the DISTANT HOURS

This is a guest review from my wonderful daughter-in-law, Jennifer Ohlarik:
 

Kate Morton spins a tale of gothic measure in her 2010 novel, The Distant Hours. Spinster twin sisters, Percy and Saffy Blythe, are living within the ever-dilapidating walls of their once vibrant castle. Since the hauntingly gruesome death of their mother and their father’s ultimate mental and physical demise, the elderly sisters are charged with the care of their intrinsically beautiful, yet wild younger sister, Juniper, who possesses the same ethereal and charming characteristics as Coleridge’s ‘Christabel’. It is set in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s in England during a time of bombings, evacuees, gas masks, and blackouts. At the heart of the story is Raymond Blythe’s published work entitled “The True History of the Mud Man”. Raymond was the trio’s father. The tale unravels a world of mystery, secrets, and sins committed within the stone and mortar walls of Milderhurst Castle.

Edie, a young publisher from London is enraptured by “The True History of the Mud Man” only later to find out that her mother, Meredith, shares a secret connection to this English Castle and it’s inhabitants. As a young girl, Meredith was sequestered to Milderhurst Castle as an evacuee. She grew close to Juniper and learned to write at the hand of Raymond Blythe. The tie between the two elderly sisters; the dominance and submissive parts played by each respective twin, woven and connected to the younger carefree spirit of the wild Juniper is intensely fascinating, as is the strong possessiveness and oppressiveness of the castle walls. Morton tells a story of forbidden love, family loyalty, family ties – or rather chains, which ultimately revolves around this mysterious monster that arises from the mud.  

This book contains wonderful surprises and revelations that are delivered with gentleness and ease. The plot is multi-layered with a strong foundation.  Page after page, Morton carefully paints a picturesque English countryside and develops characters that are real, with whom we can come to know, understand, and ultimately empathize. It’s a story of past and present, with subtle glimmers of hopeful futures. It’s nostalgically rich in it’s gothic feeling lending the reader’s mind to reminisce the Bronte sisters’ works. The novel has many references to the great writers and poets. Emerson and Poe are two of the family dogs. It’s a warm friend for any reader with strong inclinations towards the world of British classics. Intertwined with mentions of the great writers, Morton also creates humorous charm with her allusions to Alice in Wonderland.

The Distant Hours is a meticulously crafted story that that entrances the reader until the last page.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars