A sweeping family tale set CORNWALL / DEVON

25th June 2021

The River Between Us by Liz Fenwick, a sweeping family tale set Cornwall / Devon.

I follow the author on Twitter and often she talks about her ‘plot walks’. It is therefore interesting to see the results of these daily meanders through her beautiful, local countryside and how they have morphed into a compelling story. Threaded throughout the novel, set on the banks of the Tamar River, which forms much of the border between the counties of Devon and Cornwall, is the ambience and feel of this wonderful part of the world, and the story is redolent with her clear love of nature and flora. Setting really informs the story as it unfolds, and is a character in its own right.

In the 1980s or thereabouts, I really enjoyed the Aga-Sagas of Joanna Trollope and in some ways this novel feels like a modern take on that sweeping and involved family saga penned by that author.

There are two time lines, separated by approximately a century. In modern day Theo (a woman in her mid fifties) has left her marriage, having divorced a rather ghastly man. During her time with him, she had the opportunity to hone her skills as a landscaper and she is now an all round expert on blooms and herbage – which holds her in good stead for her new life. She has acquired an extremely run down cottage on the banks of the Tamar – Boatman’s Cottage – and she has set herself quite a challenge to live in the property whilst renovating it. During the work, she discovers a stash of letters written during WW1 in the battlefields of France. They prove to be intriguing.

Back in the early 20th Century Lady Alice, the daughter of the Duke of Exeter, is a headstrong, wilful young woman who balks at following a traditional path of wife and mother. She takes the opportunity to address the King and Queen at a social event about the iniquities being meted out on the suffragettes and is consequently banished to an estate on the banks of the Tamar; and thus a link between past and present and these two women starts to be forged.

This is a rich story of Theo and Alice, who both suffer at the hands of their mother’s undermining natures, whilst trying to to create lives for themselves that will at some level make them happy and fulfilled. They each have their crosses to bear but determined women do find their destiny in the end.

The narrative feels well balanced, moving smoothly between the women’s lives, exploring their ups and downs, joys and sadnesses.  The relevance of the bundle of letters also naturally becomes clear. There is quite some detail of family relationships which at times can feel just a little overwhelming but the author always pulls things round and gets the story back into its engaging stride. The jigsaw pieces slowly click into place and we gradually discover the links between the two women.

I listened to this as an audiobook and therefore didn’t benefit from the map mentioned in other reviews – it would have been nice to see the lie of the land. Lucy Scott, the narrator, really carries the story along and it was a pleasure to listen.

Recommended.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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