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Vita and the Birds by Polly Crosby is one of my favourites reads this year. Set in the East Anglian coast, this historical fiction novel features strong female protagonists and a family secret waiting to be unravelled.
1938: Lady Vita Goldsborough is heavily controlled by her older brother Aubrey. When she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney, she begins to discover what true happiness is. But freedom will come at a cost.
1997: Following the death of her mother, Eve Blakeney returns to her grandmother's seaside retreat to take some timeout, grieve, as well as clear out the house. However, when she stumbles upon a bundle of letters, Eve finds herself delving into her grandmother's past, revealing information about her family that she never knew.
I loved the dual timeline, which Crosby skillfully uses to draw in the reader, revealing snippets of plot and characterisation, then leaving you on a cliffhanger as she switches characters and time frame. There was an element of Gothic fiction to this novel mostly from the presence of The Cathedral of the Marshes. This building, featured in both timelines, acted almost as another character with its own hidden secrets and revelations.
The mystery of the missing children was another hook that lingered throughout the novel which intrigued me. I couldn't wait for all the pieces of the puzzle to come to light, racing through the book unable to put it down. There were lots of shocks and surprises along the way, making it hard for me to predict the outcome. As I turned the final page I felt a sense of satisfaction but also sadness that Eve's and Vita's story had come to an end. A beautifully written novel, both poignant and beguiling.
