was going on than the reader. I still didn't really know what had happened or who had done what at the end.
July 25, 2015
It could have been an interesting read given the setting but there just was no story. Plenty of bits of 'not so important' information thrown in, chapters starting with no beginning with the so called secret turning out to but a non secret in my opinion. Disappointed.
June 2, 2025
I think this one is best explained in fanfic terms: it's a historical AU [alternate universe] in which St. Therese of Lisieux was born after WWII rather than in the 19th century, did not die of TB, and eventually leaves the convent to return home and resume her tense relationship with her cousin Leonie, who has inherited the family home in her absence.
As their reunion plays out, the reader learns that as children, they uncovered dark secrets in the history of their village, and begins to suspect that there may be some dark secrets in their family history as well. Neither the village's secrets nor the family ones have any equivalent in Therese's actual life, as far as I know.
Now, the best AUs to my mind make one change to canon and explore how that feeds through into other differences; making two independent changes sometimes works, perhaps even three, but by the time you get up to five, the characters start to be difficult to recognise, and so it proves here. I've had a fondness for Therese since childhood, and she has a statue in our church which has encouraged me to continue to learn about her, so I am reasonably familiar with her life. I could recognise where in the "canon" various fictional incidents come from, even where they have been altered considerably; I could certainly recognise the rivalry between the two girls; but I often felt that my familiarity with the source was a hindrance to my enjoyment rather than an advantage, because overall, they seemed so different that I kept being jarred out of the story by stumbling on the familiar names attached to unfamiliar people.
Despite that, I thought the girls' relationship and early explorations of sexuality were well handled, and to borrow from Joanna Trollope's cover quote, the writing has a beguiling quality to it. I think, though, that it would probably work better with original characters.
As their reunion plays out, the reader learns that as children, they uncovered dark secrets in the history of their village, and begins to suspect that there may be some dark secrets in their family history as well. Neither the village's secrets nor the family ones have any equivalent in Therese's actual life, as far as I know.
Now, the best AUs to my mind make one change to canon and explore how that feeds through into other differences; making two independent changes sometimes works, perhaps even three, but by the time you get up to five, the characters start to be difficult to recognise, and so it proves here. I've had a fondness for Therese since childhood, and she has a statue in our church which has encouraged me to continue to learn about her, so I am reasonably familiar with her life. I could recognise where in the "canon" various fictional incidents come from, even where they have been altered considerably; I could certainly recognise the rivalry between the two girls; but I often felt that my familiarity with the source was a hindrance to my enjoyment rather than an advantage, because overall, they seemed so different that I kept being jarred out of the story by stumbling on the familiar names attached to unfamiliar people.
Despite that, I thought the girls' relationship and early explorations of sexuality were well handled, and to borrow from Joanna Trollope's cover quote, the writing has a beguiling quality to it. I think, though, that it would probably work better with original characters.
July 16, 2019
The set up of this novel was suspenseful and reeled me in until about two-thirds through, when it seemed to peter out and offered little resolution or answers. Therese returns to the family home after 20 years as a cloistered nun, to find her cousin Leonie ensconced as lady of the manor. Leonie bristles with such hostility towards her, I was hooked, wondering what the hell Therese had done to deserve such shabby treatment. Most of the story then retells their teenage years when Leonie comes to stay from her home in England, Therese's mum dies, and the local farmer boy Baptiste initiates Leonie into secual maturity. Therese is a holier-than-thou bitch. She steals Leonie's visions of the Virgin Mary at a village shrine in the forest, and becomes the local priest's pet protege. The attention given to the shrine, however, uncovers the awful events during world war 2 when Jewish refugees were betrayed in the village and killed alongside Baptiste's father, who had been harbouring them. This is not a spoiler -- this event is openly referred to. The identity of the one who betrayed them, though, is kept to the end, and really feels meaningless tacked on, as it is. There are no consequences or ramifications of this revelation, it doesn't change how the cousins relate to each other, in fact, I don't even know for certain the reason why the cousins feel like they relate to each other the way they do.
December 6, 2022
Whilst this was a beautifully written book, I really didn't enjoy it that much. The story follows the characters of Therese and Leonie, both in their present and their childhood. We see what events in their adolescence shaped them into the women they become and discover some shocking secrets about both their French village community during the war and the families of the girls themselves.
The chapters are very small and so the book is easy to pick up and read in spare moments, but this also leads to a disjointed feel in the novel. I didn't find either of the main characters in the book particularly likable, whether it be the sanctimonious Therese or the occasionally vulgar Leonie. I also found the impact of the big secret reveal was reduced by the high degree of ambiguity surrounding it. It was very hard to tell what had really happened with the family mystery as Therese puts her own spin on things when re-telling the story and it's not clear where the truth ends and her interpretation begins. There is an interesting religious/spiritual aspect to the book which is also ambiguous as the reader is left unsure what was really experienced by the girls and what was conjured up for attention or through fear.
Overall not a great book for me though I can see that other people could find a lot to enjoy.
The chapters are very small and so the book is easy to pick up and read in spare moments, but this also leads to a disjointed feel in the novel. I didn't find either of the main characters in the book particularly likable, whether it be the sanctimonious Therese or the occasionally vulgar Leonie. I also found the impact of the big secret reveal was reduced by the high degree of ambiguity surrounding it. It was very hard to tell what had really happened with the family mystery as Therese puts her own spin on things when re-telling the story and it's not clear where the truth ends and her interpretation begins. There is an interesting religious/spiritual aspect to the book which is also ambiguous as the reader is left unsure what was really experienced by the girls and what was conjured up for attention or through fear.
