4.5* ( )

This was a really enjoyable book. I loved The Botanists Daughter & this was just as good!
1951: Esther Durrant has been dumped at An asylum on Little Embers Island by her husband after several months of mourning for her son, Samuel, who died shortly after he was born.
2018: Rachel discovers some love letters hidden in a copy of Daphne Du Murier's 'Rebecca'.
Meanwhile, Eve is looking after e Grandmother who is recovering after a fall & is also in the process of writing her memoirs. When Rachel reaches out for her, long buried secrets drift back to the surface again.
I find it a bit hard to review Aussie authors books because mostly their writing writing is pretty frank (like us Aussies, huh) so I kind of have this habit of just accepting what is written & not reading anything into it.
I enjoyed the dual storylines & really liked both Rachel & Esther & could see elements of myself in both of them, although I haven't been mountain climbing since I was fifteen & I'm definitely not one to go off on a trip to a strange country by myself! I was a little disappointed in the ending as I wanted to see things develop a bit further between Jonah & Rachel & also would have loved to find about a little more about Leah & how she ended up living on Little Embers by herself. Despite that though I really enjoyed the story.

In 1951 a woman's husband commits her to a mental asylum in one of the Scilly Isles. She becomes attracted to the doctor. In 2018 a marine scientist discovers letters addressed to Esther Durrant from "R." when she becomes marooned on the island. She becomes determined to reunite them to the parties. While a lot more happens in the novel, this summarizes the main story line. The remainder involves the life of the marine biologist, the female patient and her granddaughter, and the other patients and staff of the asylum, including a tragic moment. I'm not a fan of the alternating time periods that seem to be all the rage at the moment, and this one had moments it worked better than at others. ( )

“’Ex tenebris lux’, she read, running her fingers over the words. From the darkness into the light.” (Quotation page 356)

Content
When John Durrant takes his wife Esther on holiday in November 1951, she has to leave her son Teddy behind with his nanny and wonders, why they are visiting Cornwall and the rough, far away Isles of Scilly at this time of the year. At Embers Island, they meet Dr. Richard Creswell, an old friend of John, a psychiatrist with modern ideas about curing mental illnesses. But they did not come just for a visit; John leaves Esther in custody at the asylum, hoping that she might recover from her severe depression.
In spring 2018, her new research contract takes Rachel Parker, a thirty-five years old Australian research scientist, specialized on giant clams, from the South Pacific to the Scilly Isles, to study a special clam, Venus verrucosa. When she comes into a wild, raging storm, she is saved by Leah, an artist who lives at Little Embers. In an old suitcase, Rachel discovers six envelopes with touching love letters, all stamped but unsent, and with a name and address on it. She just wants to know, could she still find the recipient?

Theme and genre
This novel, settled in the wild, beautiful nature surroundings of the Scilly Isles, is about traumas, traditional mental asylums, fate, family, but most of all it is about love.

Characters
We meet three very different women, Esther, Leah and Rachel, each one special and strong in her own way. Also the other characters are very well developed, realistic, believable and likeable.

Plot and writing
The plot is told in two different alternating storylines, the first is about Esther’s life from November 1951 to spring 1952, the second story takes place in spring 2018. Memories that Esther shares with her granddaughter Eve, as they prepare Esther’s biography together, fill in about the years between. Impressing, vivid descriptions of the beautiful, outstanding nature complete the exciting storyline.

Conclusion
Romance, love and a gripping story, the outstanding surroundings and stunning seascapes of the Isles of Scilly, together with serious topics to think about and reflect, make this novel an interesting, impressive, uplifting, enjoyable read. ( )

I really liked this book. The setting on a remote island off the Cornish Coast, some lost letters, a woman committed to a mental asylum by her husband. There were 3 settings actually and Kayte Nunn did and excellent job of pulling me into the story, characters and time period. ( )