Fixing Shadows

by Susan Barrett

Picture the a stormy evening in the 1870s. A hush descends at Fainhope Hall as the duchess goes into labour - will she be delivered of a male baby who will continue the Fainhope line? A boy is indeed born to the duchess, but a sickly one - and on that night, in an attic bedroom, an illegitimate, but healthy son is also born to the governess. Only four people are party to this secret, and to the duchess's shocking decision, which will shape all their destinies. Fixing Shadows is a novel about the twilight of the aristocracy, the birth of photography and the unstoppable rise of London, with an unforgettable cast of scheming aristos, gossiping servants and cockneys with hearts of gold.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, British Literature, Historical

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Susan Barrett was born in London and has lived there, in just three post codes (all of them starting with SW) her whole life. In her twenties and thirties she worked in film and television production, and first got a toe on the housing ladder. Then she stupidly swapped an interesting and lucrative career, with status, for the life of a mother, housewife and financially insecure scribbler. All of which, as it has turned out, invaluable research for her novels. Whether Victorian Gothic, or set in the present day, exploring the lives and times of her female characters.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of historical fiction, some of it good, much of it mediocre. This book, though, I loved unreservedly. Barrett tells this highly-plotted story of Victorian sexuality and hypocrisy in a 'knowing' way - the reader is well aware that the story is historical, but seen through 21st-century eyes.

The story begins with the births of two babies in the same house. The widowed Duchess of Fainhope is delivered of a baby boy who dies shortly after birth. On discovering the secret birth of a boy to the governess, Miss Mantilla, the Duchess arranges for the babies to be switched. The Duchess will bring up the governess's baby as her own, the existence of an heir (her two daughters don't count) ensuring she will be able to remain in her home, much to the displeasure of her brother-in-law Lord John.

Barrett's writing shimmers, her control absolutely assured. If at times the reader feels that character development is sacrificed to the manic twists and turns of the plot, nevertheless the book is adorably readable and engaging. Most of the main characters are fairly unpleasant, but they are such fun to read about that their likeability hardly matters.

Barrett wears her research lightly - at no point does the story get bogged down in 'history lesson' details. A fun, yet at times thought-provoking, romp.

[SJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, but so dismal and dark and colorless that I couldn't bring myself to spend another minute struggling through it. It's probably a fantastic piece of literature, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind for letting it take me another stop down such a dark path without knowing for sure if it was going to lift me back out again.

[Diane Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed the storyline and the characters but this style of writing is not for me

[Victoria Conlan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like an exercise in character description and location description, almost as though someone forgot to add in a plot.
People come and go, the narrator tells you that's the end we will see of them ... nothing happens ...
And speaking of the narrator, they are _way_ too chatty. I don't need someone to tell me what is (or more often isn't) coming up. That's what the book is there for!

Sorry, this is quite nicely written (although it drags a bit at first), and if only something actually _happened_ it would have been a 3 or 4 star read. As it is, I feel like this was an utter waste of time.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit close to Crimson Petal and the White...same sort of narrations and flitting from one character to another. I have to admit that I started skipping pages at the end because they weren't about the characters, they were about London or some other tangent. Still thought it was okay.

[Christi Poulsom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book that follows the twists and turns of loosely related characters through a generation. Every so often new characters appeared, adding to the storyline and keeping interest high. I suspect its a Marmite book: I loved it.

[Daphne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting and even good sometimes but really hard to get through. The story dragged on unnecessarily at times and it made it difficult to read. I did really like the ending though.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picture the scene: a stormy evening in the 1870s. A hush descends at Fainhope Hall as the duchess goes into labour - will she be delivered of a male baby who will continue the Fainhope line? A boy is indeed born to the duchess, but a sickly one - and on that night, in an attic bedroom, an illegitimate, but healthy son is also born to the governess. Only four people are party to this secret, and to the duchess's shocking decision, which will shape all their destinies. Fixing Shadows is a novel about the twilight of the aristocracy, the birth of photography and the unstoppable rise of London, with an unforgettable cast of scheming aristos, gossiping servants and cockneys with hearts of gold.


From the description above this book sounded really good. I have to say however that I have given up after about 70 pages. Something just did not click with this book and I lost all interest in it. Due to me having a very big pile of books to read and me not being able to stop obtaining them I feel that if I am not interested, stop, and start another.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book mixes several genres and stories together. While it opens with a home bombed in the Blitz, it quickly moves back in time to the Victorian era. It is a tale of babies switched at birth; the healthy but unwanted child of the governess for the dying heir to the home, a son that will ensure the security of the widowed lady of the estate. Secrets abound on the estate and as the child grows, he becomes aware of a ghostly presence. Photography plays an important role as do the different lives of those from varying classes of society. While the history was detailed and rich, I found the plot challenging at times and the characters difficult to connect with through the story.

