Rachel Hore - The Memory Garden

Review by Babs Simpson on Thursday 1st April on show.
This novel is set in Lamorna, Cornwall, and tells two stories - the first is the life of a young girl, the illegitimate daughter of one of the Newlyn artists of the early 20th Century, the second, set in modern times concerns a young woman seeking refuge after the death of her beloved mother and the ending of a long-term relationship.
Both stories are bound up with the history of Merryn Hall, a very run down and neglected manor house at the top of the valley leading down to Lamorna Cove. In 1912, young Pearl Treglown is taken on by the lady of the house as a general housemaid following a tragic fire in Newlyn where she grew up. In 2006, Mel Pentreath takes the lease of the Gardener's Cottage in the grounds of the Hall in order to research a book she is writing about the Newlyn and Lamorna artists of the early 20th Century.
The two stories are told separately but fit together seamlessly and the reader is never for a second confused about which is which. The restoration of the garden at Merryn Hall is a major part of Mel finding out about Pearl and is beautifully written - you can almost smell the decay of damp vegetation and hear the birds singing in the thickly overgrown trees that surround it.
Pearl, the maidservant, is a natural artist and Charles Carey, son of the house, friend of many of the local painters encourages her. Inevitably they fall in love but there can be no happy ending for them.
Mel, the modern girl, finds a new romance with the current owner, Patrick Winterton, but this is fraught with problems as he is still committed to a former, very clingy girlfriend, and she has difficulty in trusting anyone after her recent unhappy experience.
I hope this doesn't sound trite because it most certainly isn't. Both stories are told with great attention to detail and both ring very true. The unfolding of Pearl's life as Mel discovers it is absolutely fascinating and full of period authenticity. Mel's own story is quite riveting and the reader wants desperately to know what happens.
I can thoroughly recommend The Memory Garden as a very satisfying, enjoyable read and i have now ordered Rachel Hore's first novel - The Dream House - which I have every hope will be equally as good. I'll let you know!!!