Happy Thursday! Today I'm a stop on the Compulsive Readers tour for Liz Hyder's adult debut, The Gifts.
In Victorian London, the story of the Angel of the Thames isn't a new one. But when rumors begin to circulate about an actual angel being pulled from the river, everything changes.
Edward Meake is one of the few who knows the truth. He was lucky enough to be called for when the body was recovered and he paid to take it home to his basement lab. After careful study he has determined that the angel was in fact real. Such a discovery would not only make his career, but he feels it is a sign from God himself. And yet, he keeps his artist wife, Annie, and everyone else completely in the dark.
Mary may not be a formal journalist—it is not yet a career open to women—but when she hears of the angel, she thinks there could be more to it than just rumor. And she's lucky enough to stumble upon just the right source for key information. But is it a farce and a waste of her time? Or is there truth to the rumor after all?
Hyder's novel is one of magic and wonder, but it's also one of pain and sadness. And it highlights the treatment of women and the poor in Victorian London.
There are a lot of characters to wrap your head around in this one. In addition to Edward, Annie and Mary, chapters alternate between a bevy of additional POV characters including: Richard, a journalist and close friend of Mary's family; Natalya, a woman kicked out of her own community and traveling to London to meet her cousin in hopes of a new start; Etta, a botanist whose brother has kicked her out of her childhood home; and a few additional side characters along the way as well.
The Gifts is a slow burn and it takes a while before the angel appears. But it is incredibly engaging and atmospheric. In no small part because so much time is spent letting the reader get to know each individual character.
It's the women in particular who drive the story. Etta, Natalya, Mary, and Annie.
Etta comes from a comfortable background and lucky enough to be taken in, raised, and educated by her father after her mother died. And yet, after her father passes away, her own half brother has little love for her. She's relegated to a ramshackle cottage on the estate's grounds and given an allowance but little else. In fact, she has to sneak into her father's home to borrow books from the expansive library! Her passion is botany and she spends her time collecting seeds and cataloging plants with her faithful dog, Scout, by her side.
Natalya is a storyteller, a gift she learned from her grandmother. She's exiled from her home, an island off the coast, and is determined to make a new start in London. She's saved money by doing small jobs along the way and means to connect with her cousin who moved there years ago. But when she arrives, she finds her cousin died in a workhouse. With nothing and no one, she has to decide whether to try and make a life in London or leave. And luck is not with her.
Mary and her Uncle Jos are barely scraping by after the death of her Uncle George. But the return of their family friend and Jos's one time protege, Richard, is reason for excitement. And when he begins to offer her writing jobs—real writing jobs of her own, not just finishing her uncle's papers when he's too inebriated to do so himself—things are truly looking up. But it's precarious considering there are few jobs open to women at this time. And journalism certainly isn't one of them!
Annie loves her husband, Edward. But after three years, they have yet to be blessed by the children she longs for. And Edward has been increasingly losing himself in his work. Work he keeps hidden in their basement and secret from his wife. But Annie trained as an artist and has decided to throw herself back into painting as a way to pass the time and keep herself from worrying about her husband's spending habits. She believes, wholeheartedly, that things will work out in the end.
And then there's the angel situation. There is never any real explanation as to why women start sprouting wings. And there's certainly no explanation as to why the particular women who do grow wings grow them in the first place. They do ponder over this themselves, wondering if it's the fact that they're "wild" women with an appreciation of the natural world, but ultimately it's left to the reader to decide.
The Gifts is one of those reads that straddles the borders of fantasy and historical fiction, making it perfect for fans of both genres (and book clubs especially). Hyder's writing is excellent as a whole but it's her characters that make this a truly special read! I am glad to have read their story and that the kept me company during yet another bout of super fun insomnia :)
