From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “eerie and fascinating” (USA TODAY) The Thirteenth Tale comes a “swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful” (Madeline Miller, internationally bestselling author of Circe) novel about how we explain the world to ourselves, ourselves to others, and the meaning of our lives in a universe that remains impenetrably mysterious. On a dark … impenetrably mysterious.
On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.
Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.
Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their son’s secret liaison stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parson’s housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyone’s. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girl’s identity can be known.
Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, this is “a beguiling tale, full of twists and turns like the river at its heart, and just as rich and intriguing” (M.L. Stedman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans).
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I love the First Look Book Club from Penguin Random House. Every week I receive daily emails with the beginning of a book. When Once Upon a River was shared, I fell in love with the enchanting story-telling. When I didn’t win a copy from the FLBC I tried again when it was a Bookish choice. With Bookish you read an excerpt and write a first impression for the chance to win a book. My review disappeared–twice–and I missed a chance to win an ARC! Finally, I requested an egalley from NetGalley and was thankful that Atria books granted me access to a galley!
I was determined to read this book!
Setterfield’s story is a blend of fairy tale and mystery, set in a village on the Thames River in the mid-19th c. It is a time when scientific advances and superstition live side by side.
The Swan Inn was the place where people gathered to tell stories; one bitterly cold night, the inn’s doors open and a man staggers in, carrying a bundle, and they become the story. As the townsfolk gather to help the battered and nearly frozen man, they discover he holds a girl he found in the river. The child is pronounced dead, but in a while the innkeeper’s son alerts that the girl breathes.
The speechless girl has a magnetic draw. Mrs. Vaughen is sure the girl is her child who was kidnapped several years ago. Mr. Armstrong believes she is his grandchild abandoned by his wayward son. Lily White fears it is the sister who drowned when they were girls. And others like Rita and Mr. Daunt long to keep her with them.
As the Thames reaches a record flood stage, the mystery unfolds and backstories are revealed, Setterfield explores the complexity of human nature as the characters confront their past decisions and open to new possibilities.
Setterfield is a magical storyteller. I loved this book.
I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
I really liked it. I am not sure if I loved it though… For me, this one fell a little short of the glorious storytelling of The Thirteenth Tale – although I found it an infinitely more enjoyable tale than Bellman and Black. With this book, Setterfield appears to have again found her voice, and her metier is – without a doubt – lush stories with gloriously complex and artfully-crafted characters who are always more than they seem. The setting was wholly original and marvelously constructed also; this is one of my favorite created worlds in recent fiction.
Yet for all of those gushing compliments, something is holding me back just a bit from calling it a five-star story…
I don’t know what that something is, honestly – I’ve been thinking it through since I finished and just can’t put my finger on it. I would read it again. I would read whatever else she wrote. I would love to see her revisit this world. But there were a handful of times where the story felt a bit too riverine – meandering and twisting back on itself but with no purpose other than the meander… When I first read The Thirteenth Tale, I literally couldn’t put it down until I finished it. This book opened in such a fashion – I was sure I would be hooked from the opening lines. There was a beautiful simple tragedy to it all, and knowing Setterfield’s previous books, I knew that simplicity would mask a slew of fabulous tricksy details that would lead me down the primrose path and then, mercifully and eventually, back home again. It did, on both accounts, but with a few sideways trips where I found myself pausing to grab a cup of coffee or heading out to check the mail. The willingness to walk away doesn’t indicate a failing in the story – it really is lovely and I did thoroughly enjoy it – but it did surprise me, both at the time and in the consideration I’ve made since finishing.
Still, no one tells a tale quite like Setterfield, such that I’m more than willing to overlook a few inconsistencies in pacing in exchange for the glory of the tale as a whole – particularly when, as I’ve said, I can’t point to exactly what was inconsistent beyond a feeling that it was almost (but not quite) perfect…
Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.
Diane Setterfield has created a true reading experience. Once Upon a River is the story of three missing girls and three desperate families all set against the Thames and woven together with magic, mystery, and mayhem. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and altogether wondrous. Simply put, it is a joy to read.
Having read The Thirteenth Tale, I was excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley. I liked how the book started at an inn somewhere on the Thames on a dark winter night where storytelling rules. A man is saved from the rising river and a little girl died and is in an outbuilding, the inn is a perfect vehicle to have characters arrive to carry on the tale. The story then begins to drag for me. Too much mysticism? I just could not identify or feel close to the characters.
I enjoyed 90 percent of this book and was only disappointed in the ending because, well, I can’t quite pin down why – and I don’t do spoilers. But I just found myself wanting something else.
But the mystery at the heart of the story is compelling as are the characters, and the atmosphere is a little bit Geoffrey Chaucer meets a little bit Umberto Eco, and I loved that.
Great if you love the feel of a storyteller.
