Imagine waking up one day to find yourself in an asylum, with no memory of how you came to be there. You know your own name – Georgina Ferrars – but the doctor tells you that you had admitted yourself as a voluntary patient the day before under the name Lucy Ashton. The clothes and belongings you’ve brought with you, marked with the initials LA, seem to confirm this, but you’re sure that’s not who you are. Sending a telegram to your uncle, a London bookseller, you wait for him to prove your identity, but when the reply comes it isn’t what you’d hoped for at all. Apparently Georgina Ferrars is safe and well at home…which means you must be an imposter.
This is the nightmare scenario in which a lonely young woman finds herself in this atmospheric gothic tale of betrayal and deceit, secrets, insanity and identity. To describe the plot in any more detail would risk giving too much away, so I won’t try – I think it’s best if you begin this novel knowing no more than I’ve already told you above as part of the fun is in wondering what’s going on and coming up with theories of your own. And I certainly came up with plenty of theories…and had to keep changing and revising them as new clues and revelations came to light!
As I read The Asylum I felt as confused and bewildered as our narrator did. Was she really Georgina Ferrars, as she claimed to be? I thought so at first – I liked her and wanted to believe her – and I was convinced she must be the victim of a conspiracy. But who exactly was involved in the conspiracy? The doctor? The uncle? The fake Georgina? After a while, though, I began to have doubts. Was the narrator herself the fake after all? I couldn’t believe she was telling lies, so did that mean she was deluded or just suffering from a total loss of memory? There were so many questions to ask and so many possible answers.
The story is set in the 1880s and written in the style of a Victorian sensation novel. Like Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White and other books of that era, parts of the story are told in the form of journal entries and letters. These help to fill in some gaps in our knowledge so that we can start to understand what is happening to Georgina. There were other aspects of the novel that reminded me of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters and one of the letter writers finds herself in a situation similar to the heroine of Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa, but there were enough original ideas here to make this an intriguing and absorbing story in its own right.
Most of the action takes place within the confines of Tregannon House (the private asylum on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, in which Georgina becomes trapped) and the atmosphere Harwood creates is wonderfully claustrophobic and eerie. I really sympathised with Georgina’s situation and shared her terror and bewilderment. My only criticism of the book is that the ending – in particular the way in which one of the villains of the story is eventually dealt with – felt a bit too melodramatic in comparison to the rest of the book.
This is the third John Harwood novel I’ve read and while I think the first, The Ghost Writer, is still my favourite, I enjoyed this one more than the second, The Séance. They’re all great, though, and if you like this sort of book you can’t go wrong with any of them!
I’ve never read a Harwood novel, but I’m so drawn to them as I love the eerie, gothic sound of them. I think I must read one soon.
I think you might like John Harwood, Anbolyn. I loved all three of his books…they’re so haunting and atmospheric.
I remember liking The Séance but I read it years ago and haven’t read anything by Harwood since. I really like the sound of this though.
I enjoyed The Seance but it was actually my least favourite of the three, so you still have two great books to look forward to!
Sounds compelling and atmospheric thanks for the review.
Yes, it’s very compelling and atmospheric. Just like a Victorian sensation novel!
I liked this book when I read it, but didn’t love the ending. Harwood is an author I enjoy reading; your post makes me want to pick up one of his other books. 🙂
Yes, the ending was a disappointment, especially when the rest of the book was so good!
I’ve heard about The Ghost Writer but never knew what it was about. I went and read your review of it and now I want to read it. There’s also a movie, The Ghost (2010), made after this book, with Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor. I must watch it sometime.
The Ghost Writer is great! There are some very spooky Victorian ghost stories in it.
That sounds very good. Very good, indeed. 🙂
It seems I was mistaken. The title of the movie might be the same as the book but I think it’s not based on John Harwood’s novel.
Don’t worry about it!
This sounds interesting, I do like a book which you question whether you are being told the truth or not as you turn each page. Off to put this on my list.
I was constantly questioning things as I read this book! Every time I thought I’d worked it out something else happened to make me change my mind.
I loved this, but I agree with you about the ending. It’s good to know the other books are good, because I still have them to read.
I think you would probably enjoy his other books too. I’ve loved all three, especially The Ghost Writer.
I’m very fussy about my gothic melodrama. I adore atmospheric and creepy books but require them to be intelligent too, and not too heavy on the melodrama. Plus, I don’t appreciate crazy amounts of peril – it’s honestly bad enough that the woman’s been locked up, I don’t need endless threats raining down on her. But all this pickiness to one side, it sounds like I ought to try John Harwood. He might be just what I appreciate. Thank you for the lovely detailed review.
I think John Harwood’s novels are intelligently written and not too melodramatic, in general – which is why the ending of this one felt so out of place. If you wanted to try one of his books, The Ghost Writer might be a good choice.