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Evelyn Gifford #1
The Crimson Rooms
In the spirit of Sarah Waters and Geraldine Brooks, a dramatic mystery about love, secrets, and discovery in post-World War I London.
Still haunted by the death of her only brother, James, in the Great War, Evelyn Gifford is completely unprepared when a young nurse and her six-year-old son appear on the Giffords' doorstep one night. The child, the nurse claims, is James's, conceived in a battlefield hospital. The grief-stricken Giffords take them both in; but Evelyn, a struggling attorney, must now support her entire family—at a time when work for women lawyers is almost nonexistent.
Suddenly a new case falls in Evelyn's lap: Seemingly hopeless, it's been abandoned by her male coworkers. The accused—a veteran charged with murdering his young wife—is almost certain to die on the gallows.... And yet, Evelyn believes he is truly innocent, just as she suspects there may be more to the story of her "nephew" than meets the eye...
Still haunted by the death of her only brother, James, in the Great War, Evelyn Gifford is completely unprepared when a young nurse and her six-year-old son appear on the Giffords' doorstep one night. The child, the nurse claims, is James's, conceived in a battlefield hospital. The grief-stricken Giffords take them both in; but Evelyn, a struggling attorney, must now support her entire family—at a time when work for women lawyers is almost nonexistent.
Suddenly a new case falls in Evelyn's lap: Seemingly hopeless, it's been abandoned by her male coworkers. The accused—a veteran charged with murdering his young wife—is almost certain to die on the gallows.... And yet, Evelyn believes he is truly innocent, just as she suspects there may be more to the story of her "nephew" than meets the eye...
376 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
45 people are currently reading
1207 people want to read
About the author
Katharine McMahon
23 books211 followersKatharine McMahon is the author of 10 novels, including the bestselling The Rose of Sebastopol, which was a Richard and Judy pick for 2007. The Crimson Rooms and The Alchemist's Daughter.
Her latest book, The Hour of Separation, is our in paperback on 22nd August.
Her fiction is based on the lives of extraordinary women. She loves to explore how women in the past - but with a contemporary slant. The Hour of Separation tells the story of a complex friendship played out against a backdrop of resistance and betrayal in two world wars.
Her latest book, The Hour of Separation, is our in paperback on 22nd August.
Her fiction is based on the lives of extraordinary women. She loves to explore how women in the past - but with a contemporary slant. The Hour of Separation tells the story of a complex friendship played out against a backdrop of resistance and betrayal in two world wars.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 254 reviews
July 21, 2021
Two and a half stars.
Evelyn Gifford is still mourning the death of her younger brother James in the trenches several years earlier. When the doorbell rings late one night . On the dootstep is a woman with a six year old son Edmund, claiming the child’s father is James. Evelyn is left in no doubt. He is the image of James. But what exactly does the woman, Meredith want from the Gifford family? Evelyn is one of the country’s first female solicitors something that is quite unusual in 1924. Evelyn lives with her mother, grandmother and elderly aunt Prudence. It s not a particularly happy household. What changes will the arrival of Meredith and James bring? And what is Evelyn to make of the suave and handsome barrister Nicholas Thorne who comes on board to help Evelyn. with her two legal cases. One involves a woman accused of stealing her own baby and the other is her defence of a man charged with shooting his recently married wife. Evelyn is faced with a lot of situations that challenge her and force her the confront the truth about her brother.
I tend to like lawyer type stories. Yet, although this had all the ingredients for a riveting read, somehow it didn’t quite measure up for me. I found my attention flagging a lot of the time. I found it difficult to connect with Evelyn. Maybe I am just sick of the whole trope of the single woman repressed and taken advantage of by her family? It seemed to take me ages to wade through this book.
While there are going to be plenty of people who will enjoy this book, it was not for me. Just an okay read that never lived up to the expectations I had of it. Not sure if that is my fault or that if the book. So, if it sounds like your sort of thing why not give it a go?
Evelyn Gifford is still mourning the death of her younger brother James in the trenches several years earlier. When the doorbell rings late one night . On the dootstep is a woman with a six year old son Edmund, claiming the child’s father is James. Evelyn is left in no doubt. He is the image of James. But what exactly does the woman, Meredith want from the Gifford family? Evelyn is one of the country’s first female solicitors something that is quite unusual in 1924. Evelyn lives with her mother, grandmother and elderly aunt Prudence. It s not a particularly happy household. What changes will the arrival of Meredith and James bring? And what is Evelyn to make of the suave and handsome barrister Nicholas Thorne who comes on board to help Evelyn. with her two legal cases. One involves a woman accused of stealing her own baby and the other is her defence of a man charged with shooting his recently married wife. Evelyn is faced with a lot of situations that challenge her and force her the confront the truth about her brother.
