The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore

                                            

Hardback:   467 pages

Genre:  Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction,

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2025

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: For a third night Nancy lay sleepless for hours, anxious thoughts chasing around in her head. Heavy rain battered the window and rattled through the downpipes, while the wind tossed the branches of the trees, made the landing ight flicker and the curtains shiver.

Review Quote:  'I loved it. I was completely immersed in the story and the setting. So clever and interesting and beautifully written' ELIZABETH BUCHAN

My Opinion: 

It was back in 2009 I first read one of Rachel Hore's novels and I have enjoyed them more and more over the years.  As with many of her novels, 'The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge’ is dual narrative, this one set in 1940's/1950's and 2010-2013. The author was originally inspired by the experiences of her mother and aunt whilst studying Zoology at Imperial College, London in the 1940's when they both obtained PHD's and worked as scientists. Much of the detail of their lives during this period that they shared with Rachel formed the basis of the story, although of course the narrative and characters are all fictional.

The novel is a fascinating read as through the main characters we learn of the difficulties that female scientists have encountered over the years. Stef Lansdown is a journalist whose latest project is to write a book about women in science. By chance whilst visiting her mother in Norfolk, where she has recently moved, she meets Dr Nancy Foster who gave up her career as a scientist in the 1950's. Initially she is far from keen to be part of Stef's research because of the secrets in her past. Eventually Stef wins the older woman over and the story that she learns from her is engaging.

Once again Rachel Hore has written a captivating story which I recommended to those readers that enjoy novels with plenty of secrets to be uncovered.

My reviews of other novels by Rachel Hore:  The Memory Garden   A Week in Paris

A Beautiful Spy  The Love Child.  One Moonlit Night.     The Hidden Years

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Nancy Foster has harboured a devastating secret that shattered her professional and personal life.  On meeting her, journalist Stef Lansdown realizes that she has the power to restore Nancy’s reputation and to heal the wounds, if only Nancy will trust her. But someone else wants to get to the bottom of the story first, someone who doesn’t want it to be told. 

Set in the beautiful environs of the Norfolk Broads in 2010, and in London in the '40s and ‘50s, when life for career-driven women was so different, The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge is Sunday Times multi-million copy bestselling author Rachel Hore’s utterly compelling new novel, interweaving the past and the present. 

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of Amazon 

Rachel Hore is the author of fourteen bestselling novels, 

Full time writing only came after a career editing fiction at HarperCollins in London. She lives in Norfolk with her husband and they have three grown up sons.  

A full and interesting Profile can be found on the Amazon Author Page and even more on her Official Website

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads - Author Profile  Twitter - Rachel Hore

 Official Author Website

The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore

                                                         

Hardback:   496 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2023

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: The clock above the porter's lodge of Darbyfield University was half an hour ahead of the time showing on Belle Johnson's wristwatch, but whichever was correct, she had been waiting ages for her life and the blazing noonday sun was doing nothing for her hangover.

Review Quote:  'Gorgeous' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

My Opinion: I have now read, including this one, eight novels by Rachel Hore and looking back on those earlier reads it seems I enjoy her writing more nowadays. It was back in 2009 I first read one, so I guess we have both matured somewhat since then, both in writing style for her and taste for me. As with many of her novels, 'The Hidden Years’ is dual narrative and the author was originally inspired by a photograph of pupils from her father's old school , which was evacuated from Kent to Cornwall during the Second World War.

The novel is set during WWII and the sixties in Cornwall with Silverwood a fictional house being the link between the two eras. It is 1939 and Imogen has the task of escorting two young boys to their boarding school which has been evacuated to Cornwall.  Her life changes when she decides to accept a post there and not return home.  In the nineteen sixties part of the story the house has become a commune to which Belle has travelled with her boyfriend. As the two stories progress the connections become more and more fascinating and as the reader I wanted to know the outcome of this compelling novel.

Once again Rachel Hore has written a captivating story which I recommended to those readers that enjoy historical novels with plenty of secrets to be uncovered.