Diane Setterfield is masterful at weaving the shimmering threads of a simple tale, richly told, into a complex and beautiful tapestry. There is a saying, variously credited in different places, that easy reading is hard writing. I suspect that is very true of Setterfield’s stories.
Her writing, in its’ pacing and richness of language, reminds me very much of Neil Gaiman, and though it is in a gothic vein, there is a touch less horror to it.
This story opens in the local drinking house of a village on the Thames, where a stranger appears, broken nose and eyes nearly swollen shut, carrying the body of a 4-year-old girl, who is generally acknowledged to be dead. His burden discharged, the stranger collapses and the local nurse, Rita, is sent for. A few hours later, the little girl returns to life, or so it seems. But who is she? No less than three different people claim to know who she is, but are any of them correct?
Helena Vaughn believes it is her daughter who was kidnapped two years before, but her husband is woefully certain it is not. Robin Armstrong claims she is his little girl, who he has not seen for a year, and whose mother attempted to drown the little girl then took her own life, a week before. His stepfather, Robert Armstrong sets out to learn the truth. Lilly White, the housekeeper for the parsonage, is certain she is Ann, her little sister, but Lilly is middle aged and her sister disappeared when Lilly was a child herself.
Who is this child? And why does she not speak and tell them? Was she fished out of the river by Quietly, the boatman who it is said haunts the river, fishing out the drown and carrying those in need to either their rest or back to the living?
Rita, the nurse, and Daunt, the photographer who arrived carrying the girl after his own mishap, are both enamored of the child and brought together by their interest in seeing her safe. Rita has her own scientific theories and barters with Daunt to help her in testing them in exchange for sitting for photographs.
Setterfield gives us the action but also gives us scenes which illustrate the backstory of the main characters in detail then sets about bringing them all together. It is a rich and engrossing tale told masterfully by a writer at the height of her abilities. I cannot recommend this story more.
I listened to the audiobook edition of this book and the narrator, Juliet Stevenson, was excellent. I very much enjoyed this novel. Set somewhere on the banks of the Thames, not too far from Oxford, the central figure is a presumably drowned little girl. The time period is, I think, early 19th century, and there is a large cast of characters who interact with each other and the river as they try to untangle the possible ways that the child landed in the river, her history, and even who, exactly she is. Beautiful storytelling.
This is a difficult review for me to write because I don’t have the words for how much I loved reading it. While it had a bit of a slow start for me, this character-driven world quickly drew me into the lives of everyone involved. The lush descriptions bring this town and these people to life. It had me wanting to live along the river amongst everyone in the story.
Historical and with some magical elements, Setterfield has created a story that tucks you in with a warm, comforting read. Who is this little girl that does not speak? She’s drawn people together. I loved Daunte and his ability to connect with animals. Setterfield has smoothly included elements of life that I connected with and love. With a bit of whimsy and mystery, Once Upon a River is a beautiful read; I cannot recommend reading this enough.
As with The Thirteenth Tale the author draws the reader into the story with twists and turns and unexpected plot lines. I could not stop listening, in fact this is one book that I will probably.read or listen to again because there is so much going on.
Set long ago when people got from one place to the next on horses and riverboats, the story told is of a young girl found in the river and rescued by a traveling photographer.
They are taken to the local drinking establishment and the nurse is called because the photographer is unconscious and the little girl is dead. After the nurse examines the photographer she sits with the little girl who slowly awakens. Finding her family will be difficult because she does not speak.
I was drawn into the story quickly and could not wait the find out what happens to all the people who are introduced to the reader. It’s a fascinating story and I am thrilled that I was gifted this copy from NetGalley.
The first couple of chapters are hard to read–the language is different so a little hard to understand and it slows you down. But after you get thru a couple of chapters (I can never just stop reading a book, I have to give it a chance……) then you get caught up on the story….and it is a crazy story!
Really enjoyed this book. This author has skills, she takes you right through the story with perfectly! There is a mystery that builds in first half of the book and the unraveling is masterful. Pacing is good, too. I was very satisfied with the ending. High recommendation.
When you’re a writer or involved in the publishing industry, you find yourself stumbling into a surprising amount of books–often they are free, and often there are more than you can possibly read in a year. Sometimes, I find myself in heaps of books of different genres, some I don’t always read. I’m not complaining. I use it as an opportunity to expose myself to new things. But this is the reason that, after my recent move, I stacked my books in a totally different manner. I have a bookcase that is solely dedicated to my To Be Read List. (That’s not to mention all of the digital TBRs I have.) This is not to mention my super busy life and the number of books I read that are not published yet.
So when I committed myself to the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge, I reveled in the idea that I would get to bust through books in my TBR I hadn’t had a chance to read yet. My first selection was Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. It’s a historical fiction/magical realism book, and it’s not something I would normally select for myself. So I went in skeptical.
Book Summary:
On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.
Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass, the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.
Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their son’s secret liaison, stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parson’s housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyone’s. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girl’s identity can be known.
What I Enjoyed:
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book, but I really enjoyed it. There were some really strong characters here, and the mystery in this story kind of drove me nuts. I couldn’t figure it out. The three families who believed the girl was theirs gave me different reactions. Vaughans were immediate sources of sympathy, given they were mourning the disappearance of their daughter, a parent’s worst nightmare. Robert Armstrong won my heart, a gentle man, often feared because he was a black man, (bullshit, but that’s reality, and it’s never seen as a reasonable reaction to him), who loves animals and his fellow man alike, and will go to great lengths for them, even when it isn’t appreciated or reciprocated. Lily White is a simple woman, but there’s something questionable about her from the start, and you just know there’s more to her. But the thing is, there’s more to everybody, and that’s the beauty of this piece.
And aside from the characters listed in the description, we are treated to a host of other wonderful characters. There’s the storytelling owners of The Swan, the tavern at the center of the story, where the child is first brought, and from which the story of the girl spreads. There’s Daunt, the photographer who rescues the child from the river and suffers some injuries along the way. When he recovers, he sets himself on a mission to capture the wildness on the river on film, while simultaneously devoting himself to helping Rita, the nurse who helped him, solve the mystery of the child. Because the girl came into The Swan dead, and somehow revived while she was there. And Rita only believes in one thing–science. This is not science. This has to be something else.
What I’d Avoid:
It feels incorrect to even say what I believe I’d avoid in writing, because I believe it’s a product of not being accustomed to the genre. But even so, just going based on my opinion when I read it, I felt like the story was a little slow getting started. Again, this definitely felt like a genre-related issue more than anything. It’s my understanding that historical stories tend to rev up a little slower, and I feel I’ve grown very used to reading YA novels, due to my career being focused in that area. This is an adult novel, and I might be a little unaccustomed to the build-up time required in an adult novel. Either way, this slowness wasn’t terribly detrimental to the plot, and though it took me a few days to get into it, once I was in I was swept away.
What I Can Learn From It:
Aside from the characters, which I mentioned above, there’s also the mystery and the fantasy elements. Not only was the girl the mystery, but there are several mysteries behind each of these families that entwine together in unexpected ways. There is, underneath it all, an undercurrent of magic, that makes everything suspect, just as surprising sometimes as the strength of the very river at the root of this story. This balance was done so well, that it was often surprising, but never completely unbelievable.
In a world about families living along the River Thames, it’s still unsurprising to learn about Quietly, the river’s version of the grim reaper. Or that one town that had possibly been destroyed by dragons. Nor is it surprising to learn about the prescient pig.
This all plays into something else I, as an author, could stand to learn from this story. This was something of a fairy tale. With The Swan being established as a place for storytellers, the language and the method of storytelling all takes on this, almost dreamy tone. This kind of mastery of language was a fun thing to witness, and I ate up that knowledge ravenously. Every now and then, I learn some new fun writing exercise, some fun new aspect to perfect, and that’s why I love to read outside my genre.
Would I Recommend It:
Absolutely. If this is your gateway into historical fiction or magical realism, it’s a great one. Many of the characters will have you rooting for them, and the secret of the girl pays off in many satisfying ways, as do the family mysteries and subplots. While not something I could call a fun ride, as it’s a bit solemn, this story was an immersion experience. I felt like I was part of the English riverside, and I didn’t really want to leave. . .until I was shooed away by the narrator (this actually happens.)
An interesting tale that morphed from magical mystery into twisted Victorian conman tale. I really wanted to like it more than I did – there was just too much of everything: too much going on, too many characters, too many magical (the pig, the eye) and non-magical (Rita’s experiment, the flood) elements that were never explained.
A tale of the finest kind. A bit of a ghost story wrapped up in 19th Century England life on the Thames. Insert a touch of magic realism and heartrendng loss and heartwarming love and you have a beautiful read.
Perhaps the most perfectly circular book ever written with sublime plotting. Setterfield may be once of the best writers working today. This is historical fiction at its best, transporting you to a world not so long ago, but drenched with details of its time. The river runs through the book in unexpected, subtle and forceful ways. The characters are utterly believable and it’s impossible not to invest in them and their pain and hope. A perfect rating experience, with pace, urgency and beauty in equal measure. Books likes these are rare treasures.
I loved this book! Psychologically, it was extremely interesting! So much detail and a beautiful, haunting story. Magic and science coexist in this enchanting book!
Such a complex and intricately woven story. I think of the characters often, like friends that I miss.
A Well Told Story
Fantastic storytelling that will have you thinking about and missing the book when you aren’t reading it. An original story with unique yet identifiable characters.
She is an excellent writer. Almost in a category of her own.