Emma's Review: The Peacock House by Kate Glanville

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

1943 
Evelyn dreams of escaping Vaughan Court and the loveless marriage that led her there. Then, at the height of the Second World War, a single moment changes her life and tethers her to the house for ever.

2016 
Decades later, life has given as much as it has taken from Evelyn. Although a bestselling author, Evelyn still cannot escape the painful hold of the past.

Aspiring journalist Bethan hasn't been back to Vaughan Court since she was a little girl. But the opportunity to interview her grandmother's oldest friend - the Evelyn Vaughan - leads her back to North Wales. As Bethan learns about Evelyn's life, she realises the ghosts of the grand house are yet to be laid to rest. And soon she's determined to uncover the secrets hidden within . . . 

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Many thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for my copy of The Peacock House to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.

I seem to be discovering quite a few new authors over the past several months and Kate Glanville is the latest. She writes in the historical fiction genre and The Peacock House is her newest novel. It’s told in the dual timeline format which I always love and I found this to be an entertaining read with a secret at its heart that keeps you turning the pages. I think fans of Santa Montefiore, Rosanna Ley and Karen Swan would love this book as it’s a great story perfect for those readers who love family sagas that go back in time and that have mystery and romance at their centre.

Evelyn arrived at Vaughan Court soon after her marriage to Howard but she feels like she has been abandoned there deep in the Welsh countryside. All that is around her are rain, clouds and rocks and she only has her mother-in-law for company who is a woman that doesn’t have much time for her new daughter-in-law. With Howard away working for the Ministry of War in London, Evelyn is more or less left to fend for herself. Two evacuees from Liverpool, brothers Peter and Billy, are the only young people around and although they go on to play a pivotal role in the story they are nowhere near Evelyn’s age so she feels lost, alone and adrift. Feeling this way leads her to go down a route which if discovered will lead to much trauma and disgrace. But really you can’t blame her given she is more or less alone and like a fish out of water.

The story moves back and forth between the war years and 2016. Overall, this worked well and for the most part it does mention at the beginning of each chapter what time period we are reading about but then there were certain points in the middle of a chapter where it randomly jumped backwards and I found this disconcerting when I had my head firmly planted in the modern day. Apart from this I didn’t have any issues with this book. I felt like I was discovering a Judith Lennox or Lucinda Riley type author for the first time and as I love their books this suited me down to the ground. 

The countryside surrounding Vaughan Court in Snowdonia played an important role as did the weather and of course the peacocks which feature in the title. I love how they represented something so important which we only discover towards the end of the book. I wouldn’t say this was a book full of light and joy but love and devotion does find a place here. The landscape is so wild and desolate and the depressing weather and the air surrounding the house gave off a feeling of suppression, darkness, eeriness, mystery and suspense.

We learn of Evelyn’s past history and it certainly is tragic and in turn how she came to marry Howard. I’m not sure there was ever really any great and all encompassing love between them. It came across as if he needed her more than she needed him and then when he had her he abandoned her. Evelyn deep down knew she had made a mistake in marrying him but over the course of the book it is slowly revealed what makes her stay at the house and not leave. As things are said in the present we move back to the past where a lot more explanation and background is given and things make an awful lot more sense. As the war approaches ever closer when the Americans set up a field hospital at the house, Evelyn finds herself volunteering to help out and here is where her life is changed. I can’t really say much more because it would give away far too much. But Evelyn plays a dangerous game. Yes, she is happier and fulfilled but if what is going on is discovered the repercussions won’t bare thinking about.

Usually in a dual timeline story, I prefer the past over the present but here it was the opposite. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed reading about Evelyn during the war years and of course all that did have to feature in order to make sense of her in the present but I found the present held my attention much more. Evelyn is an old woman now aged 90 and a fall at home leaves her incapacitated. She is a fierce, strong and independent woman who wants to do everything herself. So admitting defeat in that she needs help doesn’t come easy to her. Fortunately, the granddaughter of her former maid, Nelli, comes to her rescue. 

Bethan, who is a freelance journalist, arrives at Vaughan Court hoping to interview Evelyn for an article she is writing about her life and when she sees Evelyn needs help with the day today basics while she recovers she volunteers to stay and soon she is helping Evelyn write her latest novel. For Evelyn had become a famous author over the years even though at this stage she lives a fairly reclusive life. What the reader desperately wants to know is why did she remain at Vaughan Court for all those years when so many that surrounded her had passed away? Was she ever truly happy there? The past initially doesn’t suggest that she was but the further you read, events suggest otherwise. Still Evelyn is not one to reveal all her secrets to all and sundry and when Bethan tries to probe a little further Evelyn shuts her down. 

Evelyn in the present was such a fascinating character with strength, spirit, talent and style but the life she leads now is vastly different to the one she led during the war years at the house. She is formidable and has a way of making people do what she wants. In the present day, you get a sense that Evelyn has led a varied, interesting and heart-breaking life which has shaped the woman she is today. What happened at that time to make her so closed off now? What is she hiding? What has tied her to the house instead of experiencing freedom and a different life? Was it a sense of duty and obligation to Howard especially when he became paralysed through an accident? There are lots of twists and turns that come galloping towards you as you near the end and to be honest there was a lot that I really didn’t see coming? Misunderstandings, regret and not being honest, play a huge role and you question whether it is too late to reconcile the past with the present. Has too much water flown under the bridge? Can you forgive and forget after clinging to hope for so long and a long-held promise even after all these years has not been fulfilled. 

Bethan becomes very curious as to the background of Evelyn and what happened at the house during the war. I loved her inquisitive nature and that she could sense the walls were hiding secrets and had done for too long. She was determined to get to the bottom of things but at the same time she didn’t want to upset Evelyn or put her under pressure. Dr.Tom who turns out to the son of Peter, the evacuee, begins to play an important role too and yes let’s say that himself and Bethan see more than eye to eye. Bethan decides to make it her mission to really get to the core of Evelyn, who she was, who she is now and above all else what is she not saying that actually when revealed will prove shocking and emotional in equal measure. Combined with the mysterious events and random acts of vandalism that begin to occur at the house Bethan has a lot on her hands and I was really keen to see would she get to the bottom of everything. Although, I will say I instantly guessed who was behind everything. It seemed that bit obvious who it was but as for their reasons I didn’t piece those clues together and the motives weren’t as straight forward as I would have initially thought.

All in all, I think The Peacock House was the perfect introduction for me to Kate Glanville’s writing. If you enjoy books full of family, secrets, love and mystery than this is the ideal read to while away a few hours with. It’s definitely made me want to go and read the author’s back catalogue.