[Bloss ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess the third time is a charm!

After DNF’d this twice previously, I finally buckled down and read it cover to cover. It starts out slow, but because of my previous attempts I knew this and persevered, but as the story chugs along it does gain momentum. Once I got past Book One, I was a bit more engaged.

I liked that the jerks (The Duchess, Miss Mantilla, the Doctor) got their comeuppance. I also liked that the author didn’t make the banal “happy ending” and was true to her characters. My heart still grieves for Lucy though.

I’m glad I read this. It’s not a happy book but it’s an interesting snapshot of the times.

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really dragged on in places, and there ended up really not being much of a plot at all. Disappointing.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baby swapping in Victorian aristocratic house. Servants and nobility. Plot twists and turns along, v readable.

[Laura Longthorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel's strength is its atmospheric description of the setting. I enjoyed being plunged into the sounds, sights and (especially) smells of Victorian London. Although intriguing, the plotline became a little convoluted mid-way as there were so many sub-plots following an array of characters (some of which stopped abruptly e.g. the Lucy and Fred story). I would have preferred to follow two or three main characters or groups and seen them develop in detail rather than dipping in and out of so many plotlines. None of the characters appealed to me in 'Fixing Shadows' unfortunately. Perhaps this was the writer's intention as Victorian society is portrayed as fundamentally selfish and unsympathetic?? The most sympathetic character, Lucy, was abandoned halfway through the book, which was a shame. I enjoyed this book, although I did not find myself thinking about it afterwards, which for me is the mark of a very good novel.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book begins with a baby swap - the baby born to a Duchess dies soon after birth, so is replaced by that of her governess, as the Duchess's future depends on her having given birth to a male heir. We then follow not only this child's fate, but that of the entire family and their staff through a couple of generations, mostly set in the Victorian era. The setting is both that of the countryside and of London, both described in an engaging manner, and she deals with all the classes and characters very well. I did get annoyed with her occasional asides to the reader, but all in all, a great read.

[Ea · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent plot and great development throughout the book combined with intriguing characters was what kept me reading this book, because believe me, this is not an easy read. If you have a flighty mind and trouble concentrating, this is not your thing, unless you really want to read it. However, if you decide to dive into it, it's an exciting read that keeps you wanting to know what is going to happen next. Read it. Just do it.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an extremely competent and well crafted first novel, with a multi stranded plot and convincing period detail throughout. I can understand some of the more negative comments, but for myself I liked the way that the book flitted from one scenario to another and that not everything was neatly tied up - this in my opinion makes it more realistic somehow.
I would love to read further work by this author.

[Roberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book although at first it was not that easy to get used to Barrett´s writing style. But once I did ,it was very interesting especially because this book was very different from other Victoriana literature. I also think that the book´s cover was totally appropriate to the story as the plot was about aristocrats and their servants as well.

[Brenda Hawley · Rating 3 out of 5]

With an eerie omniscient narrator almost like a Greek chorus, this book strangely keeps you turning the pages wanting to know what weird thing is next to happen. Switching babies, wild coincidences, hoarding newspapers, taking pictures of dead babies for grieving parents, this debut novel goes beyond the typical Victorian governess melodrama.

[Atticus_jem_scout Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for summer readings. It's fascinating but not too complicated. This book flows with notions, chatacters, images and dream-like plots. I think it's maybe a little useless in term of pure literature: it doesn't add anything new or particularly original to our beloved bookish world. But it's pleasant enough and can give you some Victorian romp.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a story of intrigue. I was always wondering about the tension between the mothers and to see how the birth mother would deal with seeing her son grow up as another. It was gripping as there was still the mystery of who the father was and how this story came to be. Good read.

[Ashley Long-Mccraney · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book has alot of twists and turns. keeps moving at a steady pace

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to get in to, but a decent bit of escapism once I did.

[Rosslyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated it! Sorry.But loved the graphics on the cover .......

[Samantha Parker]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/5656298

[Leanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up. About 100 pages in.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, great cover, started off gang-busters with a ripping good yarn, kinda petered out at the end. Latter characters not as interesting as initial cast.

[Candice · Rating 1 out of 5]

It may be fine, but I couldn't get into it. I gave up around page 50.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. The plot was brilliant and I loved the way the narrator would dip in to make comments on the characters and situations. It had the feel of a book written in the 19th century.