Lily: A Tale of Revenge from the Sunday Times bestselling author

Product Information

Rose Tremain parádés abban, hogy olyan narrátort válasszon, aki a társadalom peremén lavírozik. Tökéletesen mutatja be az egykori Londont, a kis lelencet, aki nagyon szimpatikus, szerethető karakter. Keresi az örömöket az életben, közben küzd a múltjával, a félelmeivel, a bűntudatával és idővel keresni kezdi szülőanyját. Kapunk egy szeletet a kor szegénységéből és gazdagságából egyaránt, és az árvaházak rettenetes világából. Lily is a foundling, born in London but belonging nowhere. Her memory of a stint with foster parents, in a countryside setting which is a Constable sunset compared to the Doré hellscape that is Victorian London, sustains her through her later years at the Foundling Hospital. There, she is abused (in every sense of the word), isolated, desperate. Life regains a modicum of its early colour when she is apprenticed to a larger than life wigmaker - Lily finds a facsimile of family, of belonging. The darkness, though, remains - but it's in her soul, where she guards a fierce need for revenge, and later, a dark and terrible secret. Tremain is terrific at summoning up historical period yet she also writes primarily to deepen our empathy for Lily, rather than, and in the way of the great Victorian social novelists, to increase and complicate our understanding of the world in which such suffering exists. Tremain nearly died from cancer in 2019. This ultimately feels like a quasi-spiritual response, a novel that, in providing an eventual loving rebirth for Lily, seeks out God, not in the institutions founded in his name, but in individual acts of care. Tremain has created an endearing character and captured her honest innocence, without becoming trite and saccharine at all. Her romantic obsession does feel more of an introspection on her own self worth it would do the novel a disservice to not recognise this. She is a historical novelist who approaches her subjects "from unexpected angles, concentrating her attention on unglamorous outsiders." [4]

But before Lily’s oppression can begin in earnest, she is whisked off to the Suffolk countryside. It is the hospital’s practice to farm out its charges for the first six years of their lives, presumably to ensure that they are sturdy enough to be properly brutalised. As befits the heroine of a melodrama, the arrangement also entrains a brief reversal of fortune. For at Rookery Farm, the young Lily is positively steeped in bucolic bliss, doted upon by a sweet-natured matriarch and surrounded by “a bright immensity of sky, skeins of thistledown born aloft, birds in the trembling heavens”. You can buy Lily from Abbey’s at a 10% discount by quoting the promotion code NEWTOWNREVIEW here or you can buy it from Booktopia here. We feel that Coram children come to value the rules of behaviour put upon them. Under the tutelage of people like Nurse Maud, they soon understand the difference between right and wrong. Do you not agree?’ Powerful… Full of the insights and the shining quality of writing that one can always expect from this accomplished novelist’ Daily Express A little bit of Adrian Mole in a 1950s upper middle class Berkshire girl, or maybe just encapsulating the ubiquitous teenage inkling that everyone else has everything already figured out.Lenyűgöző… Tremain zsigeri elevenséggel kelti életre a viktoriánus Londont ebben a mélyen emberi regényben, miközben bűn és jóvátétel, elutasítás, szegénység és bűntudat témáit bontja ki.” – Observer After six years, she was returned to the Foundling Hospital where she had been cared for as a baby, that was the law, that she be returned to their care after the six years were up. The parting, when it came was heartbreaking for all concerned. After her institutional years, rebellious Lily is employed at Belle Prettywood's Wig Emporium and enjoys learning her craft and working within a friendly female community. Yet, memories of her time in the foundation and a need to understand her origins underpin her daily life. Will she be able to quiet the voices and the pictures in her head? The first part held promise as we see Lily begin her life as a foundling child, finding comfort with a family in Suffolk, before returning to the misery of the Foundling Hospital. The countryside is very picturesque and well-written, although the prose is structured quite strangely. Tremain tehetsége abban áll, hogy szereplői az élet minden területén megfordulnak, ennek ellenére megalapozottan jelenítik meg a regény szerzőjének világképét.” – Harper's Bazaar

As with other novels by Rose Tremain, her writing pulled me right into the story, and left me thinking about long after I'd finished reading. And so the scene is set for this slightly different tale from Rose Tremain. I haven’t read any of her books before, but I am a fan of historical fiction, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Let’s get one thing out of the way, though. Yes, there are definitely echoes of Sara Collins “Confessions of Frannie Langdon” in here, and it would be hard not to make comparisons, but actually, the story is quite different. Across the years, the policeman who found her keeps watch over Lily and when he meets her again, there is an instant attraction between them and it is this story which takes us forward. But some of the best bits are where Lily and her friend Bridget venture out into London.This is a beautifully written, outstanding character study which I don’t want to end I’m so absorbed in Marianne’s life. With a few deft strokes characters spring to life and you can visualise them with ease. You view everything through Marianne’s eyes and her imagination is vivid, fertile and what comes out of her mouth is not necessarily what is in her head! She’s very intriguing though you veer from wanting to shake her and tell her to embrace the life she has to the fullest, to feeling sorry for her as she’s frequently “put down” and has much to bear including tragedy. At other times you hoot with laughter at her wit and good humour - the dialogue is sublime. Rose Tremain takes us on an emotional journey with a woman who is little understood by those around her with the exception of her friend Petronella from her school days. Lily’s life could change in an instant. She has new opportunities offered to her by Belle; Lady Mortimer has expressed the intention of taking her to live with her as her companion; and there is the potential of a love affair with Sam. More pressing, however, is her urge to confess. To whom? To Sam? A side plot involves Lily search for the mother who abandoned her. The book also depicts Lily’s growing friendship with her employer, the irrepressible and flamboyant Belle, and Lily’s confused feelings towards Sam who is both her guardian angel but also the person who might bring her to justice. One thing we know is that children are often like wild animals when they come to us. You were one such animal – a runaway, weren’t you? And look at you now: quite upright and well behaved and earning your living, but only because we tamed you and brought you to God.’