Reading time – The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

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First reading of the year, is a book I was meant to read months ago, but for a reason or another I never managed until now. Kate Morton is one of my favourite contemporary authors, her name means excellent quality to me, and she never fails to meet my expectations. I took The Clockmaker's Daughter in my hands with joy and and submerged in Morton's magic writing.

If you never read one of Morton's books, I think we can summarise her writing with 3 main points:

Fantastic prose

Well characterised, strong female characters

Smart and unexpected twists and revelations.

Her writing usually works in this way: something more or less dramatic and mysterious happens in the past, and despite the people involved best attempts to hide the facts, in a way or another time finds its way to unveil the story, and in present time, someone will soon discover what happens.

This is also what happens with the Clockmaker's Daughter. In 1862 young talented artist Edward Radcliffe reunites a group of friends in his house in Birchwood, to spend a Summer in the name of art, creativity and inspiration. Unfortunately something tragic happens, and a result a young woman dies, another disappears, and a very precious heirloom is lost.

Present day, over hundred and fifty years after, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, finds in the office where she works an old satchel, containing the picture of a very beautiful young woman and a sketchbook that, apparently, once belonged to Edward Radcliffe. What amazes her though, is that in the sketchbook she finds the drawing of a house that she's never seen before, but that uncanningly resembles to the house of an old story her mother used to tell her when she was a child. As Elodie tries to find out how a famous artist died centuries ago came to draw the house of her mother's story, some more female (and non) voices join the storytelling, and their voices together will reveal the mystery of the beautiful clockmaker's daughter.

I won't say more to not spoil the reading to those people who want to read this book soon.

What I can say, is that I did enjoy the reading, despite this not being my favourite Morton's book (that is and will always be The Secret Garden). I found spell-bounding the stories of Elodie and the clockmaker's daughter, and I also enjoyed the chapters dedicated to young Ada, Lucy and Tip.

But if I can be totally honest, I found ways too long the chapters dedicated to Leonard and Juliet, and I also found they added very little to the final revelation of the summer in Birchwood. I felt like Morton was just adding water to the broth here, adding details on details on details about their stories which, at the end, were not essential to the main story line at all (not to mention that Leonard and Jack have very a similar past).

Those two parts though were the only ones I found a bit slow, I did really enjoy the rest of the book, and I liked the ending. I was a bit worried, at a certain point, that after having talked for so long about “Elodie's mother's story” we might be left without knowing what the story actually was about, but thankfully that was not the case.

Did you read this book already, or any other Kate Morton book? Did you enjoy it?

Please let me know your thoughts, even if they differ from mine, I am always interested in knowing other people opinions. Talk to you very soon, meanwhile take care and happy readings

M.