My reviews of other novels by Rachel Hore:  The Memory Garden   A Week in Paris

A Beautiful Spy  The Love Child.  One Moonlit Night

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

September 1939, troubled young Imogen Lockhart travels to Cornwall by train to deliver two small boys to their prep school, which has been evacuated to Penmartin House for the duration of the war.  When she’s asked to stay on at the school as temporary cover for the usual matron she readily agrees.  After all, it enables her to put off more serious decisions of what to do with her life.   But her time at the school turns out to be more complicated than she’d imagined.
 
In 1966, sensitive and musical Belle Patterson is restless. She’s finishing her first year at a Midlands university but not enjoying it and is troubled by secrets in her family life. When, after a chance meeting, she falls in love with talented and attractive folk musician Gray Tucker, he easily persuades her to abandon her studies and accompany him to Cornwall, a place that piques her interest because of a particular photograph she’s recently found of herself as a baby.
 
On a small commune at Penmartin House near the beautiful Helford estuary she finds life off-grid idyllic at first, the other people creative and interesting, but underlying tensions soon reveal themselves. 
 
When the conflicts in the commune come to a head, Belle is forced to face some difficult truths. She also comes to see how Imogen’s story entwines with her own and unravels the mysteries of her own family.

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of Amazon 

Rachel Hore is the author of thirteen bestselling novels, 

Full time writing only came after a career editing fiction at HarperCollins in London. She lives in Norfolk with her husband and they have three grown up sons.  

A full and interesting Profile can be found on the Amazon Author Page and even more on her Official Website

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads - Author Profile  Twitter - Rachel Hore

 Official Author Website

One Moonlit Night by Rachel Hore

 

Hardback:  463 pages

Genre: Historical Romantic Fiction, Fiction

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2022

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: Grace glanced at her watch. Had she been clear enough about the whereabouts of the tea shop?

Review Quote:  'Brimming over with everything I love about this author's writing: atmosphere, intrigue, wonderful characters and a beautiful love story. Pure delight to read' Tracy Rees - Author

My Opinion: I have now read, including this one, seven novels by Rachel Hore and looking back on those earlier reads it seems I enjoy her writing more nowadays. It was back in 2009 I first read one, so I guess we have both matured somewhat since then, both in writing style for her and taste for me. As with many of her novels, ‘One Moonlit Night’ is dual narrative and the author has been inspired by historical facts around which she has created a fictional story.

The novel is set during WWII and Maddie Anderson’s husband Phillip is missing presumed dead after failing to escape Northern France at the time of Operation Dynamo in Dunkirk. There were terrible massacres after this and his disappearance was assumed to have been due to such an event. Phillips narrative is about his personal war experiences in France and Maddie’s along with their daughters back in England. During the Blitz their home in London is bombed and they find themselves homeless, managing to track down relations of her husband’s family is her only option and they are offered a roof over their heads at Knyghton the family home in Norfolk. Surprisingly Maddie knows nothing at all about Phillips past and is keen to learn more about him. However, she discovers that there are so many family secrets which slowly unravel as the novel progresses, with its twists and turns.

An emotive story recommended to those readers that enjoy historical romance novels set in this period. 

Links to reviews for a few of Rachel Hore's other novels that I have read.

The Love Child  The Memory Garden  A Week in Paris  A Beautiful Spy

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Accept it, he is dead.

No, it’s not true.

It is. Everyone thinks so except you.

Forced to leave their family home in London after it is bombed, Maddie and her two young daughters take refuge at Knyghton, the beautiful country house in Norfolk where Maddie’s husband Philip spent the summers of his childhood.

But Philip is gone, believed to have been killed in action in northern France. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Maddie refuses to give up hope that she and Philip will some day be reunited. 

Arriving at Knyghton, Maddie feels closer to her missing husband, but she soon realises that there’s a reason Philip has never spoken to her about his past. Something happened at Knyghton one summer years before. Something that involved Philip, his cousin Lyle and a mysterious young woman named Flora.

Maddie’s curiosity turns to desperation as she tries to discover the truth, but no one will speak about what happened all those years ago, and no one will reassure her that Philip will ever return to Knyghton.

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of Amazon 

Rachel Hore is the author of twelve bestselling novels, the most recent of which is A Beautiful Spy. Her twelfth, One Moonlit Night, will be published in the UK in May 2022.

Full time writing only came after a career editing fiction at HarperCollins in London. She lives in Norfolk with her husband and they have three grown up sons.  

A full and interesting Profile can be found on the Amazon Author Page and even more on her Official Website

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads - Author Profile  Twitter - Rachel Hore

 Official Author Website

The Love Child by Rachel Hore

 

Paperback: 438 pages

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction and Romance

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2019

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentence: 'This is the one'

Review Quote: 'Simply stunning . . . I savoured every moment of this moving story of love, loss and, ultimately, forgiveness’ DINAH JEFFERIES

My Opinion: I have now read, including this one, six novels by Rachel Hore and her writing has grown on me. Maybe I have mellowed with age, because I seem to enjoy her novels more as I get older. It was thirteen years ago when I first read one.

As with many of her novels, ‘The Love Child’ is dual narrative. It is an absorbing and emotional read about a young girl falling pregnant during WWI and being forced to give up her new-born child for adoption.  Some twenty years later the secrets of the past cause mixed emotions as the mother and child’s stories become more entwined.

A recommended read that will give you a realistic insight into what life was like for women in those times. How far we have thankfully come since then!

My reviews of other novels by Rachel Hore:  The Memory Garden   A Week in Paris

A Beautiful Spy

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

A young mother's sacrifice. A child's desperate search for the truth . . .

London, 1917

When nineteen-year-old Alice Copeman becomes pregnant, she is forced by her father and stepmother to give up the baby.  She simply cannot be allowed to bring shame upon her family. But all Alice can think about is the small, kitten-like child she gave away, and she mourns the father, a young soldier, so beloved, who will never have the chance to know his daughter.

Edith and Philip Burns, a childless couple, yearn for a child of their own. When they secretly adopt a baby girl, Irene, their life together must surely be complete. Irene grows up knowing that she is different from other children, but no one will tell her the full truth.

Putting hopes of marriage and children behind her, Alice embarks upon a pioneering medical career, striving to make her way in a male-dominated world. Meanwhile, Irene struggles to define her own life, eventually leaving her Suffolk home to find work in London.

As two extraordinary stories intertwine across two decades, will secrets long-buried at last come to light?

Author Profile:

                                                                       Courtesy of Amazon

Rachel Hore is the author of eleven bestselling novels, the most recent of which is A Beautiful Spy. Her twelfth, One Moonlit Night, will be published in the UK in May 2022.

Full time writing only came after a career editing fiction at HarperCollins in London. She lives in Norfolk with her husband and they have three grown up sons.  

A full and interesting Profile can be found on the Amazon Author Page and even more on her Official Website

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads - Author Profile  Twitter - Rachel Hore

Official Author Website - Rachel Hore

A Beautiful Spy by Rachel Hore

 

What a lovely read this was, for me made even more interesting by the fact it is based on a true story.

Rachel Hore has written a great story built around a young woman who in the thirties in pre-war London found herself working for MI5.

The protagonist Minnie is a woman ahead of the times as independent women were far from the norm in that period. Living this lifestyle impacted on her private life and at times she struggled to continue. What a determined and brave young woman she was, dedicated to serving her country.

Recommended to anyone that wants to read an emotional adventure about a woman leading a double life.

A Week in Paris by Rachel Hore

Paperback: 472 pages

Genre: Romantic Fiction
Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2014
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentences: She was a scrappy wisp of a girl who lived with forty-three other children in a large ugly house on the edge of a country town.
Review Quote: The Paris of both ages is beautifully drawn and the women's stories are skilfully interwoven, resulting in a richly emotional story, suspenseful and romantic, but unflinching in its portrayal of the dreadful reality and legacy of war. --Deirdre O'Brien, Sunday Mirror

My Opinion: This novel disappointed me.

I have a number of other titles on my bookshelves by this author but this is only the second one I have actually picked up and read. They obviously do not jump out at me when choosing something to read, this latest one was borrowed from the local library. Not even sure what attracted me to pick this one up, a very average read.  I am struggling to pinpoint exactly why this novel disappointed me, as it is visually and historically readable, it was the storyline that felt flat, somewhat predictable, plus the title somehow does not work for me either! 

