Time has forgotten this remote corner of West Cornwall, and left its many secrets undisturbed. Until now...
Ezra Curnow has lived in the little cottage on the estate all his life. He was born there, as was his father, and his grandfather before that. It is his own little Cornish paradise.
Then the mistress of the estate, Eliza, dies without leaving a will, putting the cottage's ownership into question. London financier Toby and his wife Minty are soon enticed by Trengrose's charm and, worse still, see a lucrative rental opportunity in Ezra's cottage.
But Ezra is prepared to battle to save his beloved home, and has a number of secret weapons in his armoury. What Ezra doesn't know is that Eliza also took some secrets to her grave – and she doesn't intend to rest quietly until they come to light...
I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for Secrets of the Bees by Jane Johnson today. Many thanks to Ransom PR and Head of Zeus for inviting me and for my copy of the novel.
I adored Jane Johnson's last book, The Black Crescent; her new novel, Secrets of the Bees has a very different setting but her beautifully immersive storytelling meant I was transported to Cornwall as effortlessly as I was to Morocco previously. I was utterly captivated throughout and felt a little bereft at the end to have to leave these wonderful characters behind.
Ezra Curnow is the beating heart of the novel and it's fitting that although spelled differently, he shares his surname with the ancient Cornish name for the county. Ezra and Cornwall are indelibly intertwined. Now in his eightieth year, like his grandfather and father before him, he has lived almost his entire life in his little cottage on the Trengrose estate in West Cornwall; his history is as much a part of Trengrose as the owners themselves. However, when its venerable mistress, Eliza finally passes away, everything starts to change for Trengrose and for Ezra himself.
Having died without writing a will, the estate passed to the Duchy of Cornwall who sold it to Toby and Araminta who are seeking a new start away from London. Toby is the antithesis of Ezra – brash, impatient and materialistic – he is easily the most unsympathetic character in the book. By contrast, his wife, Minty, is certainly more diplomatic but her conciliatory nature hides a determination to make a success of her new life. Like Toby, she views Ezra's cottage as a potentially lucrative income stream and my feelings towards her fluctuated throughout the book.
With no clear evidence either way about who owns the cottage, Ezra faces a fight to keep his beloved home. Despite being an octogenarian, he is no frail pushover and when he goes to battle, he has more than a few tricks up his sleeve. There are some delightfully humorous moments in Secrets of the Bees but as old secrets and family tragedies come to light, this is also a deeply poignant read. Most of the book takes place in 2018 but there are also chapters set in the past which give us a greater insight into Ezra's life. The scenes in Cyprus are particularly gripping; Jane Johnson cleverly hints at what happened there until the eventual, devastating reveal towards the end of the story.
Ezra's great-nephew, Sam grows close to the Hardman's daughter, Miranda (Ran) which allows for the contrast in their lives to be explored further and there are some thoughtful, nuanced discussions which consider the impact of tourism on the county juxtaposed against the need for Cornwall to thrive in the modern world. Meanwhile, Dominic Hardman is on the cusp of adulthood but torn away from his home and friends, he is desperately lonely. He is immediately enamoured by Ezra's relationship with the wild creatures around him, especially a jackdaw called Merlin. The friendship that develops between the two men is entirely believable despite the disparity in their ages and brings warmth to a novel filled with twists and mysteries.
Of course, Cornwall itself becomes almost a character in its own right here. Jane Johnson's poetic descriptions bring its wild beauty evocatively to light. Perhaps even more impressively, she reminds us that history isn't just dates and events, it's the enduring connections between families and communities and their complicated relationship with the world around them which really shapes us all. History, nature, folklore and a little touch of magic combine to make this captivating tale a multi-layered, bittersweet treat. I loved it and cannot recommend it highly enough.
Secrets of the Bees will be published by Apollo Fiction, an imprint of Head of Zeus on 5th June, pre-order directly from the publisher's website or from bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones, Amazon or your favourite independent bookshop.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Comments
Post a Comment