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The Falconer
It is 1936. Iris Tennant applies to become personal assistant to Lord Melfort, the Under-Secretary of War, at his private estate in the Scottish Highlands. Her secret plan is to find out why her younger sister Daphne committed suicide there a year previously. As Iris gradually falls under the spell of Glen Almain, she starts to see the apparition of Daphne haunting its glades and begins to wonder about the manner of her death. Is there really a beast that inhabits the woods? Who is the mysterious falconer? What actually happened to Daphne, and is Iris destined for the same fate? A backdrop of impending war and the spectre of Nazi Germany loom over this strange, dark tale. What ensues is a battle between instinct and reason, fantasy and history. Award-winning writer Alice Thompson's compelling new novel is a story of transformation; an exploration of the shifting borderlands between imagination and reality.
- GenresScotland
144 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2014
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Alice Thompson
38 books34 followersAlice Thompson is a Scottish novelist.
Thompson was educated at St George's School, Edinburgh, then read English at Oxford and wrote her Ph.D. thesis on Henry James. In the 1980s she played keyboard with rock band The Woodentops.
She has a son and lives in Edinburgh. Her novel Justine was the joint winner of the 1996 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. She has also won a Creative Scotland Award in 2000 and was a Writer in Residence in Shetland.
Thompson was educated at St George's School, Edinburgh, then read English at Oxford and wrote her Ph.D. thesis on Henry James. In the 1980s she played keyboard with rock band The Woodentops.
She has a son and lives in Edinburgh. Her novel Justine was the joint winner of the 1996 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. She has also won a Creative Scotland Award in 2000 and was a Writer in Residence in Shetland.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 1, 2018
Thompson's books are often slight but they demand attention. There's always so much simmering beneath the surface, with hidden layers of meaning and clues as to what's really going on hidden in the hypnotic atmosphere and fever dream plot. At lot can be missed if you speed your way through, or refuse to accept the warped logic of the worlds she creates. That's why, firstly, her books should really be savoured rather than devoured, and secondly, why I'm not surprised her work isn't for everyone.
That said, her stories often seem to flirt between the reality of our world, and the logic of dreams and fairy tales, where a suspension of disbelief is indeed sometimes required - but rich rewards await if you can muster the ability to do so.
In this case, I was instantly drawn in by the repeated homages to one of my very favourite books - Rebecca. Both are set in stately manors in the countryside. Both follow a young woman stepping into the role of another woman who has died in mysterious circumstances. Both books are 'haunted' by the lingering presence of the deceased woman, who in both cases was a very sensual and vivacious person. And in The Falconer, that young woman is even named Daphne, perhaps a direct reference to Rebecca's author, Daphne du Maurier - as though the influence and inspiration of du Maurier's work is 'haunting' Thompson's own work.
Thompson draws on other sources to imbue symbolic meaning into the story however, including mythology, nature, witchcraft and fairy tales. In many ways, it's a tableau of symbolism; a meditation on transformation through storytelling and opening ourselves up to other perspectives; as well as how myth can become like fact and vice versa.
There is indeed a more logical narrative meaning that can be taken at face value but to me the book was more a commentary on how the extraordinary is never very far away from the ordinary, emphasised by the backdrop of oncoming war as the story's events grow more surreal.
This was my fifth novel by Thompson. Whilst I can't honestly say that the actual reading of it was one of my favourite experiences with her work, it did have its moments of brilliance, and it's the one that has got me thinking the most. I suspect it will linger with me for some time.
That said, her stories often seem to flirt between the reality of our world, and the logic of dreams and fairy tales, where a suspension of disbelief is indeed sometimes required - but rich rewards await if you can muster the ability to do so.
In this case, I was instantly drawn in by the repeated homages to one of my very favourite books - Rebecca. Both are set in stately manors in the countryside. Both follow a young woman stepping into the role of another woman who has died in mysterious circumstances. Both books are 'haunted' by the lingering presence of the deceased woman, who in both cases was a very sensual and vivacious person. And in The Falconer, that young woman is even named Daphne, perhaps a direct reference to Rebecca's author, Daphne du Maurier - as though the influence and inspiration of du Maurier's work is 'haunting' Thompson's own work.
Thompson draws on other sources to imbue symbolic meaning into the story however, including mythology, nature, witchcraft and fairy tales. In many ways, it's a tableau of symbolism; a meditation on transformation through storytelling and opening ourselves up to other perspectives; as well as how myth can become like fact and vice versa.
There is indeed a more logical narrative meaning that can be taken at face value but to me the book was more a commentary on how the extraordinary is never very far away from the ordinary, emphasised by the backdrop of oncoming war as the story's events grow more surreal.
This was my fifth novel by Thompson. Whilst I can't honestly say that the actual reading of it was one of my favourite experiences with her work, it did have its moments of brilliance, and it's the one that has got me thinking the most. I suspect it will linger with me for some time.
July 19, 2022
Picked up from our lovely local amnesty international bookshop, it had been winking at me for a few weeks. Some interesting writing; I enjoyed the place making, the writing style and some really interesting character development. Important story elements, rather than being developed in the main narrative, were told offline via vignettes of other characters thoughts. A times it read a little like a movie script outline, with an entire character's motivation being delivered in a sentence or two. I would have enjoyed seeing those played out in a fuller telling. And the wonderful characters felt like we only got a glimpse of them before their contribution to the tale ended. I guess this might have been to add to the supernatural feel of the tale but I was certainly left wanting more. This has loads going for it but felt unfinished. Still, glad to have made this author's acquaintance and will seek out more.
April 13, 2020
A fantastic read. The story has the same mysterious quality as Rebecca, set on a secluded country estate where a woman has died — only in this book the narrator is on the same side as the dead woman and working to uncover what happened to her. Lots of mythical references, shadowy suggestion and a subtle war plot running through it all. It’s a short, dreamlike book with a dark energy at its centre. Aside from what I felt were a few clumsy similes, beautiful writing too.
May 23, 2017
The suspense build up is great. It takes you to a point where you can't put it down but then becomes predictable towards the end. Ending at not so great a note.
May 8, 2025
It was printed on very nice paper.
November 2, 2016
A quick read, rather mystical, with some beautiful language and some completely overdone, as if the author could think of two descriptions for a thing and couldn't choose between them, so stuck them both in. The action is not what you would call brisk, if that's what you're looking for, and the plot such as it is is pretty much unresolved. I couldn't sympathise with any of the characters at all, yet I have a feeling that the sense of the book will linger.
January 21, 2014
Totally brilliant, as ever.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews