By Harriet Evans
The Wildflowers is a beautifully written family saga spanning the generations from 1940 to 2015. It tells the story of the Wilde family — acclaimed actors Althea and Tony and their children Cordelia (Cord) and Benedick (Ben). The family live in London but spend holidays at their second home on the Dorset coast. It's here a child, Madeleine (Mads), enters their lives and changes their futures forever.
Although this book was an epic journey requiring commitment from the reader, reaching the final chapter was a cathartic experience. The ups and downs of family life, romantic indiscretions and betrayals kept the story moving forward and captured my imagination. I was totally spellbound. The length of the book was slightly off-putting but I'm so glad I stuck with it. A lovely read.
★★★★☆
- Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Headline Review
- Publication Year: 2018
- Author: Harriet Evans
- Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Synopsis
They were my parents, actors known by everyone. They gave our lives love and colour in a house by the sea - the house that sheltered my orphaned father when he was a boy.
But the summer Mads arrived changed everything. She too had been abandoned and my father understood why. We Wildflowers took her in.
My father was my hero, he gave us a golden childhood, but the past was always going to catch up with him ... it comes for us all, sooner or later.
This is my story. I am Cordelia Wilde. A singer without a voice. A daughter without a father. Let me take you inside.
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