The Stargazers by Harriet Evans

                                           

Hardback: 401 pages                                                                                             
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, 
Publisher: January 1, 2023 by Headline Review
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentences: During those last days, before she becomes too weak, she finds she remembers it all once more, piercingly clearly. As if to die, she has to live through it again.
Review Quote:  'A boldly sombre atmosphere haunts the latest novel by Harriet Evans, the doyenne of [commercial fiction]' Observer

My Opinion: 

I am drawn to novels set in old country houses so was looking forward to at last reading 'The Stargazers', especially after having read and enjoyed several of Harriet Evan's previous novels.

Mainly set in the 1950's and 1970's  'The Stargazers' is an extraordinary insight into the cruel upbringing that the main character Sarah and her sister Victoria suffered.  Life moves away from Fane Hall their childhood home, but even in adulthood it continues to haunt them.

At times a very disturbing read but it is a very engrossing and beautifully written. Recommended to readers that enjoy an atmospheric family story.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

How can you ever know yourself when you were deprived of love as a child?

It's the 1970s, and Sarah has spent a lifetime trying to bury her disjointed childhood, the loneliness of her school days, and Fane, the vast and crumbling family home so loved - and hated - by her mother, Iris, a woman as cruel as she is beautiful. Sarah's solace has been her cello and the music that allowed her to dream, transporting her from the bleakness of those early years to a new life now with Daniel, her husband, in their noisy Hampstead home surrounded by bohemian friends and with a concert career that has brought her fame and restored a sense of self.

The past, though, has a habit of creeping into the present, and as long as Sarah tries to escape, it seems the pull of Fane, her mother, and the secrets of the generations hidden there, are slowly being revealed, threatening to unravel the fragile happiness she enjoys in the here and now. Sarah will need to travel back to Fane to confront her childhood and search for the true meaning of home.

Deliciously absorbing and rich with character and atmosphere, The Stargazers is the story of a house, a family, and the legacies of childhoods fractured through time and inheritance.

Previous Reviews: The Wildflowers.   The Beloved Girls.    

Author Profile:

Autobiography in the author's own words from her  Goodreads Profile

I was born in London and grew up there. I was very bookish, and had a huge imagination which used to cause me to get rather anxious at times. Now I know it's a good thing for a writer to have. I loved musicals, and playing imaginative games, and my Barbie perfume making kit. Most of all I loved reading. I read everything, but I also read lots of things over and over, which I think is so important.

At university I read Classical Studies, which is a great way of finding out that the world doesn't change much and people make the same mistakes but it's interesting to look at why. I was at Bristol, and I loved the city, making new friends, being a new person.

After university I came back to London and got a job in publishing. I loved working in publishing so much, and really felt for the first time in my life that when I spoke people understood what I was saying. Book people are good people. I became an editor after a few years, working with many bestselling novelists, and in 2009 I left to write full time.

I've written 13 novels and several short stories and one Quick Read, which is an excellent way of getting people into reading more. I've acquired a partner and two children along the way.

In 2019 we moved to Bath, out of London, and I am very happy there. We live opposite a hedgerow, and I can be boring about gardening, and there's room for my collection of jumpsuits and all our books. We have lots of books. Apart from anything else they keep the house warm.

More interesting facts from her life story can be found on her author website Meet Harriet


Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

Goodreads Profile   Harriet Evans - Official Website   Twitter Profile

Harriet Evans - Facebook