The Swan Inn at Radcot on the bank of the Thames is a place famous for its storytelling. Every night the people of the village gather there to drink, to listen to tales of local folklore, myth, magic and history and to entertain their friends with stories of their own. But the old stories are growing stale and the listeners are ready for something new…
On the night of the winter solstice in 1887, a man appears in the doorway of the Swan – injured, wet from the river, and carrying the seemingly lifeless body of a young girl. Rita Sunday, who has some medical knowledge and acts as nurse and midwife for Radcot, is called to the inn and, unable to find a pulse, concludes that the girl is dead. Hours later, after attending to the man’s injuries, Rita looks at the child again and is amazed to find that she has started to breathe. It seems that the little girl will survive after all, but she can’t or won’t speak and tell anyone who she is or where she came from.
For the drinkers at the Swan, the girl’s apparent death and miraculous return to life is a wonderful story in itself, but it also provides a starting point around which many other stories begin to unfold and entwine. What is the girl’s name? Who are her parents? How did she end up in the river? Questions are raised and answers are searched for, theories are suggested and people come forward to claim the child as their own – but what is the truth? Will we ever know? As Rita grows closer to Henry Daunt, the man who pulled the girl from the water, they try to find a solution to the mystery and uncover yet more stories as they do so.
I am tempted to discuss some of those stories here and to talk about the characters who feature in them, but I’m not going to because I would risk spoiling some of the surprises Once Upon a River contains. Instead I’m going to stay on safer ground and discuss the role the river plays in the novel, both physically and metaphorically. The river is a constant presence right from the first chapter and the people in the story live and work on or around it – gravel-diggers, cressmen, bargemen and boat-menders. Their favourite folk tales revolve around the river too, including the legend of Quietly the ferryman who guides people in trouble either to safety or to ‘the other side’. The river and its surroundings give the novel a strong sense of place, although the sense of time is less clear – we are told that it has been five hundred years since the Battle of Radcot Bridge in 1387 but, apart from some references to photography, I felt that the story could have been set at a much earlier time in history.
The story itself flows like a river, carrying the characters – and the reader – gently along with the current. And like the tributaries of a river, there are other stories which began months or years before the girl’s arrival at the Swan and we go back to explore those stories too. This can make the novel feel slow at times and some patience is needed while the backgrounds of the various characters are explored, but I never felt bored. I was prepared to wait and see where the river took me and who the little girl would turn out to be. I was happy with the ending, although I do have one small criticism which is that I thought the way Rita’s story ended was very predictable and I would have preferred her to do have done something different.
I enjoyed Once Upon a River much more than Diane Setterfield’s previous novel, Bellman and Black; possibly more than The Thirteenth Tale too, as I didn’t love that one as much as most people seemed to. If you’ve never read any of her books before, though, I would recommend trying any or all of them to see what you think.
Thanks to Doubleday for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
She Reads Novels 
I’ve got this one in my stack, but I haven’t started it yet. I think Setterfield’s first book was wonderful, but I haven’t been as happy since then. I’m curious about whether I’ll be happier with this one.
I hope you enjoy it. I thought it was much better than her last book.
I didn’t like that one at all.
Wonderful review of a wonderful book Helen! You captured all the wonder without giving anything away.
Thanks. I wanted readers to discover the wonders of the book for themselves. 🙂
I wasn’t a fan of ‘The Thirteenth Tale’ either so I didn’t read Bellman and Black. However, that is next month’s book group choice so I think I’ll wait and see how I get on with it before deciding whether or not to read this one.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of Bellman and Black. I thought it was the weakest of her three books, but I know other people preferred it to The Thirteenth Tale.
I liked The Thirteenth Tale, but never read Bellman and Black. Good to know this one’s even better. 🙂
If you liked The Thirteenth Tale, I think you might enjoy this one too.
I was attracted by this novel’s premise, and even thought of hearing her talk at the local bookshop at the end of the month (http://www.book-ish.co.uk/events-calendar/) but sadly it coincides with a regular choral rehearsal. But I am drawn to stories about stories so I’d definitely consider this.
That’s a shame – I’m sure it would have been an interesting talk. If you like stories about stories I think you would enjoy this book.
Excellent review, Helen! I, too, wonder a little if Rita’s arc should have ended up differently. So much talk about spoilers make me think that I gave too much away. Gosh, I just hope that isn’t always the case. 😀 😮 I don’t know if most times I write reviews for those who have read the book, or to entice readers to read them. (?) Extra kudos to you because I’ve read three more reviews of this novel and only you seem to have memorized the year it was set in. I loooved The Thirteenth Tale; that will always reign supreme, but I didn’t read Bellman and Black because of negative reviews at the time it was published.
No, I don’t think your review gave too much away. I could probably have said a little bit more about the plot without spoiling too much, but I didn’t want to risk it. I always like to know which period a book is set in, so I look out for dates and other clues. 🙂
Better than Bellman & Black! Wow…
Well, I wasn’t very impressed by Bellman & Black, so I think both of her other books are better!
The more I read about this one the more I am interested. Thanks for the review.
I really enjoyed it, so I hope you have a chance to read it too.