Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield - #BookReview

 

There was once an inn that sat peacefully on the bank of the Thames at Radcot, a long day's walk from the source. There were a great many inns along the upper reaches of the Thames at the time of this story and you could get drunk in all of them, but beyond the usual ale and cider, each one had some particular pleasure to offer. The Red Lion at Kelmscott was musical: bargemen played their fiddles in the evening and cheese-makers sang plaintively of lost love. Inglesham had the Green Dragon, a tobacco scented haven of contemplation. If you were a gambling man, the Stag at Eaton Hastings was the place for you, and if you preferred brawling, there was nowhere better than the Plough just outside Buscot. The Swan at Radcot had its own specialism. It was where you went for storytelling.

Some say the river drowned her... Some say it brought her back to life

On a dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the Thames, the regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open and in steps an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child.

Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life.

Is it a miracle?

Is it magic?

And who does the little girl belong to?

An exquisitely crafted historical mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Victorian age.

***

From the very beginning of this book, I was enchanted by its dream-like prose. It had all the elements of a fairy tale for adults, and a continuous theme throughout the book is storytelling. Without doubt, the author skilfully constructs stories within the story, and it made for captivating reading.

Set during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the book oozes with atmosphere and the River Thames itself is a vital component of the story. Indeed, I think it is fair to say that the river is presented almost as a character in itself.

The pace of the novel echoes that of the river in that it meanders along in the same way. Generally speaking, it moves at a gentle flow but can easily change to a swifter pace if the weather dictates. This is so skilfully accomplished by the author.

There are some wonderful characters in this book. The photographer, Henry Daunt, is actually based on the real life, Henry Taunt. Ms. Setterfield has done a marvellous job of taking the bones of the real-life Mr. Taunt, and fleshing him out into the well rounded fictional character in the book.

Several characters are introduced at the outset of this novel, and I was a little confused at the beginning. Together with the fact that the three missing girls, Alice, Amelia and Ann, all begin with the same initial created some overlap in the mind of the reader between the three girls. It is well worth staying the course as any confusion soon dissolves into a marvellous story.

Running throughout the novel is the mystery and suspense surrounding the girl. Along with the beautiful writing, it is this aspect of the book that kept me turning the pages; keen to find out who she is and which family she belongs with.

I read the authors previous book some years ago. I remember I enjoyed it but can not remember any of the details. Having now read Once Upon a River and enjoyed it so much, I am extremely keen to return to The Thirteenth Tale to read it again.

ISBN:  978 1784163631

Publisher: Black Swan

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About the Author:

Born in rural Berkshire, Diane spent most of her childhood in the village of Theale. After schooldays at Theale Green, Diane studied French Literature at the University of Bristol. Her PhD was on autobiographical structures in André Gide’s early fiction. She taught English at the Institut Universitaire de Technologie and the Ecole nationale supérieure de Chimie, both in Mulhouse, France, and later lectured in French in the UK. She left academia in the late 1990s to pursue writing.

Diane now lives in Oxford by the Thames. When not writing she reads widely, and when not actually reading she is usually talking or thinking about reading. She is, she says, ‘a reader first, a writer second.’

(bio info from the authors website)

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*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.