I tend to like lawyer type stories. Yet, although this had all the ingredients for a riveting read, somehow it didn’t quite measure up for me. I found my attention flagging a lot of the time. I found it difficult to connect with Evelyn. Maybe I am just sick of the whole trope of the single woman repressed and taken advantage of by her family? It seemed to take me ages to wade through this book.
While there are going to be plenty of people who will enjoy this book, it was not for me. Just an okay read that never lived up to the expectations I had of it. Not sure if that is my fault or that if the book. So, if it sounds like your sort of thing why not give it a go?
October 22, 2009
Evelyn Gifford (30) ~ the narrator ~ is a young woman who is living in the past, present and future.
The Past - The year is 1924 and Evelyn, who is a trainee solicitor, lives a lonely, unhappy life with her mother, grandmother and elderly aunt Prudence in a big rambling decaying house, still mourning the death of her brother, James, killed in WWII six years earlier. Both her mother and Prudence can't understand why she wants to be a solicitor, they think it's totally unsuitable for a young woman.
The Present - One night, Meredith, a young Canadian woman, turns up on their doorstep, totally unannounced, with her son, Edmund, 6, whom she claims is James son, throwing the house into total confusion.
The Future - Evelyn is a woman before her time. Women solicitors were almost unheard of in 1924 and many practices would not employ a woman over a man. But Evelyn's employer is a man who loves to defy convention and happily takes on the young and eager woman.
When Evelyn meets the charismatic barrister Nicholas Thorne who offers his help with her two cases, one of defending a man accused of murdering his wife and the other of a young mother accused of kidnapping her own baby, her world turns upside down.
My Thoughts - Katherine McMahon's writing was an absolute pleasure to read, she has a way of describing details so that you really feel you're there in the room. It reminded me of R.J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels. She is a wonderful storyteller and in Evelyn Gifford she has created a compelling and feisty character, who is so quiet and respectful at home but who can speak confidently when a magistrate treats her with disdain.
I absolutely loved The Crimson Rooms and was sad when it ended, I wanted to know more of Evelyn's life, of how far she can go. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the 1920's, of women solicitors, courtroom dramas, or who just wants to get lost in a really good story.
The Past - The year is 1924 and Evelyn, who is a trainee solicitor, lives a lonely, unhappy life with her mother, grandmother and elderly aunt Prudence in a big rambling decaying house, still mourning the death of her brother, James, killed in WWII six years earlier. Both her mother and Prudence can't understand why she wants to be a solicitor, they think it's totally unsuitable for a young woman.
The Present - One night, Meredith, a young Canadian woman, turns up on their doorstep, totally unannounced, with her son, Edmund, 6, whom she claims is James son, throwing the house into total confusion.
The Future - Evelyn is a woman before her time. Women solicitors were almost unheard of in 1924 and many practices would not employ a woman over a man. But Evelyn's employer is a man who loves to defy convention and happily takes on the young and eager woman.
When Evelyn meets the charismatic barrister Nicholas Thorne who offers his help with her two cases, one of defending a man accused of murdering his wife and the other of a young mother accused of kidnapping her own baby, her world turns upside down.
My Thoughts - Katherine McMahon's writing was an absolute pleasure to read, she has a way of describing details so that you really feel you're there in the room. It reminded me of R.J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels. She is a wonderful storyteller and in Evelyn Gifford she has created a compelling and feisty character, who is so quiet and respectful at home but who can speak confidently when a magistrate treats her with disdain.
I absolutely loved The Crimson Rooms and was sad when it ended, I wanted to know more of Evelyn's life, of how far she can go. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the 1920's, of women solicitors, courtroom dramas, or who just wants to get lost in a really good story.
May 21, 2010
Yet another book that started out strong, and then tapered off into a mess of mediocrity. Very disappointing. While Katherin McMahon is clearly a gifted writer, her characters were flat and lifeless. The heroine, Evelyn, was as repressed at the end of the book as she was at the beginning. Although I was initially cheering for Evelyn to break free of her obnoxious relatives and throw off the mantle of dutiful daughter, she was unable to do so. I kept waiting for her to cut her hair and even that didn't happen.
Although she did, apparently, come to terms with the human failings of the idolized dead brother, she refused to do so with her lover, and, in fact, sent him packing, literally and figuratively. Given the realities of post-WWI Britain, i.e. far more women than men of the marrying age, combined with Evelyne's age (30), it was hard to believe that she would not accept some character failings in her lover so that she could have the life and family that she longed for.
