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Lauren Willig
St. Martin
July 12, 2016/ ISBN 9781250056429
Fiction / Family / Historical
Reviewed
by Elise Cooper
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The
Other Daughter
by Lauren Willig is part historical novel, part mystery, with
a tinge of romance. Throughout the novel World War I is the
shadow that follows all the characters. The plot encompasses
the changing roles of society, how social structures are collapsing
with the goal to escape by partying hard and living the fast
life.
Throughout the story is the mystery of unraveling secrets, deceits,
and drama. The main character, Rachel Woodley, while working
as a governess in France, receives news that her mother has
died. While cleaning out the cottage she finds a magazine photograph
of her supposedly deceased father, and discovers he is the Earl
of Ardmore, who is very much alive. Thus begins her shocking
discovery that she is not who she thought she was and that her
entire existence is a sham. She is humiliated by the thoughts
of being his illegitimate daughter and that everything she thought
she knew about her past is a lie, even her surname. Shocked,
hurt, and furious Rachel assumes a new identity to confront
her father. Originally seeking revenge she decides to enlist
the help of a gossip columnist, Simon Montfort, to expose the
Earl and ruin his reputation. Simon helps her gain entry to
some of London’s most coveted social events while creating
a new identity, an alter ego named Vera.
Willig commented, “I thought about the idea, what would
it be like if someone finds their father is a different person
than the one they knew. How would it feel to suddenly have your
underpinning taken away with all the memories turned into something
false? I am fascinated with the idea that we do not really know
all about those close to us. We think we know our parents, but
that is based on a perception of our own interactions. We make
up our own myths of those around us based on our own needs,
desires, and frustrations. It is almost like turning a blind
eye, accepting what we know on the surface. Rachel’s family
was considered respectable because her late father was an Oxford
man. But when she found out her true identity, even though part
of her blood was blue, she is no longer considered gentry.”
The characters are well developed. One of the most powerful
parts of the book is when the author addresses shell shock and
how it affected those returning from the war, including emotional
breakdowns and suicide. Readers must journey back in time to
understand how plausible it would have been for someone to assume
another identity without being found out. People will also go
through many of the same emotions as the characters as they
suffer loss, grief, and betrayal.
The plot also has many humorous moments. Especially when Simon
and Rachel debate the barrier that exists between the English
aristocracy and someone in Rachel’s class, living a propriety
life in a genteel household. The witty banter between them is
very enjoyable. Readers see Rachel as funny, intelligent, bold,
and genuine.
Because she feels the period after World War I is the origins
of the modern socialite, Willig told of her desire to “compare
the lifestyle of the aristocracy to todays. We shifted from
them to celebrities. People read and speculate about the affluent
lifestyles. The class barriers of the 1920s were permeable.
I am always interested in the way class works and the subtle
contradictions. People wanted to know about the balls and what
the upper class were doing.”
Willig’s next book also has a realistic heroine involved
in a mystery. The plot has her trying to find out what happened
to her brother and his wife, was it a murder/suicide? She enlists
the help of a journalist to solve this crime that takes place
in New York during the Gilded Age. Willig noted, “I grew
up reading mysteries so my books have that component. I believe
you are whom you read. I like to construct my plots around an
essential mystery that must be solved for the characters to
move forward.”
As with all her books Willig allows the people to explore the
era she writes about. With The Other Daughter readers
will enjoy an engaging and engrossing story surrounded by intriguing
characters.
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