First published 2008
In 1930s Edinburgh, the unconventional youngest Lennox daughter, Esme, embarrasses her family in polite society. Years later, Iris Lockhart receives a letter: Esme, her long-lost great-aunt, is about to be released from a psychiatric unit. What did Esme do to warrant decades of institutionalization? Iris digs into her family's buried history, uncovering a tragic story of repression, betrayal, and the price of conformity.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Edinburgh, India, Scotland
256 pages · Paperback · Mariner Books
Content warnings: mental-illness