The story of two women interwoven with Paris as the backdrop. Fay Knox was born in 1945 on the day war was declared and she has very little memory of her early childhood. As a young woman of twenty one in 1961 she visits Paris, on tour with the orchestra she plays in. This is just her second visit to the city, the last time being whilst she was still at school, strange feelings upset her on that first trip and this time events back home in the UK have sent her to Paris thinking she may have been there as a child. Does she discover the truth?

Interspersed with Fay's story is that of her mother Kitty Travers back in 1937 when she met and fell in love with an American doctor, whilst studying piano in Paris. Trapped their by the Nazi occupation of the city and the difficulties of survival in such a situation. Events of the time have traumatic repercussions not only for themselves but also the next generation.

Although I have admitted disappointment with this one, it will not stop me reading the other titles I have by this author as I feel this may have just been a blip. 

In conclusion as her historical detail creates the atmosphere and makes up for the weakness in the characterisations, I would still recommend to her many fans and to those that enjoy novels set in WWII or Paris. 

The Memory Garden

Author Profile

Rachel Hore was born in Epsom, Surrey. As an adult she worked in London publishing for many years before moving with her family to Norwich, Norfolk.

The author of 7 novels, most recently A Week in Paris in 2014. Her previous novels are

The Dream House (2006), The Memory Garden (2007), The Glass Painter's Daughter (2009), which was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association Novel of the Year 2010, A Place of Secrets (2010), which was a Richard and Judy Bookclub pick, and A Gathering Storm (2011), which was a Sunday Times Top 5 bestseller and short listed for the RNA Historical Novel of the year, 2012 and The Silent Tide 2013. 

She now  teaches publishing and creative writing at the University of East Anglia.

In her own words.......

An early childhood photograph shows me puzzling away at a Ladybird learn-to-read book. I was an early starter on the reading front but didn’t become a writer until I was a mum with three growing children. Indeed, if anyone had told the very young me that one day I’d be a published author I’d never have believed them.

My reading addiction got properly under way when I was five and our family moved from Surrey, England, where I was born, to live in Hong Kong because of my father’s job. I loved Hong Kong, but I also missed home, and one of the great excitements was receiving parcels of books from relatives in the UK. When the tropical heat got to me, which it often did, being red-haired with fair skin, I’d lie on my bed and lose myself in Enid Blyton, Black Beauty or the Chronicles of Narnia.

Back in an English primary school, aged eight, I was fortunate to have a teacher who read to the class every day, especially books by historical authors like Cynthia Harnett, Hilda Lewis and Rosemary Sutcliff. In this way my love for tales about the past was born.

During my early teenage years I perused Jackie magazine and longed for romance, but instead fell in love with English literature. I tried Jane Austen and the Brontës, raided my grandfather’s bookshelf for Dickens and my local library for Virginia Woolf, George Orwell and Wilkie Collins. I owe a huge debt to the public library system and believe passionately that we should maintain it for future generations.

History is full of fascinating stories of how we came to be, and that’s why I chose it to study at Oxford University. After I graduated I had a brief flirtation with museum work, but eventually books won out again. I took a secretarial course and landed a junior position at Cassells Publishers in Westminster and knew at once I’d found a career where I felt totally at home. Three years of enjoyable dogsbodying later I emerged as a fledgling editor. It was then I landed my dream job: assistant editor at HarperCollins Publishers in the Fiction department! I worked there for many wonderful years, eventually becoming a senior editorial director and looking after my own stable of well-known names. As an editor I learned a great deal from my authors – about the craft of storytelling, how to develop strong characters and write good dialogue, all sorts of writerly tricks. I observed with admiration the huge amount of work that my authors put into their novels and, above all, I learned the discipline of editing and re-editing work, which even the best writers need to do.

My life, however, was about to change. During my time at Harper Collins I’d met and married one of my authors, D.J. Taylor (David), and in due course we had three lovely sons. In 2001 I gave up my job and we all moved from London to Norwich, my husband’s birth place. Here it was that I finally gave in to the desire to write. I started with a short story, but it went on growing and became The Dream House. It was thrilling, but also nerve-wracking, to send it out into the world to find a publisher.

The above is reproduced from the  Author Official Website - Rachel Hore 

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.

Goodreads - Author Profile    Rachel Hore - Twitter Profile    Author Official Website - Rachel Hore    Facebook Page - Author - Rachel Hore