Reviewed by Emma Crowley
When talented musician Gray Robinson persuades Belle to abandon her university studies and follow him to Silverwood, home to an artistic community on the Cornish coast, Belle happily agrees even though they’ve only just met. She knows she is falling in love, and the thought of spending a carefree summer with Gray is all she can think about.
But being with Gray isn’t the only reason Belle agrees to accompany him to Silverwood.
Why does the name Silverwood sound so familiar?
What is its connection to a photo of her as a baby, taken on a nearby beach?
And who is Imogen Lockhart, a wartime nurse who lived at Silverwood many years ago?
As the summer months unfold, Belle begins to learn the truth – about secrets from the past that have been kept hidden, but also about the person she wants to be.
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK via NetGalley for my copy of The Hidden Years to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The cover of The Hidden Years, the new book from Rachel Hore, is so vivid and inviting and the further you delve into the story the more significance said cover has. In fact, by the end of the story I realised just how clever the cover truly was. The story is told in a dual time-line format which I always love. The plot moves back and forth between Belle in the late 1960’s and Imogen during the years of World War Two and it does so effortlessly. Although I will admit it took longer for me to get into the 1960’s plot and overall I think I preferred the sections set during the war years but of course I do understand the importance of the slightly more modern aspect of the story.
Throughout the story one question was at the forefront of my mind, what links the two strands of the story or was there indeed any link between the two? There were tantalising clues and titbits provided by the author but I found myself grasping at straws never quite able to hit the nail on the head. So I was delighted when there was a real twist towards the end that had me reeling. I love when that happens, that when you think perhaps you have things sussed out and then boom with one sentence the author takes you off in a completely different direction.
June 1966 and Belle Johnson is 19 and reading English at Darbyfield University. This should be the best time of her life but she is not happy and enjoying the course as she should be and instantly I felt an air of despondency surrounding her regarding what she had chosen to do. Summer is just around the corner and she has one exam left to do but a chance meeting with musician/singer Gray on a night out sees her revaluating everything and throwing caution to the wind and escaping the university for Cornwall. Gray seems to cast a spell over Belle. She has only known him for a week but the sensible and practical side of her has gone out the window. As she mentions, he came into her life so suddenly and with force and it was as if he was dragging her along with him but in reality it was the perfect escapist that she needed.
Gray had such a laid-back nature and is completely unlike anyone that she has ever encountered before. He is going to Silverwood, a small estate in Cornwall, where a commune of sorts has been established. He wants peace and quiet to write songs and perhaps to do some gigs where Belle could sing too. Belle is along for the ride but perhaps there is something deep down that is drawing her to Silverwood and with fate giving her an opportunity perhaps now is the perfect moment in time to explore this thought stirring with in her. A sense of recognition becomes ever more prominent within her but what could she possibly have to do with Silverwood as it has never been mentioned in her family home before. There is a strong sense of time and place in the writing when detailing Silverwood and its surrounding areas. It’s like it has been frozen in time with its tranquil and creative environment. People live there in harmony away from the evils of the capitalist system. They make their own clothes, grow their own food, live off grid and try to be as self sufficient as possible.
It all sounds wonderful you may be thinking but I could sense undercurrents of unease amongst the few that reside there and that their ideal is not all it’s cracked up to be with some shouldering the burden of running Silverwood more so than others. Rain is the leader and she has a young son Angel. Janey, Arlo, Sirus, Chouli and Arlo are also there. Arlo is the nephew of the owner who resides somewhere else so they are free to go about their lives in whichever manner they wish. Belle finds it strange to adjust to a completely different way of life but the thoughts of a carefree summer with Gray spurs her on. Back in her family home Belle had discovered a picture of her being held as a baby by a woman on a Cornish beach which had been hidden within a guidebook. She had always felt on edge with her parents that she was walking on a tightrope that was fraying and one day she would be sent tumbling. She has lots of questions especially since the discovery of the image but is reluctant to question her parents but needless to say she has doubts about things and does want to investigate further? Will Silverwood and the people she meets there give her the answers she seeks and if so will she be pleased or horrified ? As Belle meets someone who starts to tell her a story she begins to learn a lot more than she bargained for.
Every chapter or so the story weaves effortlessly back and forth between Belle and Imogen and as I have previously said it was Imogen’s aspect of the storyline which held my attention the most. Perhaps because it was set during a time period which I love reading about but also because she seemed a bit more of a relatable character than Belle in my mind. Imogen works for the Mother’s Little Helpers Agency and is tasked with bringing two young boys to their school in Cornwall which has recently relocated from London due to the bombings. The school now occupies Silverwood and straight away I thought ah now we know what Silverwood was used for many years ago. Imogen is asked to stay on as matron and this period is extended when the permeant matron returns. Imogen is kind and caring. She is happy in the school environment and the beautiful countryside that surrounds it and she has made many friends including teachers Ned and Oliver. Despite the troubles of war that surrounded them the school was a safe haven and I think Imogen grew into a different person when she was there. I think she was permitted certain freedoms which she hadn’t had before and in this way it allowed her to become close to members of the opposite sex and explore some romance.
I enjoyed reading of Imogen’s time at the school and she decides she wishes to pursue nursing as full-time career. Here is where the war really started to take a more dominant role in Imogen’s life and I was enthralled by her story but always at the back of my mind niggling away was the question. What was the connection between the two timelines? In the 1940’s the author is showing how people were affected by the war and that men that feature in the story, one in particular are profoundly changed by their experiences which does go on to have consequences much later on. In the 1960’s it’s the complete opposite to what Imogen went through especially during her nursing in London. For Belle there was a bohemian lifestyle in a tumbledown house with no threat of war although there was a shadow in her life which she couldn’t shake and until she discovered the truth she would always be restless and uncomfortable with aspects of her life.
To be honest I thought I had things worked out as to the connection as it all seemed so straight forward, but that delicious twist appeared. It made me actually want to stop reading and go back to the start again as I knew I would look more closely at things and most certainly view things in a different light. But I resisted this because the end was calling my name and that point of reveal was upon me and it was brilliant to have such a twist that in fact had kept me guessing. The ending was deeply satisfying and made so much sense but at the same time it was so bittersweet. All in all, The Hidden Years was a thoroughly enjoyable read and one which I flew through in a day or two because once I started reading I just wanted to read huge chunks of it at a time.This was a gorgeous, atmospheric read with a slow and leisurely pace which builds to a rewarding conclusion.
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