Elodie’s mother, a famous cellist, also died under suspicious circumstances near Birchwood. In 2017, Elodie is an archivist who sees Lily’s photo among Edward’s effects and experiences a shock of recognition. The characters across different time periods are enmeshed with each other and with Edward and the murky circumstances-including a murder and a diamond heist-preceding his death. At 5, Lily was consigned to a more genteel version of Fagin’s den of thieves by her clockmaker father, who then decamped for America. Lily spies on the other guests, most recently Jack, a photojournalist, and occasionally meddles. She is also the only permanent tenant, since she is a ghost. The unifying presence at Birchwood is Lily, whose connection, presumably romantic, with Edward is not immediately revealed. All the people for whom Birchwood holds a special attraction are, in some way, abandoned children. Successive generations have inhabited Birchwood, which was the summer home, briefly, of Victorian artist Edward Radcliffe, member of a Pre-Raphaelite–esque painting cabal. The author's current architectural bellwether is Birchwood Manor, a country house on the Thames. Morton’s interest in houses as repositories of secrets ( The House at Riverton, 2008 The Lake House, 2015) reaches full flower in her latest novel.
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May 2023
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