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Chase of the Wild Goose: The Story of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, Known as the Ladies of Llangollen
Late 18th century Ireland. Two women from noble families – Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby – meet and form an intense romantic friendship. Against the will of their families – and overcoming the many obstacles placed before them – they leave Ireland and finally settle at Plas Newydd, North Wales.
It is here they achieve fame and notoriety; it is here they become the Ladies of Llangollen.
Chase of the Wild Goose is the forgotten lesbian novel of the interwar era – an amiable companion to Woolf’s time-travelling Orlando and joyful antidote to the misery of The Well of Loneliness. A historical fiction dedicated to the Ladies of Llangollen, first published by the Hogarth Press in 1936, Gordon’s Chase celebrates the search – and psychic need – for lesbian foremothers, and delights in finding them.
It is here they achieve fame and notoriety; it is here they become the Ladies of Llangollen.
Chase of the Wild Goose is the forgotten lesbian novel of the interwar era – an amiable companion to Woolf’s time-travelling Orlando and joyful antidote to the misery of The Well of Loneliness. A historical fiction dedicated to the Ladies of Llangollen, first published by the Hogarth Press in 1936, Gordon’s Chase celebrates the search – and psychic need – for lesbian foremothers, and delights in finding them.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1936
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February 1, 2023
Chase of the Wild Goose, a playful, offbeat biographical novel about the Ladies of Llangollen, was first published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf’s Hogarth Press in 1936. I was delighted to be invited to take part in an informal blog tour celebrating the book’s return to print as the inaugural publication of Lurid Editions, which will focus on reprinting lesser-known and trailblazing 20th-century classics.
Mary Louisa Gordon was a medical doctor and early graduate of the London School of Medicine for Women. She also served as a prison inspector and had a special concern for the plight of female prisoners; another of her works was Penal Discipline (1922). Chase of the Wild Goose was published when she was 75. She underwrote the book to keep it in print until her death in 1941. A word-of-mouth success, it sold reasonably well in those first years.
I’d encountered the Ladies of Llangollen a couple of times before, in nonfiction: in The Art of the Wasted Day by Patricia Hampl, where they are among her exemplars of solitary, introspective living; and in Sign Here If You Exist and Other Essays by Jill Sisson Quinn, where, in the way that they blur the lines between romance and friendship, they presage her experience with an intimate female friend. This was a different way to explore their story.
These are the opening lines of what, in its first half, is a fairly straightforward chronological account of the protagonists’ lives, from their first meeting to when they flee to Wales to set up house together at Plas Newydd. They grow up in Ireland and, although their prospects differ – EB has a wealthy upbringing at Kilkenny Castle, whereas teenage SP has recently lost her mother and is being passed around relatives and acquaintances – both are often told that marriage is the only viable option. The eccentric spinster stereotype is an unkind one, but one EB is willing to risk. In one terrific scene, she shames her archbishop great-uncle for being just like everyone else and threatening to sell her to the highest bidder in matrimony. Still, the notion persists that if only the right man comes courting, they’ll change their tune.
At their first meeting EB and SP engage in an intense discussion of the possibilities for women, and within two weeks they’re already pledging to be together forever: “I think that nothing cheap, or second-rate, or faute de mieux, will ever do for you or me … We think—you and I—that we want something strange and exceptional, but something different may be ordained for us,” Eleanor says to Sarah. “From now onwards I… won’t you keep me… in your heart?” Sarah asks in parting. Eleanor replies, “I think you have been in it since before we were born.”
The strength of that romantic conviction that they are fated for each other keeps them going despite difficulties – EB’s father disowns her and cuts her off, which has inevitable financial implications, though she had already bought Plas Newydd outright; and for both of them, leaving Ireland is a wrench because they feel certain that they can never go back.
By Part II, the erstwhile fugitives, settled into local life in North Wales, enter into a sedate middle age of visitors and correspondence. Much of the material for this section is drawn from the journal EB kept. Part III is where things get really interesting: in a metafictional twist, Gordon herself enters the narrative as she meets and converses with the long-dead Ladies at their house, reflecting on the social changes that have occurred since their time.
As the Afterword by Dr Nicola Wilson notes, Chase of the Wild Goose is creative nonfiction in the same vein as Orlando, building on real-life figures and relationships in a way that must have seemed ahead of its age, not least for how it looks back to venerate queer foremothers. Although there are long stretches of the book that are tedious with biographical detail and melodramatic speeches, there is enough in the way of convincing dialogue and scenes to make up for that. While I feel the novel probably has more to offer to academics and those with a particular interest in its subjects than to general readers, I was pleased to be able to experience a rediscovered classic. I marvelled every time I reminded myself that this largely takes place in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century. Gordon ably reproduces the diction and mores of the Ladies’ time, but her modernist intrusion takes it beyond pastiche.