Overall not a great book for me though I can see that other people could find a lot to enjoy.
July 30, 2025
3.5 stars. An intriguing, atmospheric novel about Therese and Leonie, two cousins of the same age, who grow up after the Second World War, set mainly in the 1950s. The story begins twenty years later when Therese and Lennie meet in the house Leonie now lives in, which was the French country villa that twenty years ago, Therese’s mother, Antoinette Martin and husband Louis, lived in. Leonie’s mother, Madeleine had come over from England with Leonie, to care for Madeleine’s dying sister, Antoinette. Therese and Leonie, upon meeting, they instantly disliked each other. They learn that a Jewish family were hidden by the Martins during the war and were betrayed by one of the villagers and murdered in the nearby forest. Therese believes she witnesses the miraculous appearance of the Virgin Mary at the place where the Jews were murdered. There are some reveals towards the end of the novel.
A novel about secrets, memory, and the relationship between two very different individuals.
This book was shortlisted for the 1992 Booker Prize.
A novel about secrets, memory, and the relationship between two very different individuals.
This book was shortlisted for the 1992 Booker Prize.
February 7, 2024
Each chapter of this short novel is named for, and loosely focused on, an object in the house that gives the book one half of its title: carpets, a soap-dish, a rosary, a baby book. In lesser hands, this could be a gimmick. Similarly, done less well, the wordiness of the book, which is overflowing with nouns and adjectives, could have been a source of irritation rather than of delight. But Daughters of the House excels both in structure and in style, and it is equally accomplished in its portrayal of the relationship between the two cousins who are the daughters of its title. Where it falls just a little short is in its plot, which is slight (that's OK) but relies on the revelation of a secret that I wanted to be explored more fully and explained more clearly, instead of being hinted at and left hanging.
April 1, 2018
Hacía tiempo que no leía una obra que me resultaba... indiferente.
¿Por qué me lo ha resultado? Porque no he podido empatizar con los personajes.
Razón 1: capítulos demasiado cortos con foco en un objeto en especial.
Razón 2: predecible. Todos sabíamos cuáles eran los secretos y no por los easters eggs, sino porque es todo tan evidente.
Razón 3: Capítulos irrelevantes. Un ejemplo: un capítulo sobre la taza de váter. Que sí, que no había antes y la instalaron nueva, pero ¿es necesario describir cómo caga un personaje sin tener real importancia en la trama? No.
No es que esté mal escrito, pero las descripciones detalladas solo funcionan si tienen función en la trama. Aquí no la tienen. No es malo per se tampoco, pero tampoco bueno. Lo dicho: irrelevante.
¿Por qué me lo ha resultado? Porque no he podido empatizar con los personajes.
Razón 1: capítulos demasiado cortos con foco en un objeto en especial.
Razón 2: predecible. Todos sabíamos cuáles eran los secretos y no por los easters eggs, sino porque es todo tan evidente.
Razón 3: Capítulos irrelevantes. Un ejemplo: un capítulo sobre la taza de váter. Que sí, que no había antes y la instalaron nueva, pero ¿es necesario describir cómo caga un personaje sin tener real importancia en la trama? No.
No es que esté mal escrito, pero las descripciones detalladas solo funcionan si tienen función en la trama. Aquí no la tienen. No es malo per se tampoco, pero tampoco bueno. Lo dicho: irrelevante.
October 21, 2024
It took me a minute to invest in this slim novel but was worth the perseverance. I thought the writing was brilliant in how evocative each description created such an atmospheric tale. Coming of age? Mystery? Indictment or endorsement of fate? Both. All. This is an older book. A 1992 novel shortlisted for the Booker. I just reread the first few chapters. I think my chemo brain must have stalled my engagement as it is fairly remarkable from the first pages. Looking at “old Therese”, having now spent the bulk of the book with the adolescent, I’m struck by how small decisions shape us. Therese impulsively appropriates a vision of Mary Magdalene experienced by Leonni and ends up a nun. The war time decisions of everyone continue to impact the families a generation later. Very good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2018
A favourite setting - France. A favourite theme - the Second World War though only obliquely. Faith has a part to play too. This tale of two women reunited and the presentation of events they'd lived through from summers earlier slowly unfurls in an episodic manner. Bit difficult to work out who everyone is at first.
June 3, 2017
After reading her latest, "The Walworth Beauty", and enjoying it, I decided to give some of Ms Roberts's earlier books a go. This was very disappointing. A tale of two cousins who grow up in France after the war. Disjointed and a bit confusing. Not really her best.
August 22, 2025
Bbooks set in medieval times are particularly interesting to me. This one is written in a slow descriptive style that includes details of the character’s monastic life, which appealed to my love of this time period.
January 8, 2018
Was ok. Not memorable in my view.
July 3, 2020
The revelation of the story through insignificant objects from the perspective of the girls was intriguing. However, the use of religious analogy was a bit overwhelming.
October 27, 2021
I really enjoyed this book, full of secrets and lies, cousins Leonie and Therese weave their own fantasies after finding a shrine in the woods and unintentionally reveal the shame of the village.
December 5, 2021
2.5 stars. Intriguing and mysterious but failed to wow me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews