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The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings
The characters in this book are works of fiction. But, then, isn’t everyone...?
1988, Pencalenick, Cornwall.
At seventeen, Jason wants much more from life than working at his father’s pub and when fate, in the form of twins Daisy and Bea and their small circle of friends, offers him a glimpse of another, more glamorous, world, he’s determined to become a part of it. It’s Daisy who Jason is most entranced by, though. Everyone she’s the sun around which others orbit.
The trouble with the sun, of course, is that those who get too close risk getting burned – and by the end of the summer, one of the group will be dead.
2018, Camberwell, London.
When famous actress Daisy Hemmings decides it's time to publish her autobiography, she chooses James Tate to write it. James is a ghost it’s his job to step into other people’s shoes; to tell their stories for them. And he’s good at it. Very good. After all, he’s had years of practice at pretending to be someone he’s not.
But what happens when past and present – and truth and lies – collide?
Joanna Nadin’s The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is an unflinching, unforgettable novel about the people we are, the people we’d like to be, and the price we pay for getting what we want...
1988, Pencalenick, Cornwall.
At seventeen, Jason wants much more from life than working at his father’s pub and when fate, in the form of twins Daisy and Bea and their small circle of friends, offers him a glimpse of another, more glamorous, world, he’s determined to become a part of it. It’s Daisy who Jason is most entranced by, though. Everyone she’s the sun around which others orbit.
The trouble with the sun, of course, is that those who get too close risk getting burned – and by the end of the summer, one of the group will be dead.
2018, Camberwell, London.
When famous actress Daisy Hemmings decides it's time to publish her autobiography, she chooses James Tate to write it. James is a ghost it’s his job to step into other people’s shoes; to tell their stories for them. And he’s good at it. Very good. After all, he’s had years of practice at pretending to be someone he’s not.
But what happens when past and present – and truth and lies – collide?
Joanna Nadin’s The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is an unflinching, unforgettable novel about the people we are, the people we’d like to be, and the price we pay for getting what we want...
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 7, 2022
33 people are currently reading
1564 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Nadin
146 books123 followersJoanna Nadin is an English author of juvenile fiction best known for the Rachel Riley series of teenage novels Based on Nadin's own childhood, the series follows the comedic narration of a 13-year-old girl.
Nadin has also written several books of juvenile fiction. These include two books for the Oxford University Press "Project X" series designed to encourage boys to read.
Nadin previously worked as a policy writer for the Labour Party (UK).In 2001, she became a special adviser to Tony Blair.
As a child I buried myself in books both at home in Essex and at my grandparents’ houses in Cornwall, where I spent a large part of my time, and where many of my stories are now set. Books and later films were an escape not just from where I was but who I was, which, as I saw it, was pretty much a geek. They gave me the freedom to become someone else, from George in the Famous Five to Velvet Brown winning the Grand National to Baby dancing the Chachacha with Johnny Castle.
Nadin has also written several books of juvenile fiction. These include two books for the Oxford University Press "Project X" series designed to encourage boys to read.
Nadin previously worked as a policy writer for the Labour Party (UK).In 2001, she became a special adviser to Tony Blair.
As a child I buried myself in books both at home in Essex and at my grandparents’ houses in Cornwall, where I spent a large part of my time, and where many of my stories are now set. Books and later films were an escape not just from where I was but who I was, which, as I saw it, was pretty much a geek. They gave me the freedom to become someone else, from George in the Famous Five to Velvet Brown winning the Grand National to Baby dancing the Chachacha with Johnny Castle.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
August 6, 2022
Seventeen-year-old Jason longs for more in life. He spends his days fearing his father's fists and pouring pints for the equally as unlikable locals who frequent the dingy bar they own. Fate brings him a glimpse of freedom in the form of wealthy twins, Daisy and Bea, along with their silver-spooned circle of friends who holiday nearby. He gains access to their privileged lifestyle and is determined to break free from past constraints and become one of them.
Jason became James and this sought-after life is achieved, but at what cost? And what skeletons are determined to claw their way to freedom, no matter the years that pass or the dirt heaped atop of them.
I enjoyed the pacing of this story immensely, which alternated in perspective and shifted in timeline. Modern-day and adult James is introduced at the same time as his shy and awkward teenage self. It remained interesting to note the differences in the two individuals, so determinedly had James removed all traces of his impoverished upbringing and the introverted individual he had once been.
Just as intriguing were the wealthy circle he becomes enamoured with. Each member felt real and raw and, whether likable or unlikable, I was always eager for more page-time with them. None more so than twins, Daisy and Bea, who were as unlike each other as Jason's present and past selves.
I did guess the two major reveals far ahead of time but this still remained solidly enjoyable and intriguingly well-penned, regardless. I would be eager to read more from this author, in the future.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Joanna Nadin, and the publisher, Mantle, for this opportunity.
Jason became James and this sought-after life is achieved, but at what cost? And what skeletons are determined to claw their way to freedom, no matter the years that pass or the dirt heaped atop of them.
I enjoyed the pacing of this story immensely, which alternated in perspective and shifted in timeline. Modern-day and adult James is introduced at the same time as his shy and awkward teenage self. It remained interesting to note the differences in the two individuals, so determinedly had James removed all traces of his impoverished upbringing and the introverted individual he had once been.
Just as intriguing were the wealthy circle he becomes enamoured with. Each member felt real and raw and, whether likable or unlikable, I was always eager for more page-time with them. None more so than twins, Daisy and Bea, who were as unlike each other as Jason's present and past selves.
I did guess the two major reveals far ahead of time but this still remained solidly enjoyable and intriguingly well-penned, regardless. I would be eager to read more from this author, in the future.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Joanna Nadin, and the publisher, Mantle, for this opportunity.
November 11, 2023
This was such a hard book to go through. 🥲
I kept losing my focus and asking myself « What are they talking about? Did I miss something? ». Someone said in another review that the author uses too many words and I think that might be it. You get lost in details that don’t matter.
It doesn’t help that nothing relevant happens in the first 60%-70% of the story.
I saw the ending coming way too early and when the plot twist came, it was not shocking at all.
Reminder : don’t judge a book by its gorgeous cover. 🥴
I kept losing my focus and asking myself « What are they talking about? Did I miss something? ». Someone said in another review that the author uses too many words and I think that might be it. You get lost in details that don’t matter.
It doesn’t help that nothing relevant happens in the first 60%-70% of the story.
I saw the ending coming way too early and when the plot twist came, it was not shocking at all.
Reminder : don’t judge a book by its gorgeous cover. 🥴
September 20, 2022
Intricate, intriguing and twisty!
The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is an intense, complex tale set in Cornwall during 1988, as well as 2018, that takes you into the life of Jason Pengelly, a.k.a. James Tate, a working-class teen who, after getting swept up with a group of wealthy visitors, including twins Daisy and Bea Hicks, has his life irrevocably changed one night when an accident leaves one twin dead and Jason himself presumed dead.
The writing is tense and tight. The characters are secretive, self-involved, and troubled. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style, unfolds slowly into a simmering tale full of emotion, manipulation, deception, desperation, jealousy, obsession, overindulgence, social status, and competition.
Overall, The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is a captivating, eerie, bewildering tale by Nadin that does a wonderful job of delving into the dynamic relationship between sisters, especially twins, and reminds us that we only see what people want us to see, and even then we only see what we want to see.
Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is an intense, complex tale set in Cornwall during 1988, as well as 2018, that takes you into the life of Jason Pengelly, a.k.a. James Tate, a working-class teen who, after getting swept up with a group of wealthy visitors, including twins Daisy and Bea Hicks, has his life irrevocably changed one night when an accident leaves one twin dead and Jason himself presumed dead.
The writing is tense and tight. The characters are secretive, self-involved, and troubled. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style, unfolds slowly into a simmering tale full of emotion, manipulation, deception, desperation, jealousy, obsession, overindulgence, social status, and competition.
Overall, The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is a captivating, eerie, bewildering tale by Nadin that does a wonderful job of delving into the dynamic relationship between sisters, especially twins, and reminds us that we only see what people want us to see, and even then we only see what we want to see.
Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 15, 2022
Some books you slip inside the character’s shoes as easily as a pair of well worn slippers. Others, like this one, are written in such a way that you feel as if you are just there in spirit to view them secretly.
Told in a dual timeline we first meet a young Jason with his sister Sadie and mum, hanging off the harbour in 1978. Before being transported to the home of ghost writer James forty years later, receiving a phone call from his editor inviting him to write the biography of former shining star actress Daisy Hemmings.
James’s memories tell a different story though, one of an insecure girl who believed in him more than herself and a fateful summer spent at Rashleigh. Of wealth, glamour, hedonistic parties, surging hormones and the turning of heads that led to a death.
I love books that feature twins, it brings a whole new aura to the theme of identity and here the author cleverly blurs the lines between Daisy and her twin Bea. Part coming of age, part mystery this explores the ease of pretence. A ghost writer who charades as other people for a living, a jealous twin who poses as her sister to get what she wants.
The settings of London and Cornwall to me were also a mirroring of Daisy and Bea and their differences. One felt solid while the other featured cracks in it’s foundation.
Beautifully written it draws you in to the intense feelings of youth, the lie that we can be whoever we want to be lingering constantly in the background and from the very start I felt a destructive force was at play. As if the gods are toying with the fates of the mortals but with one being left to take the role of heroine. The role of a lifetime that would play out in the most unexpected way.
Told in a dual timeline we first meet a young Jason with his sister Sadie and mum, hanging off the harbour in 1978. Before being transported to the home of ghost writer James forty years later, receiving a phone call from his editor inviting him to write the biography of former shining star actress Daisy Hemmings.
James’s memories tell a different story though, one of an insecure girl who believed in him more than herself and a fateful summer spent at Rashleigh. Of wealth, glamour, hedonistic parties, surging hormones and the turning of heads that led to a death.
I love books that feature twins, it brings a whole new aura to the theme of identity and here the author cleverly blurs the lines between Daisy and her twin Bea. Part coming of age, part mystery this explores the ease of pretence. A ghost writer who charades as other people for a living, a jealous twin who poses as her sister to get what she wants.
The settings of London and Cornwall to me were also a mirroring of Daisy and Bea and their differences. One felt solid while the other featured cracks in it’s foundation.
Beautifully written it draws you in to the intense feelings of youth, the lie that we can be whoever we want to be lingering constantly in the background and from the very start I felt a destructive force was at play. As if the gods are toying with the fates of the mortals but with one being left to take the role of heroine. The role of a lifetime that would play out in the most unexpected way.
January 26, 2023
In Cornwall 1988, Jason wants out. He’s seventeen and stuck working at his father’s pub. When twins Bea and Daisy rock up with their friends, he’s drawn to them like a moth to a flame, enchanted by their glitter.
Thirty years later famous actress Daisy Hemmings prepares to draft her autobiography and chooses ghostwriter James Tate to write it. But little does she know that James remembers more than most about her life.
Disappointingly I struggled with this one. It wasn’t grabbing me and I couldn’t understand why as the blurb was ticking all the boxes. Then I read a few reviews and realised that it was down to the writing. Whilst there is a lot of beautiful writing and imagery, for me it felt too much. Sentences massively stretched out and a little too much imagery. And a lot of mindless conversation. It just felt too forced for me and as a result of that I struggled to care about the story.
Saying that though it massively picked up after page 300 where the story finally came into its own and I was pleased I’d stuck it out for the finale.
Thirty years later famous actress Daisy Hemmings prepares to draft her autobiography and chooses ghostwriter James Tate to write it. But little does she know that James remembers more than most about her life.
Disappointingly I struggled with this one. It wasn’t grabbing me and I couldn’t understand why as the blurb was ticking all the boxes. Then I read a few reviews and realised that it was down to the writing. Whilst there is a lot of beautiful writing and imagery, for me it felt too much. Sentences massively stretched out and a little too much imagery. And a lot of mindless conversation. It just felt too forced for me and as a result of that I struggled to care about the story.
Saying that though it massively picked up after page 300 where the story finally came into its own and I was pleased I’d stuck it out for the finale.
June 14, 2023
I hated most of the characters through this book. Jason/James is a stupid man who sees only what he wants to see. Daisy is the manic pixie dream girl, Bea, her twin sister most likely sociopathic, and the rest of the cast is largely one note fragments of people.
I figured out the “shocking twist” early on in the story, and questioned the stupidity of the characters on the book to not see it. The pacing of this book was weird too, like it would have worked better as a short story, as there was plot points shoehorned in. To a story that starts with a drowning, it lacks incredible depth.
I figured out the “shocking twist” early on in the story, and questioned the stupidity of the characters on the book to not see it. The pacing of this book was weird too, like it would have worked better as a short story, as there was plot points shoehorned in. To a story that starts with a drowning, it lacks incredible depth.
October 11, 2023
I wish Jason had drowned tbh, horrible little dickhead
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2022
HOLY MCSCHMPLY pls read it it’s so good i finished it in just over 24 hours - it has consumed my soul istg
June 23, 2022
Really sorry to say that this read just wasnt for me. Struggled to hold my attention and just wasn't invested.
I did get to the end and about 80% it picked up.
I did get to the end and about 80% it picked up.
May 20, 2024
3.5 stars. I did struggle to get into this as the first half is very slow but once I was in I did enjoy it. I had to keep reminding myself that the characters in present day are meant to be in their late 40s because they definitely read as though they were still in their 20s. Enjoyable but also forgettable.
February 1, 2023
Four stars for the twists at the end, two for the writing., which is over descriptive and takes too long to get to the plot. Someone said in another review that the author uses too many words and I think that might be it. You get lost in details that don’t matter.
E.g. P412 ‘And the pearl of his self drops into his stomach and begins to dissolve like a milk tooth in a glass of Coke’.
E.g. P412 ‘And the pearl of his self drops into his stomach and begins to dissolve like a milk tooth in a glass of Coke’.
June 22, 2022
Arc received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings was quite interesting, and I looked forward to picking the book up. The concept of it follows along the lines of many books that I've had a good time with, and my expectations were a bit high going in.
Joanna Nadin definitely has great writing. I loved the entire atmosphere of the novel and the way she wrote her characters. None of them were likeable but I still felt a vague curiosity to see where everything was going to go. I also had some suspicions of my own and I was excited to see if I was right or not.
But, I have some problems, or well, just one problem. Maybe it's a just a me thing and I'm reading at the wrong time, but there were just so many instances where I picked this up and put it down to read other books. While I liked the atmosphere, there was just a general sense of boredom. While I was curious to see how everything was going to go down, it wasn't compelling enough for me to get excited to read up to the last few pages.
I do think the ending was good. I guessed right about what was going to happen, but there was one twist that I didn't see. Hopefully other people will get to enjoy this book more than I did.
The premise of The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings was quite interesting, and I looked forward to picking the book up. The concept of it follows along the lines of many books that I've had a good time with, and my expectations were a bit high going in.
Joanna Nadin definitely has great writing. I loved the entire atmosphere of the novel and the way she wrote her characters. None of them were likeable but I still felt a vague curiosity to see where everything was going to go. I also had some suspicions of my own and I was excited to see if I was right or not.
But, I have some problems, or well, just one problem. Maybe it's a just a me thing and I'm reading at the wrong time, but there were just so many instances where I picked this up and put it down to read other books. While I liked the atmosphere, there was just a general sense of boredom. While I was curious to see how everything was going to go down, it wasn't compelling enough for me to get excited to read up to the last few pages.
I do think the ending was good. I guessed right about what was going to happen, but there was one twist that I didn't see. Hopefully other people will get to enjoy this book more than I did.
July 11, 2022
From the cover image to the story within the pages this was akin to something I'd expect from Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Very well written and cleverly thought out, the story is told in both past and present format and from several different POV.
It's a very slow burner which picked up greatly towards the end when the BIG reveal came out! I'd already worked out the James/Jason reveal but had no idea with Daisy/Bea. Very much a character driven read, with all of the characters being well developed, flawed and they made for such an Intriguing, compelling story.
A highly immersive read full of secrets, lies and suspense!
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for my tour spot.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Very well written and cleverly thought out, the story is told in both past and present format and from several different POV.
It's a very slow burner which picked up greatly towards the end when the BIG reveal came out! I'd already worked out the James/Jason reveal but had no idea with Daisy/Bea. Very much a character driven read, with all of the characters being well developed, flawed and they made for such an Intriguing, compelling story.
A highly immersive read full of secrets, lies and suspense!
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for my tour spot.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2023
Wonderful
September 18, 2023
Really enjoyed the second half of this book. The first half was a trek with too many names and two timelines. It started to make sense eventually and I enjoyed it overall.
September 1, 2022
CRAZY PLOT TWIST OMDS
February 8, 2025
3.5⭐
There's not one reasonable character in this book and I predicted the ending from like page 80.
There's not one reasonable character in this book and I predicted the ending from like page 80.
June 27, 2025
3.5🌟 everyone in this books was psychotic
July 23, 2023
this was the seven husbands of evelyn hugo but with more (predictable) plot twists, bad writing, and less tasteful sex scenes
February 5, 2025
3.5. For a plot twist I guessed after the first 60 pages or so, it was still a deeply enjoyable page turner! (It’s actually more fun if you’ve guessed it from the start).
July 29, 2023
Characters felt so one dimensional and lacked personality. Daisy and Bea were just caricatures of personality types. Jason was the Coriolanus Snow of this story. Anyway, I didn’t care for any of them to be honest they were unlikeable and i’m not sure if that was intentional or not. It dragged on in most places which made this a very difficult read to get through.
The twist I saw coming so minus 5 points for predictability. Also, James just… didn’t do his job at all and he was such an annoying little bitch of a man at 47 pining after a girl who gave him attention 30 years ago. Man I wouldn’t recomment this for anyone. Here’s the takeaway of the book: self awareness could help you become a happier person (looking at you Bea) and a shit ton of therapy is good for the soul.
The twist I saw coming so minus 5 points for predictability. Also, James just… didn’t do his job at all and he was such an annoying little bitch of a man at 47 pining after a girl who gave him attention 30 years ago. Man I wouldn’t recomment this for anyone. Here’s the takeaway of the book: self awareness could help you become a happier person (looking at you Bea) and a shit ton of therapy is good for the soul.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2022
The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is the perfect hazy summer read. The setting at a Cornish family holiday home was perfectly atmospheric and I could picture everything quite clearly in my mind through the immersive descriptions the author writes about the scenery and more.
It is a dual timeline which I always enjoy and also you get to experience different narrators that help you understand their points of view.
This book is all about growing up, identity and friendship. All the characters are complex and came across very realistic. They are not really a likeable bunch and all are extremely flawed.
There are a few twists which I did work out but it didn’t ruin it for me when the reveals happened. The air of mystery surrounding the group and the tension really is powerful throughout the story. You just know something big is building up to happen as you delve deeper into the pages.
A gloriously nostalgic, dreamy kind of read that I think will appeal to a wide range of readers.
It is a dual timeline which I always enjoy and also you get to experience different narrators that help you understand their points of view.
This book is all about growing up, identity and friendship. All the characters are complex and came across very realistic. They are not really a likeable bunch and all are extremely flawed.
There are a few twists which I did work out but it didn’t ruin it for me when the reveals happened. The air of mystery surrounding the group and the tension really is powerful throughout the story. You just know something big is building up to happen as you delve deeper into the pages.
A gloriously nostalgic, dreamy kind of read that I think will appeal to a wide range of readers.
Read
July 13, 2022DNF
I could not find my way into the book. The writing is all over the place and I am thinking all the time that I missed something. It just failed to hold my interest. And I figured out the twist almost from page one. It is so obvious.
I could not find my way into the book. The writing is all over the place and I am thinking all the time that I missed something. It just failed to hold my interest. And I figured out the twist almost from page one. It is so obvious.
January 7, 2023
1.75 stars.
December 26, 2025
3.5
Kinda lost me in the middle
Kinda lost me in the middle
June 10, 2022
Daisy Hemmings, screen darling, is being interviewed by ghost writer to the famous, James. Gathering material for the ‘autobiography’ is a straight-forward process – questions and answers, observations and descriptions. But when Daisy insists James continue the work at the Hemmings Cornish family holiday home, Rashleigh, history is put under the microscope, the evidence of her memories magnified. The truth rises to the surface.
