The House of Eliott by Jean Marsh
| The House of Eliott by Jean Marsh | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: An engaging, enjoyable read, following the same storyline as the original TV series but with more detail. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 352 | Date: December 2011 |
| Publisher: Pan | |
| ISBN: 978-1447200086 | |
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When Evangeline and Beatrice's father dies, the two sisters discover that he has left them with very little money and without any qualifications with which to support themselves. They struggle to find suitable employment before accidentally discovering their talents as seamstresses and fashion designers. The book follows their journey of independence after their father's death, and the new relationships they begin to build without him dominating their lives.
I remember watching the television series of The House of Eliott as a young girl, mesmerised by all the beautiful period costumes. Although you don't get to see the outfits that Evie and Beatrice create there are lots of other wonderful details in the descriptions that make the story a vivid and engaging one to read. It's an interesting period of time, the 1920's, with different social changes taking place and the book looks at various areas such as the aftermath of the war and its effects on men who fought, the changes in women's lives as well as the social class differences and the struggles of the poor.
The characters are all very well drawn, some endearing and some annoying. I found that in the book I much preferred Beatrice as a character. Evie comes across as much more spoilt than I remembered, and it was Beatrice's life that I found I wanted to know more about. She had so many troubles to face as a young girl, and so much responsibility. I like the spit and fizz of her character, and enjoyed the slowly developing relationship she has with Jack. Evie was too flighty and irresponsible for my liking! But the contrast between the two girls works well. I also liked the way the other secondary characters have their own small storylines taking place within the main story of Beatrice and Evie, all woven together to make a believable, complete story.
There are some sexual scenes within the book, which I don't remember from the TV series but perhaps I was too young to understand back then! There's nothing sordid about them however and they'll only make you blush a little bit! I found the book to be an engaging read, even though I knew the gist of the story from the show it was still intriguing, entertaining and a good relaxing read.
You may also enjoy Fiennders Abbey by Jean Marsh
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