As for the title, I’m most accustomed to the wild goose as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit in Celtic Christian iconography, but of course it is also a pun on the proverbial wild-goose chase. Gordon nods to both connotations; the phrase appears several times in the text and is the protagonists’ private term for their search for a life together – for liberty and for love. You have to cheer for them, achieving what so few could in their time. Here’s to you, Ladies!
Twitter: @LuridEditions
Instagram: @lurid_editions
Podcast: Lurid Talk
For more information, do also read this fascinating Guardian article.
Originally published, with images, on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Mary Louisa Gordon was a medical doctor and early graduate of the London School of Medicine for Women. She also served as a prison inspector and had a special concern for the plight of female prisoners; another of her works was Penal Discipline (1922). Chase of the Wild Goose was published when she was 75. She underwrote the book to keep it in print until her death in 1941. A word-of-mouth success, it sold reasonably well in those first years.
I’d encountered the Ladies of Llangollen a couple of times before, in nonfiction: in The Art of the Wasted Day by Patricia Hampl, where they are among her exemplars of solitary, introspective living; and in Sign Here If You Exist and Other Essays by Jill Sisson Quinn, where, in the way that they blur the lines between romance and friendship, they presage her experience with an intimate female friend. This was a different way to explore their story.
“The two heroines of this story, the Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, have a remarkable history. They achieved fame at a stroke. They made a noise in the world which has never since died out, and which we, their spiritual descendants, continue to echo.”
These are the opening lines of what, in its first half, is a fairly straightforward chronological account of the protagonists’ lives, from their first meeting to when they flee to Wales to set up house together at Plas Newydd. They grow up in Ireland and, although their prospects differ – EB has a wealthy upbringing at Kilkenny Castle, whereas teenage SP has recently lost her mother and is being passed around relatives and acquaintances – both are often told that marriage is the only viable option. The eccentric spinster stereotype is an unkind one, but one EB is willing to risk. In one terrific scene, she shames her archbishop great-uncle for being just like everyone else and threatening to sell her to the highest bidder in matrimony. Still, the notion persists that if only the right man comes courting, they’ll change their tune.
At their first meeting EB and SP engage in an intense discussion of the possibilities for women, and within two weeks they’re already pledging to be together forever: “I think that nothing cheap, or second-rate, or faute de mieux, will ever do for you or me … We think—you and I—that we want something strange and exceptional, but something different may be ordained for us,” Eleanor says to Sarah. “From now onwards I… won’t you keep me… in your heart?” Sarah asks in parting. Eleanor replies, “I think you have been in it since before we were born.”
The strength of that romantic conviction that they are fated for each other keeps them going despite difficulties – EB’s father disowns her and cuts her off, which has inevitable financial implications, though she had already bought Plas Newydd outright; and for both of them, leaving Ireland is a wrench because they feel certain that they can never go back.
By Part II, the erstwhile fugitives, settled into local life in North Wales, enter into a sedate middle age of visitors and correspondence. Much of the material for this section is drawn from the journal EB kept. Part III is where things get really interesting: in a metafictional twist, Gordon herself enters the narrative as she meets and converses with the long-dead Ladies at their house, reflecting on the social changes that have occurred since their time.
As the Afterword by Dr Nicola Wilson notes, Chase of the Wild Goose is creative nonfiction in the same vein as Orlando, building on real-life figures and relationships in a way that must have seemed ahead of its age, not least for how it looks back to venerate queer foremothers. Although there are long stretches of the book that are tedious with biographical detail and melodramatic speeches, there is enough in the way of convincing dialogue and scenes to make up for that. While I feel the novel probably has more to offer to academics and those with a particular interest in its subjects than to general readers, I was pleased to be able to experience a rediscovered classic. I marvelled every time I reminded myself that this largely takes place in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century. Gordon ably reproduces the diction and mores of the Ladies’ time, but her modernist intrusion takes it beyond pastiche.
As for the title, I’m most accustomed to the wild goose as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit in Celtic Christian iconography, but of course it is also a pun on the proverbial wild-goose chase. Gordon nods to both connotations; the phrase appears several times in the text and is the protagonists’ private term for their search for a life together – for liberty and for love. You have to cheer for them, achieving what so few could in their time. Here’s to you, Ladies!
Twitter: @LuridEditions
Instagram: @lurid_editions
Podcast: Lurid Talk
For more information, do also read this fascinating Guardian article.
Originally published, with images, on my blog, Bookish Beck.
