3.5 STARS
I love when a book reveals a hidden world to the reader or even better, a person who history has forgotten (and let’s face it those people are usually women!!).⁣ I had never heard of Adele Astaire, and I would guess that the fact that she has been forgotten was a strong motivator in Irish author Nicola Cassidy’s decision to write this bio-fiction novel about Adele’s early life up until the death of her first husband. ⁣
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I really enjoyed being immersed in the story of how Fred and Adele came to prominence both in the US and Europe, especially the relationship they had with their parents and with each other. I think Nicola was really clever with weaving Adele’s story around the stories of two fictional characters; Patricia Ryan, a maid at Lismore Castle and Ellie Morgan, a young writer in the 1970s trying to write a book about Adele. The addition of the fictional characters gave the book even more depth and life.⁣
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Trigger warning for neonatal death.⁣