INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “An ambitious, compelling historical mystery with a fabulous cast of characters…Kate Morton at her very best.” –Kristin Hannah “An elaborate tapestry…Morton doesn’t disappoint.” –The Washington Post “Classic English country-house Goth at its finest.” –New York Post In the depths of a 19th-century winter, a little girl is abandoned on the streets of … Post
In the depths of a 19th-century winter, a little girl is abandoned on the streets of Victorian London. She grows up to become in turn a thief, an artist’s muse, and a lover. In the summer of 1862, shortly after her eighteenth birthday, she travels with a group of artists to a beautiful house on a bend of the Upper Thames. Tensions simmer and one hot afternoon a gunshot rings out. A woman is killed, another disappears, and the truth of what happened slips through the cracks of time. It is not until over a century later, when another young woman is drawn to Birchwood Manor, that its secrets are finally revealed.
Told by multiple voices across time, this is an intricately layered, richly atmospheric novel about art and passion, forgiveness and loss, that shows us that sometimes the way forward is through the past.
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Love all of Kate Morton books. This is one of the best ones.
Makes you want to know what happens next.
Kate Morton’s skillful use of voice and nonlinear timeline is so compelling. When I’m not reading this book, I’m still thinking about it!
The Clockmaker’s Daughter was my first time reading a book by Kate Morton, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The plot is multi-faceted and complex, and the prose is simply beautiful.
This is a very complicated book to describe so I am not going to try to give a synopsis. I think reading the one on Goodreads gives you a good idea of what The Clockmaker’s Daughter is about without giving too much away. Like I said though, this is a very complicated book and there are a lot of characters and a lot of time jumps. I was truly blown away by the amount of time Morton spends setting each scene and introducing us to an entire cast of characters. She is very thorough and I have no idea how she kept everything straight while writing this!
I read The Clockmaker’s Daughter with a group and the biggest complaint seemed to be how some of the characters didn’t seem entirely necessary (plus the fact of there being so many) and all the time jumps got to be a bit confusing. If you are not used to a lot of characters it would be a good idea to make yourself a timeline while reading this, and add the characters and bits of what is going on with them. While I was reading I did not do this, but someone in the group did and when I was done it was very helpful for me to go back and read it.
Final Thought: The Clockmaker’s Daughter is an intricately woven story of the past and present coming together, and the ties that bind us. I am so impressed with Morton’s writing and I really can’t wait to read her other books (which I have heard are even better). I would recommend this book to people that love books with lots of characters and moving parts, and watching them all come together for one tied together ending.
Really entertaining. The story weaves various periods of time together and keeps your interest the whole way through. Mystery neatly tied up at the end. One of Kate’s best books.
Kate Morton books never disappoint and this one is no exception. The narrative keeps you wanting to know what happens next. I have read all of her books and this one lives up to my expectations.
I loved how the story built and the aha moments I had with the character development and connections.
I love Kate Moron’s writing style. Her characters are unusual & intriguing.
I really enjoyed this book but you must be prepared, it’s long and has many people running through many time periods! Sometimes I felt I needed to write down who someone was and how they were connected to someone else. The details and descriptions are wonderful and at times you feel like you’re living in England in those different times too.
A new author for me, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The novel swept me away, with multiple time lines and an engrossing story. Wonderful characters and amazing detail kept me glued to the pages to see where the author would take me next. I love going into a story with no expectations and finishing completely enchanted.
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Really enjoyed this book. Great characters and sets a mood.
Kate Morton does it again with another wonderful story with wonderful characters, multiple timelines, anchored by a marvelous old house that speaks through the generations.
Any book that won’t let you put it down until you’ve discovered the truth of it is just plain wonderful!
It’s a magical book with stories of family, love, misunderstandings and loss.
You get lost in the stories, there are many, from different years and different persons. I adored this book.
Kate Morton is an incredible author, will read all of her books now.
Kate Morton always delivers an interesting mystery that mixes history & modern day. She ties it all together and keeps the reader guessing right to the end. I’ve read all her books & loved them. I watch for each new book with anticipation.
Love Kate’s books!
This was my first book by Kate Morton.
A story that was not only highly anticipated but intriguing.
The Clockmaker’s Daughter is an atmospheric, gothic-style read with a weave of multiple time lines with rich, deep and engaging characters as well as some being a bit lack-lustre as they unfortunately seemed to drop from sight.
I did find this to be a challenging read; confusing at times with multiple character adds, thoughts, themes and switching between time lines, that had me baffled ……however, once everything connected, I felt the story to be revealing and enjoyable and wanting more as to where this was headed.
This is not a novel to be rushed. It’s a puzzle of sorts and fitting those pieces into place will lead you to a strong and twist-worthy ending.
It’s mysterious, artful, seductive and sharp. Kate Morton has created a story that will not only keep you gripped as to its lyrical prose, but keep you guessing throughout each and every chapter.
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I love all Kate Norton books and this is no exception. Always unexpected twists and great characters and plots. Always strong females though flawed. This book was somewhat hard to follow because the character telling the story could switch in the next paragraph; occasionally I would be reading along and have to go back two or three pages! But after this happened a few times, i paid better attention so picked up the details better anyway.
The Clockmaker’s Daughter is a beautifully written story that has it all: historical, family, love, mystery, murder, intrigue and a great cast of characters
As Kate Morton herself says in the authors notes: ” it is a book about time and timelessness, truth and beauty …..”
A great book , an even better read, get your copy now and treat yourself.
Kate Morton’s genius is revealed with her latest book THE CLOCKMAKER’S DAUGHTER. Be forewarned – the book is a journey – a journey through time, a journey through lives, a journey through hearts. The story may be difficult to follow at first as it weaves in and out through the ages and numerous characters are revealed. But once you grasp the essence of the story it becomes almost magical.
Part One sets up the story in present day 2017 when archivist Elodie Winslow comes across an old leather satchel containing a journal and a framed photo. That statement is so mundane – Ms. Morton write it so much more beautifully. “The pinpricks of sudden light were a shock and the satchel, pressed deep inside the box, exhaled”. The satchel exhaled, she breathed life into that sentence! “Open me, the satchel urged Look inside”. Inside the satchel were a framed sepia photograph of a woman in Victorian-era clothing and an old monogrammed journal with numerous artist’s sketches. A sketch of a river scene and a twin-gabled house in the background filled her with a sense of déjà vu. She was overcome with the memory of a story her mother used to tell her, a children’s bedtime story.
Then with the remainder of the book we meander back and forth throughout the decades from 1862 back to present-day 2017. (I admit that I was confused until I realized that the Roman numeral labeled chapters were all narrated by the same woman, a woman whose real name no one remembers, the woman who ties all the time periods together.) We learn that on a summer evening in 1862 a group of artist friends gathered at Birchwood Manor. That eventful evening after which none of their lives would ever be the same. The events of that night would remain buried in the memory of the one person who held all the pieces to the puzzle. A stranger had appeared, a woman was killed, another woman has disappeared, and a family gem vanished. Theories developed but only one person knew the truth. Morton then masterfully guides us along as she reveals piece by piece what happened on that cataclysmic evening until the horrific truth is revealed.
“My real name, no one remembers.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.”
To further demonstrate Morton’s genius, throughout this story of loss she also weaves a thread of peacefulness and love and belonging. In the end my heart ached at what was and what could have been.
Thank you to Atria books and Will Rhino for the advance copy for my review.
Twisty with characters that leap off the page! Kate Morton at her best.