Living vicariously through her newphew was going to be just that, living vicariously. To be fair, McMahon did a terrific job describing the stifling post WWI society, and its effects on an intelligent woman.
My bet would be that the newphew acquires a step father at some point, and Evelyn returns to life with Mother and Aunt Prudence, dutifully living out her days wearing her shapeless clothes, hair coiled under her hat, church on Sunday being the highlight of the week.
Although she did, apparently, come to terms with the human failings of the idolized dead brother, she refused to do so with her lover, and, in fact, sent him packing, literally and figuratively. Given the realities of post-WWI Britain, i.e. far more women than men of the marrying age, combined with Evelyne's age (30), it was hard to believe that she would not accept some character failings in her lover so that she could have the life and family that she longed for.
Living vicariously through her newphew was going to be just that, living vicariously. To be fair, McMahon did a terrific job describing the stifling post WWI society, and its effects on an intelligent woman.
My bet would be that the newphew acquires a step father at some point, and Evelyn returns to life with Mother and Aunt Prudence, dutifully living out her days wearing her shapeless clothes, hair coiled under her hat, church on Sunday being the highlight of the week.
August 6, 2011
I recently read and loved 'The Alchemist's Daughter' by Katherine McMahon and was eager to see if her other novels were as good. This one certainly was and I think I may have found a new favorite author. One of the things I liked about 'The Alchemist's Daughter' was the strong female protagonist that McMahon created and while their characters are completely different the strong female protagonist in this story is equally compelling.
Evelyn Gifford is a thirty year old, Cambridge educated, lawyer earning a living as an assistant clerk in a law firm. She faces constant sexism in her daily work and when at home feels a similar bias from her own mother. Seven years after the death of her brother James, during World War I, her family still hasn't recovered from his loss. Now a woman has arrived on their doorstep with a child who is the spitting image of James. She claims he is James's son but Evelyn and her family are unsure about the woman's motives. At the time of the woman's arrival Evelyn has taken on a case representing a woman charged with kidnapping her own son from his foster mother and her law firm is involved in the defense of an accused murderer.
Once again I don't want to give away any details that might spoil the story for a potential reader. But I will say that I enjoyed everything about this novel, it was flawlessly written with great attention to detail, the characters were alive with emotion, their interactions were realistic and every turn in this story was believable. I especially liked Evelyn Gifford and the work she does investigating the murder of Stella Wheeler, I also like the way she's transformed by the arrival of her nephew and her feelings for the handsome barrister Nicholas Thorne. I enjoyed this period in history and while I've only read a few novels set after World War I after reading this I would consider more.
Overall, I found this to be an engrossing and satisfying story, the only thing that could have made it better, in my opinion, would have been the addition of several hundred more pages. I have already reserved two more of Katherine McMahon's novels at my local library and I'm looking forward to reading them soon.
Evelyn Gifford is a thirty year old, Cambridge educated, lawyer earning a living as an assistant clerk in a law firm. She faces constant sexism in her daily work and when at home feels a similar bias from her own mother. Seven years after the death of her brother James, during World War I, her family still hasn't recovered from his loss. Now a woman has arrived on their doorstep with a child who is the spitting image of James. She claims he is James's son but Evelyn and her family are unsure about the woman's motives. At the time of the woman's arrival Evelyn has taken on a case representing a woman charged with kidnapping her own son from his foster mother and her law firm is involved in the defense of an accused murderer.
Once again I don't want to give away any details that might spoil the story for a potential reader. But I will say that I enjoyed everything about this novel, it was flawlessly written with great attention to detail, the characters were alive with emotion, their interactions were realistic and every turn in this story was believable. I especially liked Evelyn Gifford and the work she does investigating the murder of Stella Wheeler, I also like the way she's transformed by the arrival of her nephew and her feelings for the handsome barrister Nicholas Thorne. I enjoyed this period in history and while I've only read a few novels set after World War I after reading this I would consider more.
Overall, I found this to be an engrossing and satisfying story, the only thing that could have made it better, in my opinion, would have been the addition of several hundred more pages. I have already reserved two more of Katherine McMahon's novels at my local library and I'm looking forward to reading them soon.