It’s a history spanning thirty years, and the story is split between now and then – then being a time when Daisy and her friends descended on Rashleigh to party through and lounge out the languishing summer. Within spitting distance of their waterfront estate is the small village of Pencalenick where the locals live a far more grounded existence. Where Jason, a local boy longing for a world bigger than fishing boats and small-fry friendships, watches like a hawk as the London set fly in like swans; it’s a tantalising taste of another life, and he is bewitched by the confident and beautiful Daisy Hemmings. But he’s just the motherless son of the local landlord – parented by rough handling (co-parented by the gruff drinkers who live at the bar) – and while his sister wants to escape as much as he, she distracts herself with the more immediate pastimes of drinking and sex. But Jason’s persistence pays off and soon he is invited to Rashleigh. Before long he becomes their plaything, then a seasonal fixture. Only, his own fixation with Daisy Hemmings leads him closer to the complicated relationships between the Londoners: the desires, the jealousies and the betrayals. It’s something that the current-day Daisy is unwilling to reveal, and that her ghost-writer, James, prising apart each tight-lipped secret, will eventually shuck.
In comparison with Joanna Nadin's other books, this has a very different feel. Whereas, with The Queen of Bloody Everything and The Talk of Pram Town we are in the picture, under the bed, in the room with the characters, so close we feel their heartbeats, in The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings we are kept at a distance. Much like young Jason, watching the rich frolic on the lawns from the poor seats across the estuary. But far from making the story inaccessible, the distance gives us an interesting perspective and allows us to view these players as the privileged, self-centred characters they are: not particularly likeable, but fascinating and totally entrancing. There is Daisy – ethereal and beguiling; her sister, Bea – sullen, resentful; a hanger-on friend, Muriel, who is chaotic and affected; Hal, intense and serious; and Julian (in my opinion the worst of the lot) is a master of condescension with a razor-sharp tongue. Nadin does them all a disservice, which is to say she’s written them brilliantly. Each one provokes a reaction from the reader, and indeed from poor wretched Jason, who clings onto their every word and bends to their every whim. The dysfunction of the wealthy gang is echoed in Rashleigh itself. So grand, palatial on the outside, but inside, old and neglected, smeared in the grease of cooking fat, depressing in its lacking of care, attention and love.
This book is an absolute page-turner. The story is twisty and exciting and the writing is quick-witted and wry. But it’s also intensely beautiful. If there’s something Nadin is good at it’s crystalising an emotion or pricking recognition of a character or a feeling with just a few well-chosen words. Because we’ve all met people like this, or been people like this, or at the very least seen people like this; and we’ve all experienced longing. And to me, that’s what this is about. Longing and belonging. With the incredible imagery of the sea as a backdrop, and a soundtrack of the hope and hedonism of youth.
The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings may be a work of fiction, but the mood will get under your skin and the plot will reel you in and you’ll be standing on a sea wall with the wind in your hair, wondering how she did it.
It’s a history spanning thirty years, and the story is split between now and then – then being a time when Daisy and her friends descended on Rashleigh to party through and lounge out the languishing summer. Within spitting distance of their waterfront estate is the small village of Pencalenick where the locals live a far more grounded existence. Where Jason, a local boy longing for a world bigger than fishing boats and small-fry friendships, watches like a hawk as the London set fly in like swans; it’s a tantalising taste of another life, and he is bewitched by the confident and beautiful Daisy Hemmings. But he’s just the motherless son of the local landlord – parented by rough handling (co-parented by the gruff drinkers who live at the bar) – and while his sister wants to escape as much as he, she distracts herself with the more immediate pastimes of drinking and sex. But Jason’s persistence pays off and soon he is invited to Rashleigh. Before long he becomes their plaything, then a seasonal fixture. Only, his own fixation with Daisy Hemmings leads him closer to the complicated relationships between the Londoners: the desires, the jealousies and the betrayals. It’s something that the current-day Daisy is unwilling to reveal, and that her ghost-writer, James, prising apart each tight-lipped secret, will eventually shuck.
In comparison with Joanna Nadin's other books, this has a very different feel. Whereas, with The Queen of Bloody Everything and The Talk of Pram Town we are in the picture, under the bed, in the room with the characters, so close we feel their heartbeats, in The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings we are kept at a distance. Much like young Jason, watching the rich frolic on the lawns from the poor seats across the estuary. But far from making the story inaccessible, the distance gives us an interesting perspective and allows us to view these players as the privileged, self-centred characters they are: not particularly likeable, but fascinating and totally entrancing. There is Daisy – ethereal and beguiling; her sister, Bea – sullen, resentful; a hanger-on friend, Muriel, who is chaotic and affected; Hal, intense and serious; and Julian (in my opinion the worst of the lot) is a master of condescension with a razor-sharp tongue. Nadin does them all a disservice, which is to say she’s written them brilliantly. Each one provokes a reaction from the reader, and indeed from poor wretched Jason, who clings onto their every word and bends to their every whim. The dysfunction of the wealthy gang is echoed in Rashleigh itself. So grand, palatial on the outside, but inside, old and neglected, smeared in the grease of cooking fat, depressing in its lacking of care, attention and love.
This book is an absolute page-turner. The story is twisty and exciting and the writing is quick-witted and wry. But it’s also intensely beautiful. If there’s something Nadin is good at it’s crystalising an emotion or pricking recognition of a character or a feeling with just a few well-chosen words. Because we’ve all met people like this, or been people like this, or at the very least seen people like this; and we’ve all experienced longing. And to me, that’s what this is about. Longing and belonging. With the incredible imagery of the sea as a backdrop, and a soundtrack of the hope and hedonism of youth.
The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings may be a work of fiction, but the mood will get under your skin and the plot will reel you in and you’ll be standing on a sea wall with the wind in your hair, wondering how she did it.