March 8, 2023
Dr Mary Gordon was one of the first women trained as a medical doctor. In 1936, at the end of her long and pioneering life, she wrote Chase of the Wild Goose, a hybrid between memoir and autofiction, which also has a spiritual dimension. It sets out as a biography the Ladies of Llangollen, Sarah Ponsoby and Lady Eleanor Butler. These women were daughters of the most illustrious of the Irish peers, Butler living in Kilkenny Castle, and descended from the Earls of Ormonde. Both young women were instructed to marry quickly and well, but neither wanted to. Sarah was in a particularly vulnerable position, being a well-connected orphan, and living on the charity of her relations. When they met one another, there was an instant attraction, and they eventually decided that marriage (to men) would be intolerable for them and so they ran away from Ireland. They settled in Llangollen in Wales, which was at that time on the main route between Ireland and Wales. They furnished a small house, and lived together for fifty years, never sleeping apart. Though Mary Gordon does not suggest they have a sexual relationship, she consistently refers to their relationship as one of love, and calls it a "romantic friendship". She esteems and admires these ladies, and writes of them with great affection and tenderness. The story feels like a celebration of queer lives and the joy women can find together. This makes it an enjoyable book: it is a gentle and loving account of the two women, and demonstrates the importance of love and respect between two people. At times this can also make it feel didactic or overly celebratory: Gordon is not interested in any criticism of the peerage, of aristocracy, and she is not interested in putting the women's lives into a wider queer or feminist context. She does talk enthusiastically about noblesse oblige and these women's important societal position, as members of the nobility. The final two chapters are very strange: in what feels like an otherwise factual book, Gordon describes meeting Sarah and Eleanor at their home in Llangollen, and discussing with them her interest in their lives and her decision to write this book. This comes is surprising and a bit jarring, especially as she suggests we take it at face value, not as a metaphor. It's an odd book, but overall it's very likeable, and as I knew little of the Ladies of Llangollen, I was pleased to read this warm introduction to their lives.
August 12, 2024
I WANT THIS STORY TO BE MADE INTO A SERIES PLEASE
I was gifted this by a queer friend who knows I want to read more queer stories. I didn’t know what to expect, which is always exciting, and it turned out to be like a historical novel of two women in love during the late eighteenth century. Did it, at times, feel like I was studying Lesbian History? Yes. But was it worth it? Absolutely. It’s so interesting to see how lesbians were viewed, or shall I say not-viewed, how people assumed that these women couldn’t be feminine and that they were surely more like men than women. There’s a really cool review of this historical retelling by Laura Tisdall called ‘To have shown the world a perfect love’. There’s so much I could say about this book, how the women around them helped them to be together, how it’s truly a celebration of queer joy and how far we’ve come, and how it shows the gap for more queer stories. Because they exist, despite the history books saying they were just friends. I’d love this story to be a film, or a series, and I’d love to star in it as Lady Eleanor Butler, many thanks.
I was gifted this by a queer friend who knows I want to read more queer stories. I didn’t know what to expect, which is always exciting, and it turned out to be like a historical novel of two women in love during the late eighteenth century. Did it, at times, feel like I was studying Lesbian History? Yes. But was it worth it? Absolutely. It’s so interesting to see how lesbians were viewed, or shall I say not-viewed, how people assumed that these women couldn’t be feminine and that they were surely more like men than women. There’s a really cool review of this historical retelling by Laura Tisdall called ‘To have shown the world a perfect love’. There’s so much I could say about this book, how the women around them helped them to be together, how it’s truly a celebration of queer joy and how far we’ve come, and how it shows the gap for more queer stories. Because they exist, despite the history books saying they were just friends. I’d love this story to be a film, or a series, and I’d love to star in it as Lady Eleanor Butler, many thanks.
August 28, 2023
Rep: lesbian mcs
April 8, 2023
A bit dry but enjoyable enough!
April 13, 2023
An imaginative joint biography of two 18th-century women who were maligned in their own time and beyond. The writing style is detached and dry, but the content is terrific. Lady Eleanor Butler (1739–1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755–1831) were — are, if you believe in ghosts — the Ladies of Llangollen. Two women who did not want to be pushed into heterosexual marriage with men they did not love for the sake of their family’s prosperity or their own "maintenance" (or to escape living with a sexual predator in Ponsonby’s case).
They met as like-minded young women who were attracted to one another, fell in love, and left the stifling expectations of upper-class Ireland for Wales, where they lived happily ever after. Their 50-year relationship is detailed by Gordon using primary sources and her imagination. I can see why Virginia Woolf liked this book. It was first published by Hogarth Press in 1936.
