Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

★★★★★

Magic and the material world converge in a spellbinding story

1887: on the long, dark night of the Winter Solstice, a badly injured man stumbles into the Swan Inn on the banks of the River Thames carrying a dead child. The Swan Inn being a traditional hub of storytelling, the miracle of what subsequently occurs spreads rapidly and has a ripple effect which forever transforms the lives of the community. Innkeepers Margot and Joe Bliss and their teenage son Jonathan, farmers Robert and Bess Armstrong and their adult son Robin, nurse and midwife Rita Sunday, photographer Henry Daunt, affluent married couple Anthony and Helena Vaughan, housemaid Lily White – all their fascinating stories flow like tributaries with often tragic undercurrents into the main body of the tale; their fates brought together and intertwined.

The captivating, ethereal quality of a fairy tale and a powerful depiction of the grim conditions of life in the nineteenth century meet at the confluence of this story, heightening its elements of magical realism. The harshness of life on the river is seamlessly juxtaposed with folk tales of water goblins; dead souls haunting the living; the otherworldly ferryman who steers those in trouble either to safety on the shore or to “another shore altogether”; and of course the catalyst that is the Swan Inn miracle. In keeping with the ancient belief of water being the transformative element and the gateway to other worlds, the river itself is a living entity. Beautiful and lyrical poetic descriptions evoke the river’s moods, constantly in flux with the seasons and weather; ever changing yet eternal.

The mysteries at the heart of the story are multi-layered, and are unravelled gradually but compellingly, keeping the reader hooked throughout. While Once Upon a River is reminiscent at times of a nineteenth century novel in its density and complexity (which is an excellent thing!), its breadth and depth encompass subjects which are strikingly modern. Issues of race, sex and class are depicted and dealt with sensitively and with subtlety. Brutal violence against women and children, nature versus nurture, the conflict of science and superstition, and heartbreaking loss and its devastating aftermath all wind their way through the book to moving and often gut-wrenching effect.

Wonderful writing, an enthralling story, absorbing sub-plots, thought-provoking themes, and a cast of characters who are as memorable as they are diverse, all converge to make Once Upon a River a terrific choice for readers looking for intelligent novels of substance. Highly recommended.

Jo-Anne Blanco (as Arwen Evenstar) for Breakaway Reviewers

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

©Jo-Anne Blanco 2019