July 12, 2022
3.5 stars. Joanna Nadin’s latest novel, The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings, is what would happen if Victoria Gosling’s Before the Ruins had a book baby with Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and the Six. Which is, in my book at least, a very good thing.
Split over two timeframes, the novel centres around charismatic actress Daisy Hemmings. In 2018, she’s decided it’s time to write her autobiography and she wants James Tate to write it with her. James is an established and respected ghost writer and, as such, is excellent at stepping into other people’s shoes. He should be because he’s had decades of pretending to be someone he’s not.
Flash back to 1988 and, in the sleepy Cornish hamlet of Pencalenick, seventeen-year-old Jason and his older sister Sadie are desperate to escape from working behind the bar for their drunken father. When twins Daisy and Bea turn up to stay at their family home, Rashleigh, for the summer, Jason gets a tantalising glimpse of world beyond his own and he is determined to become part of it. As he watches Daisy, Bea and their friends, Hal, Julian, and Muriel, Jason becomes entranced by Daisy: the sun around whom all the others orbit. But the problem with getting too close to the sun is that it will burn you. And by the end of summer, one of the group will dead.
Like The Secret History, The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is a novel about people making very bad choices in an attempt to escape the reality of their lives. And, as with Before the Ruins, it’s about not very nice people making very bad choices. Daisy, Bea, Hal, Julien, and Muriel are quite possibly some of the most selfish and self-absorbed characters I’ve come across and, whilst **MILD SPOILERS AHEAD** Jason/James is more understandable, I still found him to be dislikeable in both his 1988 and 2018 iterations. That said, whilst the characters are challenging it didn’t make them any less compelling. Indeed, the tiny glimpses of self-realisation and vulnerability amidst their confident and self-absorbed exteriors makes them all the more compelling.
Talking too much about the plot of The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings would spoil the story but it’s safe to say that the novel uses its ‘coming-of-age’ premise to explore the tensions of social class and education, and to consider the ways in which we all construct and perform our identities. Daisy might be the actress but she’s certainly not the only character putting on a performance in this novel. Indeed, ideas about fictions and storytelling are woven throughout the narrative as Daisy and Jason connect through discussions of fables, fairytales, and novels. Hemmings also brilliantly contrasts the decaying decadence of Rashleigh and Pencalenick with the shining sun that is Daisy, creating the perfect undertow of menace that permeates throughout the novel.
Hemmings’s writing is as languid as the teenage summer she depicts, so The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings isn’t the fastest of reads. However, whilst there were moments when the pace did lag a little, I found myself carried along by the richly evocative prose and the compellingly challenging characters. Stick with the setup and I promise you’ll be turning the pages faster and faster as the revelations come thick and fast towards the end!
Combining the glamour and hedonism of Daisy Jones and the Six with the class tensions of The Secret History and the dark coming-of-age tale found in Before the Ruins, The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is an atmospheric novel perfect for readers who enjoy slow-building tension and explosive revelations!
NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpre... as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Split over two timeframes, the novel centres around charismatic actress Daisy Hemmings. In 2018, she’s decided it’s time to write her autobiography and she wants James Tate to write it with her. James is an established and respected ghost writer and, as such, is excellent at stepping into other people’s shoes. He should be because he’s had decades of pretending to be someone he’s not.
Flash back to 1988 and, in the sleepy Cornish hamlet of Pencalenick, seventeen-year-old Jason and his older sister Sadie are desperate to escape from working behind the bar for their drunken father. When twins Daisy and Bea turn up to stay at their family home, Rashleigh, for the summer, Jason gets a tantalising glimpse of world beyond his own and he is determined to become part of it. As he watches Daisy, Bea and their friends, Hal, Julian, and Muriel, Jason becomes entranced by Daisy: the sun around whom all the others orbit. But the problem with getting too close to the sun is that it will burn you. And by the end of summer, one of the group will dead.
Like The Secret History, The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is a novel about people making very bad choices in an attempt to escape the reality of their lives. And, as with Before the Ruins, it’s about not very nice people making very bad choices. Daisy, Bea, Hal, Julien, and Muriel are quite possibly some of the most selfish and self-absorbed characters I’ve come across and, whilst **MILD SPOILERS AHEAD** Jason/James is more understandable, I still found him to be dislikeable in both his 1988 and 2018 iterations. That said, whilst the characters are challenging it didn’t make them any less compelling. Indeed, the tiny glimpses of self-realisation and vulnerability amidst their confident and self-absorbed exteriors makes them all the more compelling.
Talking too much about the plot of The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings would spoil the story but it’s safe to say that the novel uses its ‘coming-of-age’ premise to explore the tensions of social class and education, and to consider the ways in which we all construct and perform our identities. Daisy might be the actress but she’s certainly not the only character putting on a performance in this novel. Indeed, ideas about fictions and storytelling are woven throughout the narrative as Daisy and Jason connect through discussions of fables, fairytales, and novels. Hemmings also brilliantly contrasts the decaying decadence of Rashleigh and Pencalenick with the shining sun that is Daisy, creating the perfect undertow of menace that permeates throughout the novel.
Hemmings’s writing is as languid as the teenage summer she depicts, so The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings isn’t the fastest of reads. However, whilst there were moments when the pace did lag a little, I found myself carried along by the richly evocative prose and the compellingly challenging characters. Stick with the setup and I promise you’ll be turning the pages faster and faster as the revelations come thick and fast towards the end!
