Adolescent baker’s boy Jack catches sight of a beautiful woman alighting from a train at dusk. His remote Norfolk village is built around a railway maintenance hub known as The Works which is ruled by ritual, hierarchy and God.
Newcomer Rosie is escaping a secret past involving a well-known London cartoonist who is a proponent of early photographic pornography.
A beguiling tale of love and learning unfolds against the backdrop of the hardships faced by the railwaymen and fishermen of the time.
Poignant and moving, this literary novel weaves the key themes of women’s rights, childhood memories, sexual freedom, religion, art and pornography around it’s compelling cast of characters. Based on extensive research in and around Melton Constable and Cromer, The Sitter exudes the charms of Victorian Norfolk and a nostalgia for the steam railways.
An historical novel of richness and depth, The Sitter is a remarkable, engaging and deeply atmospheric debut
What did I think?
The Sitter is quite a short book but it's worth taking your time to read it in order to savour this very accomplished debut from Caroline McGhie.
From the very first line, I was thrust into early 20th century Norfolk and all the sights and sounds were beautifully described. Rosie is running away from London and she causes quite a stir when she steps from the train in the fictional village of Swanton Stoke. Young Jack Stamp writes about Rosie's arrival in his diary and I absolutely loved reading his diary entries throughout the book.
Caroline McGhie gradually reveals the secret that Rosie is harbouring and it's interesting to note that we probably wouldn't bat an eyelid today, but Victorian England was very different. It's not like the same things didn't happen, it's just that we didn't talk about them so they were seen as shameful. I really felt for Rosie and my heart went out to her as she was put in an impossible position.
Atmospheric and haunting, The Sitter is a beautifully written debut novel and one not to be missed by historical fiction fans.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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