The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton is a sweet and captivating novel chosen by our book club this month.

The protagonist is Edie Burchill, a young editor, who uncovers her mother's secret wartime past when a 50-year-old letter arrives from Milderhurst Castle, home to the eccentric Blythe sisters.

Edie, a self-declared romantic, finds herself at Milderhurst one day and decides to take a tour, neglecting to mention her mother's connection to the home. Over the course of the novel, Edie comes to understand, not only her mother, from whom she has long felt estranged, but the mysterious Blythe sisters as well. 

The story weaves back and forth through time and perspective. This can make it a bit hard to follow at times. Each narrator is not omniscient, so it can be confusing to remember who knows what. But that shift keeps the reader engaged in a way that a much more straightforward tale would probably not. 

Edie is front and center. Yet we also experience the world through the eyes of the eldest Blythe, Persephone. Although the other two sisters have their own interesting stories to tell, the "lesser" twin Seraphina, and the dazzling, eccentric youngest, Juniper, by the end, it is Percy whose story is the richest. All are unreliable narrators for one reason or another, and the author almost leaves us without absolute knowledge of what actually happened. Thankfully, she introduces one last vignette, making the reader the only truly omniscient participant. 

Much of the mystery of the novel surrounds Juniper and the fiancée who abandoned her fifty years earlier. Edie's mom had been living at Milderhurst Castle during the war and so knew the central figures. Yet she had kept the entire episode to herself her whole life. Bit by bit, Edie uncovers the "real" story.

So many relationships are showcased in the novel. There is much love and sacrifice, even in the secrets. Bouncing about in time, as we do, we see characters literally grow up before our eyes. Edie, however, is stuck in her own time and can have trouble seeing each person for their totality. It helps that she is "romantic" and can imagine what she never experienced. 

This sweet book makes me want to read more of Morton's books. She has real insight into the human character and relationships.