From the moment Julia Beckett first sees Greywethers as a five-year-old, she knows there’s something special about the lonely farmhouse, but it’s not until she’s an adult and a successful illustrator of children’s books that she gets the chance to buy it. As she settles into her new home, Julia gets to know her new neighbours, including the gardener Iain Sumner, Geoffrey de Mornay, the owner of nearby Crofton Hall (which is said to be haunted), and Freda Hutherson, who somehow seems to know a lot about Julia without being told.
Soon Julia’s life becomes mysteriously linked with the life of Mariana Farr, a young woman who lived at Greywethers with her uncle in the 17th century. As Julia spends more and more time in the 1600s she grows increasingly obsessed with Mariana’s story and starts finding it difficult to keep the past separate from the present.
There are some books that feel like they could almost have been written specifically for me and Mariana is one of them – it had all the things I love in a book and I really have nothing negative to say about it. The time period for the historical sections is one that I always find interesting to read about (the Restoration era, the plague and the aftermath of the English Civil War), the characters are easy to like and the relationships between them feel believable, and I also loved the atmosphere – although this is not actually a ghost story, it does have quite a ghostly, haunting feel.
I’ve mentioned before that novels with dual time frames don’t often work for me as I usually find myself enjoying the historical storyline more than the modern day one. That was not a problem with this book because the events that took place in the two time periods were very closely connected and the transitions between the two were so smooth I hardly noticed when one changed to the other. The other Susanna Kearsley book I’ve read, The Rose Garden, has a time travel element too but in Mariana a different method is used and the way Julia moves between the centuries really felt convincing.
The ending was unexpected and really surprised me because I certainly hadn’t guessed what was going to happen. It was maybe a bit abrupt and left a few things unresolved, but I liked it. Susanna Kearsley’s writing reminds me of two other authors whose novels I love – Daphne du Maurier and Mary Stewart. Having enjoyed this one and The Rose Garden so much I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.
I received a copy of Mariana through Netgalley
She Reads Novels 
I really want to read this book too – I read a preview on Amazon and really wanted to read on. My netgalley request got turned down (twice! :() though and my library don’t stock this author. Maybe I’ll pick up a copy at some point as I really like the sound of it. Glad you enjoyed, Helen 🙂
I hope you do manage to find a copy – I think you would probably like this book.
It’s wonderful when a book feels written for you, isn’t it?
I usually find the historical narrative more interesting in dual time frame novels too, so it’s good to see that Kearsley has got around this problem with this one. Thanks for the recommendation 🙂
In both the Susanna Kearsley books I’ve read so far, she weaves the two narratives together so closely that I could enjoy both equally. It’s unusual for me because I almost always tend to prefer the historical one.
Hi Helen,
This sounds great. I agree the historical thread is usually more interesting, although Middlesex ws definitely more compelling in the present day story.
I’m guessing you’ve already read Geraldine Brooks’ Year of Wonders and People of the Book?
No, actually I haven’t, although they’ve both been on my tbr pile for a long time! Thanks for reminding me that I really need to read them!
Glad you liked it so much. I really like SK’s books too although there’s no sign of this one in my library yet. My favourite so far is The Winter Sea aka Sophie’s Secret and I was a bit disappointed in The Rose Garden after that.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Sophia’s Secret. I’ll look out for that one!
This book sounds enhcanting, and you dropped the name Daphne du Maurier so I’m just going to have to pop this book down on my tbr list now.
It reminded me a lot of The House on the Strand by du Maurier. I hope you enjoy it!
If her writing resembles Mary Stewart I know I will like it! I love when books have that haunting quality without quite being ghost stories. I’m going to put a hold on this one as soon as my library gets it!
She does remind me of a more modern Mary Stewart. I can highly recommend both this one and The Rose Garden.