Book Review: THE SILK HOUSE by Kayte Nunn

   

THE SILK HOUSE

by

Kayte Nunn

 Weaving. Healing. Haunting. The spellbinding story of a mysterious boarding school sheltering a centuries-old secret by the bestselling author of THE BOTANIST'S DAUGHTER.

Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school in the British countryside only to find that she is to look after the first intake of girls in its 150-year history. She is to stay with them in Silk House, a building with a long and troubled past, where the shadows hide more mysteries than she could ever imagine.

In the late 1700s, Rowan Caswell leaves her village to work in the home of an English silk merchant. She is thrust into a new and dangerous world where her talent for herbs and healing soon attracts attention.

In London, Mary-Louise Stephenson lives amid the clatter of the weaving trade and dreams of becoming a silk designer, a job that is the domain of men. Arriving in the market town of Oxleigh, she brings with her a length of fabric woven with a pattern of deadly plants that will have far-reaching consequences for all who dwell in the silk house.

Intoxicating, haunting and inspired by the author's background, THE SILK HOUSE is the exceptional new gothic mystery by Kayte Nunn.

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My Thoughts

THE SILK HOUSE is such a satisfying read. This is the first Kayte Nunn book I have read, and it certainly won’t be my last.

This story moves between the present day and the latter part of the 18^th century. Thea Rust arrives from Australia to take up a teaching post at Oxleigh College. She’s given residence at Silk House, a property once owned by a prosperous silk merchant some 250 years ago. Rumours of ghosts and strange occurrences have plagued the house since its early days, resulting in occupants feeling unsettled. Thea finds herself experiencing things that go bump in the night . . . but are they real or just a result of an overactive imagination?

As Thea starts researching the history of the house, readers are transported back into time when Rowan Creswell, arrives at the house as its newest maid. Rowan is not immune to the undercurrents of the house; a master, a mistress, and a small number of servants create an intimate atmosphere where secrets can’t stay hidden for long and jealousies quickly arise. Rowan is not only skilled in plant medicine but she has The Sight, and exposing her abilities to others would leave her vulnerable. She knows to stay quiet.

It’s clear that Nunn has done her research, and it was instructive and enlightening to read about plant medicine and silk fabric design. This is done mainly through the lens of women’s experiences in these vocations. The fact that women were easily branded as witches and that women struggled to be taken as serious professionals in industry are not new concepts to me so I appreciated Nunn’s choice in giving us more than superficial information about these topics. I appreciated learning about specific plants and their uses. I appreciated learning more about fabric design.    

Nunn has done a great job in weaving several stories across time and distance. The story never lagged, the plot wove nicely between past and present, and every character played an important role in the continuation of the story. Highly recommended!

Review copy courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher.

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About the Author

I grew up in England and the US, and then lived in Sydney, Australia for more than 20 years, working as a book, magazine and web editor and writer. I’ve more than two decades of publishing experience and am the former editor of Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine.

I had always written – terrible poetry, short stories and angst-ridden diaries – and have an enduring love of books and stories. I remember being so hungry for words that I would scour the cereal packets over breakfast and prowl my parents’ bookshelves in search of something new to read.

At boarding school, I read my way through the junior library before being given special permission to read from the senior library – and went straight from pony books to Solzhenitsyn and John Wyndham. Discovering Jilly Cooper is one of the abiding happy moments of my teenage years.

Ironically, when I changed jobs, it was almost always in pursuit of more writing, until finally I gathered my courage and began to write fiction – something I thought only people far cleverer than me could do. I am somewhat astonished that I am now the author of six novels.

http://kaytenunn.com/