This is the second of Joan Aiken’s contemporary suspense novels I’ve read; I enjoyed The Butterfly Picnic which I read last year, but I found the plot very bizarre and I was curious to see whether this one would be the same. Well, I can tell you that it’s maybe not quite as over-the-top, but it does come close!
First published in 1970, The Embroidered Sunset begins by introducing us to Lucy Culpepper, a young Englishwoman who has been raised in America by her Uncle Wilbie and Aunt Rose following her parents’ deaths. Lucy is a talented musician who dreams of being taught by the renowned pianist Max Benovek, but her hopes are shattered when Uncle Wilbie confesses that he has spent her inheritance and there’s no money left to pay a piano teacher.
Cleaning the attic later that day, Lucy discovers some beautiful embroidered biblical pictures, the work of Wilbie’s Aunt Fennel who lives in England and used to write regularly, but hasn’t been heard from for a long time. Reminded of the pictures, Wilbie comes up with a plan: if Lucy goes to England and obtains more of Aunt Fennel’s pictures, he will pay her a commission for each one she locates and she can spend the money on piano lessons. While there, she can also try to find Aunt Fennel herself – if the old lady is still alive, that is.
If The Butterfly Picnic felt like a homage to Mary Stewart, this one is packed with references to the Brontës. As well as being set in Yorkshire, there’s a Thrushcross Grange and a Wildfell Hall and even a Colonel Linton and a Cathy Earnshaw, while another character refers to Lucy as Lucy Snowe, the heroine of Villette. However, that’s where the Brontë similarities end; this book has a lively, contemporary feel (for 1970) and while there are some elements that could probably be described as Gothic – an abandoned house, an escaped prisoner, rainy weather – they are woven very lightly into the plot.
I really enjoyed the first half of the novel, with Lucy arriving in Aunt Fennel’s small Yorkshire village, getting to know the eccentric residents and searching for her missing relative. When Lucy does eventually find the old lady, she can’t even be sure whether she really is Aunt Fennel or somebody else, and Aiken keeps us questioning this for the entire book, in a way that I thought was very cleverly done. I felt that the plot lost its way slightly in the second half and the ending seemed to come out of nowhere, with a very surprising fate for one main character and a romance that certainly wasn’t resolved as I’d expected. Still, this is an entertaining novel and perfect escapism, if that’s what you’re looking for!
My favourite Aiken novel so far is still Castle Barebane, but I’ll continue to explore her other books and am hoping to read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase soon.
This is book 3/20 of my 20 Books of Summer 2023
She Reads Novels 
I haven’t read anything by JA since I was a child. Time to revisit?
I’ve only read some of Aiken’s adult novels like this one. I somehow missed out on her as a child.
For me she was a children’s author. I was unaware she wrote for a wider audience.
I have not read this one but remember my mother’s shocked face/comment at the end when she read it!
I was completely shocked by that ending! It wasn’t what I was expecting at all.
I didn’t really enjoy the Aiken children’s book I read, but maybe I’ll try Castle Barebane sometime.
Castle Barebane was definitely the best of the three I’ve read so far.
This does sound like a fun escapist read. I’ve only read her regency-type romances. And my library sadly doesn’t have any of her more contemporary books.
Yes, it was fun. I haven’t read any of her Regency novels yet.
What you say about the Brontë hints reminds me of one of Aiken’s other titles, The Silence of Herondale (which I reviewed here: https://wp.me/s2oNj1-silence). Aiken’s adult novels (some feel like the upper end of YA, like a few of Eva Ibbotson’s titles) are wonderfully wrought twisty things but can confuse a bit – but I do like the couple or so I’ve read and should really get back to them. This one does appeal!
This one does have a YA feel about it, although the characters are adults. I want to read more of her adult books, including The Silence of Herondale, but I’m considering The Wolves of Willoughby Chase for 1962 Club later in the year.
Hi Helen, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a favourite from my childhood, which I recently enjoyed a re-read of. I hope you are able to read it soon. I really need to read more by Joan Aiken.
Love & Blessings, Jessica 💌
It’s good to know that The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a childhood favourite of yours. I’m hoping to read it before the end of the year.
I too loved The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, and still do. It was a Weekly Reader book club selection – way back when – and one of my favorites. That book, and your review above, remind me to add another Joan Aiken to my reading list. Thanks for all your comments.
Since posting this review, I’ve read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and enjoyed it, although I still haven’t moved on to the second book in the series – I’ll get to it eventually!
Hello Helen, I had forgotten that you started on Joan Aiken’s adult novels, so I am pleased to discover all these reviews, thank you so much! Yes, she does take liberties with her plots, and has an unfortunate habit of finishing people off unexpectedly, as you have discovered here (and of course with Black Hearts in Battersea, but she was forced by reader outcry to repair that dreadful mistake…)
Happy to say Castle Barebane is coming out in a new edition next year, from Pan Macmillan so I may quote your review when it does!
I’ll follow you now, so I don’t miss any more!
Many thanks,
Lizza
I’m pleased to hear there’s going to be a new edition of Castle Barebane – I really enjoyed it. I’ve just finished reading one of Joan’s short stories, Crespian and Clairan, which is included in an anthology I’ll be reviewing soon. Loved that one as well!
Aha, a very spooky one…I remember it well!