Combining the glamour and hedonism of Daisy Jones and the Six with the class tensions of The Secret History and the dark coming-of-age tale found in Before the Ruins, The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is an atmospheric novel perfect for readers who enjoy slow-building tension and explosive revelations!
NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpre... as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
July 21, 2022
Thank you to @mantlepressbooks and @jonadin for this copy of The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings in return for an honest review.
Description 🔖
It’s 1988 in Cornwall when twins Daisy and Bea Hemmings take a group of friends away to their house for a holiday. They’re a glamorous bunch and their arrival is very much noticed by local teen Jason. It’s them that make him realise that he wants more from life than his Dad’s pub. Daisy specifically entrances him as she does most people around her. However the Daisy obsession mixed with teenage indulgences are a recipe for disaster and by the end of the summer, one of the group will be dead.
Fast forward to 2018 and Daisy Hemmings has had a successful career as an actress and decides it’s time to write her autobiography. She hires James Tate to ghost write it for her. He’s experienced and very good at his job. Mostly because he has a lot of practise of stepping into someones shoes and pretending to be them. He’s spend most of his life pretending to be someone else. But what will happen when his real self and his pretend self collide?
General Thoughts 🤔
This was one of those books that tends to baffle me. Not a lot really happened, but I was still interested and still wanted to read. I’m not sure if the twists were supposed to be surprises, or if I was supposed to have predicted them (which I did) but I strangely wasn’t mad at it either way. I knew what was coming, but I still wanted to watch it all unfold and play out in front of me.
Characters 👫👭👬
Though I may not have been able to relate to the characters in this book, they definitely felt real. I didn’t think that any of them were particularly likeable and all of them were flawed, but they were genuine.
I found Bea to be the most interesting character of them all as well as the most troubled. I couldn’t work out whether she remained within the circle of friends because she wanted to or because she had no other option. James was the character that annoyed me the most. What started off as him finding himself in a coincidental situation, ended up with him turning a bit creepy, obsessive and delusional.
Writing Style ✍️
My favourite thing about this book was the feeling and atmosphere that the writing created; specifically during the 1988 chapters. It felt so real to me and though I was just a small baby then, I could perfectly imagine the setting and characters and outfits and everything. This doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the 2018 chapters. I liked the way that the author created this entitled group of teenagers who remained an entitled bunch of teenagers (in adult disguise) twenty years later.
Conclusion & Scoring 🎖
I whizzed through this book pretty quickly and I think it was mostly because the characters were engaging although sometimes annoying. I really enjoyed the UK in the 80s vibe to the story which I think gave it a nice little edge. A relatively easy going read that I’d recommend for some chilled reading.
Description 🔖
It’s 1988 in Cornwall when twins Daisy and Bea Hemmings take a group of friends away to their house for a holiday. They’re a glamorous bunch and their arrival is very much noticed by local teen Jason. It’s them that make him realise that he wants more from life than his Dad’s pub. Daisy specifically entrances him as she does most people around her. However the Daisy obsession mixed with teenage indulgences are a recipe for disaster and by the end of the summer, one of the group will be dead.
Fast forward to 2018 and Daisy Hemmings has had a successful career as an actress and decides it’s time to write her autobiography. She hires James Tate to ghost write it for her. He’s experienced and very good at his job. Mostly because he has a lot of practise of stepping into someones shoes and pretending to be them. He’s spend most of his life pretending to be someone else. But what will happen when his real self and his pretend self collide?
General Thoughts 🤔
This was one of those books that tends to baffle me. Not a lot really happened, but I was still interested and still wanted to read. I’m not sure if the twists were supposed to be surprises, or if I was supposed to have predicted them (which I did) but I strangely wasn’t mad at it either way. I knew what was coming, but I still wanted to watch it all unfold and play out in front of me.
Characters 👫👭👬
Though I may not have been able to relate to the characters in this book, they definitely felt real. I didn’t think that any of them were particularly likeable and all of them were flawed, but they were genuine.
I found Bea to be the most interesting character of them all as well as the most troubled. I couldn’t work out whether she remained within the circle of friends because she wanted to or because she had no other option. James was the character that annoyed me the most. What started off as him finding himself in a coincidental situation, ended up with him turning a bit creepy, obsessive and delusional.
Writing Style ✍️
My favourite thing about this book was the feeling and atmosphere that the writing created; specifically during the 1988 chapters. It felt so real to me and though I was just a small baby then, I could perfectly imagine the setting and characters and outfits and everything. This doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the 2018 chapters. I liked the way that the author created this entitled group of teenagers who remained an entitled bunch of teenagers (in adult disguise) twenty years later.
Conclusion & Scoring 🎖
I whizzed through this book pretty quickly and I think it was mostly because the characters were engaging although sometimes annoying. I really enjoyed the UK in the 80s vibe to the story which I think gave it a nice little edge. A relatively easy going read that I’d recommend for some chilled reading.
July 18, 2022
In The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings, by Joanna Nadin, we follow the same person - or, at least, entity - in 1988 and 2018.
In 1988, he’s Jason Pengelly, a 17-year-old working-class boy stymied by his bullying father and the lack of opportunities in Cornwall, when he falls in with a group of braying visitors, including beguiling Daisy Hicks and her quieter twin, Bea.
In 2018, he’s James Tate, having taken the opportunity to completely transform himself after the accident that left Bea dead and Jason presumed dead. Actress Daisy Hemmings, née Hicks, requests him to ghost write her autobiography, and despite his fear of being recognised, his curiosity and persisting feelings for her get their way.
James finds himself back in his old village, among a number of familiar faces. Will he be found out? And what actually happened back in 1988?
This novel is a vivid read that engaged me in a fascinating exploration of class and identity. I’ve never been to Cornwall myself, but the author described it so well that it was easy to transport myself there alongside the characters.
While I guessed the main reveal quite early on, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment one bit, as I was keen to know exactly how the situation came about in the first place and how the truth eventually came out, had my eyes open to ‘tells’ throughout the book, and was taken by surprise by the secondary reveals.
Central to the story is the idea - as asserted by latter-day Daisy’s philosopher daughter, Clementine - that everyone is a work of fiction, adopting desirable characteristics in order to achieve success and appeal to others, and there’s no such thing as an immutable soul/self at the heart of a person.
James is an extreme example of the former, as he’s consciously taken inspiration from a variety of sources to present himself as a highly-educated, intellectual, and debonair. But I would argue that he nonetheless retains, on the inside, his original persona, precisely because he’s so extremely conscious of putting on an act whenever he’s with other people (which sounds exhausting), and so worried that people from his previous life will easily ‘see through’ him.
At the other extreme, some characters in the book seem to have barely changed at all in 30 years, and this might be because they don’t need to transform themselves to be accepted. For example, Muriel, one of Daisy’s group, is an unapologetically hot mess in both 1988 and 2018, but gets away with it due to her background. Certain newspapers might describe her as ‘bohemian’ or a ‘party girl’, whereas a working-class woman with the same characteristics would be labelled ‘feckless’ and ‘irresponsible’.
In the earlier narrative, it was also interesting to see the contrasts in Daisy and Bea, imagine how it must have felt being the ‘inferior’ twin, and think about how, despite having the same DNA and family of origin, they turned out so different. In particular, Bea had a major illness as a child, and as well as physically weakening her, this affected how adults treated her, and consequently how she saw herself in contrast to robust, unimpeded Daisy.
I also appreciated the literary references in this book. A number of these are made by the characters themselves, but I was also reminded of the wider literary tradition of working-class characters finding themselves in social groups made up of their social ‘betters’, and/or going out of their way to disown their origins and prove themselves worthy of inclusion.
The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is a vivid and fascinating read that made me think about identity, class, and literary tradition.
In 1988, he’s Jason Pengelly, a 17-year-old working-class boy stymied by his bullying father and the lack of opportunities in Cornwall, when he falls in with a group of braying visitors, including beguiling Daisy Hicks and her quieter twin, Bea.
In 2018, he’s James Tate, having taken the opportunity to completely transform himself after the accident that left Bea dead and Jason presumed dead. Actress Daisy Hemmings, née Hicks, requests him to ghost write her autobiography, and despite his fear of being recognised, his curiosity and persisting feelings for her get their way.
James finds himself back in his old village, among a number of familiar faces. Will he be found out? And what actually happened back in 1988?
This novel is a vivid read that engaged me in a fascinating exploration of class and identity. I’ve never been to Cornwall myself, but the author described it so well that it was easy to transport myself there alongside the characters.
While I guessed the main reveal quite early on, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment one bit, as I was keen to know exactly how the situation came about in the first place and how the truth eventually came out, had my eyes open to ‘tells’ throughout the book, and was taken by surprise by the secondary reveals.
Central to the story is the idea - as asserted by latter-day Daisy’s philosopher daughter, Clementine - that everyone is a work of fiction, adopting desirable characteristics in order to achieve success and appeal to others, and there’s no such thing as an immutable soul/self at the heart of a person.
James is an extreme example of the former, as he’s consciously taken inspiration from a variety of sources to present himself as a highly-educated, intellectual, and debonair. But I would argue that he nonetheless retains, on the inside, his original persona, precisely because he’s so extremely conscious of putting on an act whenever he’s with other people (which sounds exhausting), and so worried that people from his previous life will easily ‘see through’ him.
At the other extreme, some characters in the book seem to have barely changed at all in 30 years, and this might be because they don’t need to transform themselves to be accepted. For example, Muriel, one of Daisy’s group, is an unapologetically hot mess in both 1988 and 2018, but gets away with it due to her background. Certain newspapers might describe her as ‘bohemian’ or a ‘party girl’, whereas a working-class woman with the same characteristics would be labelled ‘feckless’ and ‘irresponsible’.
In the earlier narrative, it was also interesting to see the contrasts in Daisy and Bea, imagine how it must have felt being the ‘inferior’ twin, and think about how, despite having the same DNA and family of origin, they turned out so different. In particular, Bea had a major illness as a child, and as well as physically weakening her, this affected how adults treated her, and consequently how she saw herself in contrast to robust, unimpeded Daisy.
I also appreciated the literary references in this book. A number of these are made by the characters themselves, but I was also reminded of the wider literary tradition of working-class characters finding themselves in social groups made up of their social ‘betters’, and/or going out of their way to disown their origins and prove themselves worthy of inclusion.
The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is a vivid and fascinating read that made me think about identity, class, and literary tradition.
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