I decided to read this for the 20 Books of Summer challenge in preparation for the sequel, House of Splinters, coming out in October. I’m not sure how closely connected the two books will be, but it made sense to read The Silent Companions first and as I’ve enjoyed other books by Laura Purcell I was sure I would like this one anyway.
The novel begins in 1865 with Elsie Bainbridge arriving at The Bridge, her late husband’s family estate near the village of Fayford. Elsie only married Rupert a month earlier but already he is dead, leaving her a widow and pregnant with his child. She has come to The Bridge for the funeral and to spend the duration of her pregnancy, accompanied by Sarah, a cousin of Rupert’s.
From the moment she sets eyes on the house, Elsie has an uneasy feeling about it, which only increases when she learns that The Bridge has a bad reputation in the village and there’s been difficulty finding servants because no one wants to work there. Then, in a locked room upstairs she and Sarah discover a painted wooden figure that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. What is this ‘silent companion’ and why does it seem to have a mind of its own? The answers can be found in a two-hundred-year-old diary written by Anne Bainbridge, who lived in the house with her husband and daughter, Hetta, during the reign of King Charles I.
The narrative switches back and forth between Anne’s story in 1635 and Elsie’s in 1865 and there are also some chapters set in St Joseph’s Hospital at an unspecified point in the future. The hospital is an asylum and we learn that Elsie has been sent there following a fire at The Bridge which has left her badly burned and unable to speak. It seems that Elsie has been accused of murder and her doctor suggests that if she writes down everything she can remember, beginning with her arrival at The Bridge, it might be enough to save her from execution.
Although I felt that the framing story in the hospital wasn’t really necessary (maybe because the ‘woman sent to an asylum by family members’ trope is one I come across such a lot in novels with Victorian settings), I did really enjoy the book as a whole. I loved the atmosphere Purcell creates, which grows increasingly tense and sinister as more and more strange occurrences take place at The Bridge and the silent companions multiply in number. Silent companions really existed; also known as dummy boards, they originated in the 17th century – the National Trust has some information about them here and some pictures which show how lifelike they were.
The story that unfolds through Anne’s diary is fascinating. After having several sons, she uses herbs to try to conceive a daughter and when that daughter, Hetta, is born with a damaged tongue and without the ability to speak, Anne believes it was her fault for using witchcraft. The child is shunned by her father and hidden away from society, where she becomes associated with the sense of evil that seems to be spreading throughout the house and the Bainbridge family. It’s Anne who first acquires the silent companions and brings them home, creating the link between her own life and Elsie’s two centuries later.
This is not a book where everything is neatly tied up at the end. There are questions left unanswered and several possible theories to consider. I usually prefer an explanation, but in this case I was happy to be left wondering. I’m looking forward to House of Splinters now!
Book 20/20 for 20 Books of Summer 2025.
She Reads Novels 
Sounds good!
I really enjoyed it!
Cool. This is one that’s been sitting in a book pile for a while now… Thanks for the prompt to *finally* read it!
I hope you like it. It had been sitting on my pile for too long as well!
I remember generally liking this book but having some issues with it. I can’t really remember what they are, except that I like scary things to be possible rather than totally off the wall, because then I think they are scarier.
It didn’t really bother me that the scary things weren’t necessarily possible, but I understand what you mean. I’m glad you still liked the book in general.
Well done for completing the challenge.
Thank you!
I liked this book a great deal; I read it when it was released a few years ago. It gave me the chills because I read it towards the end of the Fall/winter and I found it very atmospheric. The silence of the season, plus the early sunsets and the cold were the perfect complements for this read.
I’m glad you liked it too. Yes, this would have been the perfect book for cold, dark nights. It wasn’t really an ideal summer read, but I wanted to read it now as I have a review copy of the sequel which is being published in October.
Im glad you enjoyed this one and that the somewhat open ending worked for you. This was actually the book that made me fall for gothic fiction and I adored the atmosphere that the author created. I also love that you’ve included that National Trust link in your review, I’m definitely going to read the article in a minute. It’s very eerie seeing the figures though.
I don’t always like open endings, but I thought it worked perfectly here. I can see why this book would make you fall for gothic fiction – it’s so atmospheric and eerie!
BRAVA for finishing the 20 Books of Summer Challenge!
Thanks! It’s only the second time I’ve managed to finish it.
I’ll come close this year, but I don’t think I’ll get to 20.
I like the sound of this book! And congratulations on finishing your 20 Books of Summer 🥳
It’s a great book – I hope you have a chance to read it. And thank you, I’m pleased to have finished the challenge with a few days to spare!
Yes, I can’t believe how quickly the summer has gone! I was able to finish my 15 books and I really enjoyed reading and discovering some new favourites this year! What was your favourite book this Summer? 😊
Good review. I enjoyed The House of Whispers by this author.
I enjoyed The House of Whispers too (it’s published as Bone China here in the UK). I also loved The Whispering Muse, but still have the rest of her books to read.
Hello Helen, I am pleased you enjoyed this one and are now excited to read the next book even more! This is an author I have seen around a lot, but I haven’t got round to trying for myself, yet. Thank you for the link to silent companions/dummy boards, as I didn’t know anything about them!
Blessings, Jessica 💌
I knew nothing about silent companions/dummy boards either before I read this book. I’m glad you found the link interesting. I hope you have a chance to try something by Laura Purcell soon!
Thank you! So many books, so little time! 😅🤞
This was a quick skim as I have a copy of this novel somewhere to possibly consider for RIP XX if I can fit it in in the two months we’re given!
It would be a perfect choice for RIP XX. I’m hoping I can fit in the sequel before the end of October, but we’ll see!
Well done on finishing the challenge. I read 17/20 books that I nominated plus a whole heap of other books.
Thanks for sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
17/20 is a great result too, especially as you read lots of other books as well.