They met as like-minded young women who were attracted to one another, fell in love, and left the stifling expectations of upper-class Ireland for Wales, where they lived happily ever after. Their 50-year relationship is detailed by Gordon using primary sources and her imagination. I can see why Virginia Woolf liked this book. It was first published by Hogarth Press in 1936.
June 27, 2023
I picked up this book because of a Sarah Waters quote on the cover. Everything about what I read was unexpected. Though the book is from 1936 and was published by the Woolfs, the author wrote it at the end of her life and is in her own way a thoroughly Victorian feminist. The depiction of the main characters’ lesbianism is coy and somewhat baffling - it is hard to tell what the author made of their love. She seems more intent on holding them up as examples of female virtue, single feminist women and the ideal of “noblesse oblige”, which she obsesses over throughout the novel. I say novel but this is more of a fictionalised biography, another thing which makes this book really interesting. It crosses genres and there isn’t much else like it - which doesn’t mean it’s always very good, but it’s certainly unusual and experimental. A strange mixture of magic and refusal to fantasise pervades the book, something that also seems like a hangover from the 19th century. It is frustratingly hard to gain much of a picture of the Ladies from the book - they remain obscured by the author’s own agenda - but this may also be down to the thinness of evidence that surrounds them. It would be nice to see a modern rewrite of this book; it stands as a monument to a turning point in feminist discourse and lesbian representation, but it fails to be truly satisfying in its own right to the modern reader of queer histories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 26, 2025i understand why many might fuck with this but it was just not for me overall.. i didn’t connect with the people written about and that is very sad for i am always connected to controversial lesbians.
October 10, 2023
Insightful glimpse into female relations from late 18th century. Chasing feminist boundaries of today.
February 19, 2023
A historical novel/biography hybrid, Chase of the Wild Goose was originally published by Hogarth Press in 1936 and is the story of the relationship between Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby from their first meeting until their deaths as elderly women. Using letters, diaries, and newspaper articles, Gordon pieces together a picture of what these two women were like as individuals as well as who they were as a couple. The first half of this book reads like a novel if not creative nonfiction - we are granted access to private conversations between Sarah and Eleanor, are invested in them as characters, and then, when they leave Ireland, the book shifts into something more akin to biography. Here, Gordon’s research is more heavily referenced and, while it’s fascinating, I found it incredibly jarring. We are suddenly shifted to outsiders when a few pages ago, we were privy to their personal conversations, seeing them interact and make a connection with one another. In the second half of the book, years leak frantically into one another, and we are only given factual details of how they spent their time. I enjoyed both parts for different reasons but I found their being knitted together into one book worked as a detriment to the overall reading experience.
December 30, 2023
first part: enjoyable, feminist and interesting both the setting and the characters
second part: digressive, verbose, too focused on useless details, names, facts
last 2 chapters: what is going on? symbolic? imaginative? facts? spiritual encounters?
overall a dry read that didn’t leave me with much
second part: digressive, verbose, too focused on useless details, names, facts
last 2 chapters: what is going on? symbolic? imaginative? facts? spiritual encounters?
overall a dry read that didn’t leave me with much
April 25, 2025
To my shame, when I first started reading the book, I had no idea it was based on real events. It wasn’t until dates started popping up halfway through that I got suspicious. Turns out, these two women—Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby—were real people!
Rather than face the possibility of being forced into unwanted marriages, they left County Kilkenny together in April 1778. Their families tracked them down and tried (pretty aggressively) to make them abandon their plans—but nope, they weren’t having it. They moved to Wales and later brought along Sarah’s servant, Mary Caryll, who lived and worked with them until the end of her life. Mary passed away first, and the three of them were buried together in the same plot, under the same grave marker.
Also, it’s believed they were a couple—some consider Butler’s and Ponsonby’s relationship to be what’s called a “Boston marriage,” a romantic relationship between two women who chose to live together in a kind of marriage-like arrangement.
Sadly, even the Wikipedia article tells their story more engagingly than the book does. The book paints them more like two adventurous besties who just wanted some thrills, ran away from home, and settled in a peaceful village where everyone loved and respected them. A cute fairy tale plot, sure—but not great for a historical account.
The lives of the Ladies of Llangollen sparked (and still spark) plenty of controversy. During their lifetime, they were even visited by some spicy figures of the era—like Byron, who was famously exiled from the country. Whether the rumors about them are true or not, they definitely deserved at least a tiny mention—which Mary Gordon, unfortunately, couldn’t be bothered to include.
So, if you really want to learn more about these fascinating women, do yourself a favor and just read the Wikipedia article instead.
Rather than face the possibility of being forced into unwanted marriages, they left County Kilkenny together in April 1778. Their families tracked them down and tried (pretty aggressively) to make them abandon their plans—but nope, they weren’t having it. They moved to Wales and later brought along Sarah’s servant, Mary Caryll, who lived and worked with them until the end of her life. Mary passed away first, and the three of them were buried together in the same plot, under the same grave marker.
Also, it’s believed they were a couple—some consider Butler’s and Ponsonby’s relationship to be what’s called a “Boston marriage,” a romantic relationship between two women who chose to live together in a kind of marriage-like arrangement.
Sadly, even the Wikipedia article tells their story more engagingly than the book does. The book paints them more like two adventurous besties who just wanted some thrills, ran away from home, and settled in a peaceful village where everyone loved and respected them. A cute fairy tale plot, sure—but not great for a historical account.
The lives of the Ladies of Llangollen sparked (and still spark) plenty of controversy. During their lifetime, they were even visited by some spicy figures of the era—like Byron, who was famously exiled from the country. Whether the rumors about them are true or not, they definitely deserved at least a tiny mention—which Mary Gordon, unfortunately, couldn’t be bothered to include.
So, if you really want to learn more about these fascinating women, do yourself a favor and just read the Wikipedia article instead.
February 29, 2024
Wow this was disappointing! The premise has so much promise but it fell soooo flat. The second half of this book just was so mind boggling boring and not important and don’t get me started on that last chapter???? So odd.
April 8, 2023
3.5 stars
April 24, 2023
Partly fascinating, partly a slog. Interesting that it was written in 1936.
April 5, 2024
Such fascinating history about real women let down by a dry writing style. And the author self insert moment was an incredibly strange choice.
December 24, 2024
Please, someone, create a TV series of this or a film or something - need to see more celtic history
December 25, 2024
Disfrute la lectura este clásico de literatura lésbica, republicano por la editorial inglesa Lurid Editions.
October 13, 2025
fascinating account of the lives and actions of two headstrong women
November 30, 2025
In short, this has to be amongst your queer history staples.
November 2, 2025
It was good but once I reached page 180-200 it was rather repetitive
February 4, 2025
Sapphic romantic energy overload! Loved this gem of a novel all the way from the 1930s, a fictional biography of the Ladies of Llangollen - the narrative is endlessly romantic, and the swing that Mary Gordon takes in the final parts in certainly worked for me.
March 18, 2024
🩷🩷🩷🩷💕💕💕💕💕💕
March 26, 2023
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 is a 'biological fiction' novel written by Mary Gordon in the 1930s and tells the tale of the Ladies of Llangollen. Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby are real life people who trod this earth 1739–1829 and 1755–1831 retrospectively.
The two women came from a noble family - in their home country of Ireland they met and formed an intense romantic Friendship. Against the will of their family they left Ireland to Wales and set up a new home.
The novel has been published for the first time since 1936 and is described as a '𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗿𝗮 – 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗳’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲-𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀'.
I have recently finished it and I am still not sure about it. Mary Gordan describes these two women and the obstacles they faced. But then at the third part of the novel we are sent forwards to 1930s and the old Mary Gordan is visiting the home of these ladies. It gets a bit surreal and supernatural and all sorts. I was not expecting that.
I am a tad confused by a few things (the whole of part 3) and that Eleonor was 39 when she fled to Wales and she was still getting wedding proposals. Maybe I read that wrong, but this does imply that she was so mesmerizing and intriguing that a bachelor would shrug off her age. Of course, 39 is not old, but when marriages between the upper classes were about perpetuating the rich blood of nobility, she couldn't have had many years of childbearing left?
⭐⭐⭐
The two women came from a noble family - in their home country of Ireland they met and formed an intense romantic Friendship. Against the will of their family they left Ireland to Wales and set up a new home.
The novel has been published for the first time since 1936 and is described as a '𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗿𝗮 – 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗳’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲-𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀'.
I have recently finished it and I am still not sure about it. Mary Gordan describes these two women and the obstacles they faced. But then at the third part of the novel we are sent forwards to 1930s and the old Mary Gordan is visiting the home of these ladies. It gets a bit surreal and supernatural and all sorts. I was not expecting that.
I am a tad confused by a few things (the whole of part 3) and that Eleonor was 39 when she fled to Wales and she was still getting wedding proposals. Maybe I read that wrong, but this does imply that she was so mesmerizing and intriguing that a bachelor would shrug off her age. Of course, 39 is not old, but when marriages between the upper classes were about perpetuating the rich blood of nobility, she couldn't have had many years of childbearing left?
⭐⭐⭐
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews