Paperback: 384 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Cornwall, Italy,
Publisher: HQ Sept 2025
Source: Tywyn Public Library
Review Quote: 'Fascinating and complex… It’s beautifully researched and the life and landscape of the secret part of Cornwall around the Helford river gloriously evoked. What a pleasure to read!’ Rachel Hore
My Opinion:
I have read quite a few of Liz Fenwick's novels and always find them to be an uplifting experience. 'The Secrets of Harbour House' is no exception to this as I was transported not only to Cornwall but also to my beloved Italy in this emotional dual timeline story.
The young female protagonist Kerensa returns to the family owned Auction house in Cornwall after the death of her father. When he died her father was working on cataloguing the contents of Harbour House and Kerensa soon finds herself immersed in the story behind a painting in the main hallway and how it is connected to the two women who last lived in the property.
Alternating between modern day Cornwall and Venice in the 1930's as fascism is taking hold on life in Italy. A mesmerising story with some deep hidden secrets to be discovered. Recommended to readers looking to immerse themselves in a captivating read.
Previous Reviews: The Cornish House. The Returning Tide The River Between Us. The Secret Shore
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
When Kerensa is sent by her father’s auction house to catalogue a neglected house overlooking the sea in Newlyn, Cornwall, it’s a welcome escape. Once the home of two female artists, Harbour House is a treasure trove, but one painting in particular catches Kerensa’s eye – a hypnotically sensual portrait of a beautiful young woman which dominates the hallway.
Captivated and intrigued, Kerensa finds herself piecing together the enigma of Bathsheba Kernow, a fiercely talented young artist who left St Ives almost a hundred years before, eager to escape a society that wouldn’t understand her, and her sweeping journey from the underbelly of Paris to the heady luxury of Venice, where a chance encounter would change her life for ever, drawing her into the most dangerous and forbidden of love affairs.
For Kerensa, still reeling with a grief of her own and facing an uncertain future in love, Harbour House will have secrets that will change her life too, and in ways she could never have imagined…
Author Profile:
Liz Fenwick was born in Massachusetts and after nine international moves - the final one lasting eight years in Dubai- she now lives in Cornwall and London with her husband and two cats. She made her first trip to Cornwall in 1989, bought a home there seven years later. Apparently her heart is now forever in Cornwall, creating new stories.
Liz Fenwick describes herself as Novelist, wife, mother of three, slave to two cats and dreamer turned doer....
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
Twitter - Liz Fenwick Amazon Author Page Official Author Website - Liz Fenwick