March 17, 2010
Though most of the action in “The Crimson Room” takes place in the mid twenties the real impetus comes from World War I. That war shaped the characters; warped them, saddened, bent or strengthened them. When her brother James is killed in the war Evelyn’s family allows her to use the money set aside for James’ education. She becomes one of the first female lawyers. Meredith, a young woman who’d met James while nursing near the front, appears on the family doorstep with a young boy who looks inexplicably like James. Evelyn, her mother, her grandmother, and her aunt are dismayed at meeting this unknown child but also charmed by his resemblance to their lost loved one. They let Meredith and her son move in with them. Evelyn has had few opportunities to find love because she’s so bookish and isolated AND because she doesn’t believe in her beauty. During one of Evelyn’s first law cases, a child custody trial, a handsome fellow lawyer chases her down to talk and she’s smitten though she soon finds out he’s already engaged. It doesn’t matter though. She’s already lost her heart. Their paths cross again when Evelyn becomes involved with a murder trial and her not to be lover’s upcoming father in law is the defendant’s boss. There are some interesting twists and turns in “Crimson Room” and Evelyn is a delightful protagonist. On the dust jacket Mosse compares McMahon to Sarah Waters but I’d say she's more like Anne Perry, whom I love as well. Both Perry and McMahon are excellent at creating period settings and deft mysteries.
May 8, 2010
Like another reviewer said, a three star is too high, two is too low -- 2.5 is more like it. I so almost liked this book. The historical setting was good, her research excellent, and her writing often beautiful. However. The problem was with the plot and the characters -- you know, two minor things in a book!
The suspense of finding out more about Meredith and her son were enough to keep me reading til the end, but they turned out to be a side story that was more or less forgotten in the more quickly paced end of the novel.
Until that point, I was constantly on the verge of either putting it down or skimming through large sections. Both cases Evelyn works on are distracting and often downright boring, written more like 1920s police procedurals than mysteries. As is so often the case with historical novels, I felt like I was wading through page after page of the author's research to get to the relevant plot points.
The characters were without exception unsympathetic and cliched -- how many books do we have to read about a woman who doesn't think highly of herself and lets people walk over her... only to find that gasp, she is actually stunningly beautiful, not frumpy at all, and that magnificent man over there has suddenly fallen in love with her! Edward Cullen much?
That said, I am a sucker for a tempestuous and well-written love affair... which was largely what kept me reading, and what made me hugely unsatisfied with the ending. To condemn Thorne as the bad guy's lackey and give up on her passion for him so suddenly made no sense to me. Completely hollow.
I finished this book, but I didn't feel good about it.
The suspense of finding out more about Meredith and her son were enough to keep me reading til the end, but they turned out to be a side story that was more or less forgotten in the more quickly paced end of the novel.
Until that point, I was constantly on the verge of either putting it down or skimming through large sections. Both cases Evelyn works on are distracting and often downright boring, written more like 1920s police procedurals than mysteries. As is so often the case with historical novels, I felt like I was wading through page after page of the author's research to get to the relevant plot points.
The characters were without exception unsympathetic and cliched -- how many books do we have to read about a woman who doesn't think highly of herself and lets people walk over her... only to find that gasp, she is actually stunningly beautiful, not frumpy at all, and that magnificent man over there has suddenly fallen in love with her! Edward Cullen much?
That said, I am a sucker for a tempestuous and well-written love affair... which was largely what kept me reading, and what made me hugely unsatisfied with the ending. To condemn Thorne as the bad guy's lackey and give up on her passion for him so suddenly made no sense to me. Completely hollow.
I finished this book, but I didn't feel good about it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2011
My second read of this book, and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first. McMahon does a brilliant job with Evelyn, a middle-class young woman with a burning desire to follow her father into the law, but who has no chance before WWI because that's her beloved brother's destiny. Her beloved brother is killed and Evelyn gets her chance - but at such a cost. Trying her best to live in both worlds, that of the stuffy house of women in mourning, and that of the London courts who think women are an outrage, Evelyn feels her world is one of constant compromise. And then...
And then - go read the book!!! It's fab. I'm delighted to discover there's a follow up. Can't wait. If you haven't read any Katharine McMahon before, you are in for a total tread. I love her books.
Merged review:
Loved this! As a lawyer who never practiced, I was appalled at the way women lawyers were treated in the 1920s in the UK, though not really surprised (was astonished too, that not once in the years I studied law did the history of lawyers form any part of the curriculum). The key theme in this book was what happens to those who survive after a major war/catastrophe. Evelyn, the main protagonist, has lost a beloved brother, and aside from the continuing tragic effect of his death on her family, she has a huge guilt trip because she's effectively taken his place and would never have been allowed to go to university, never mind become an articled lawyer, if he'd survived. I'm utterly fascinated by the impact of war, by the way it shifts society from its roots, by the way it creates a before and after world that is irrevocably different, and the Great War is one of the most tragic, pointless, trully appalling wars in modern history.
What is it like to be a survivor? Do we owe it to the dead to uphold their memory or to move on? What if what we think we knew of them turns out to be inherently flawed? How can we reconcile the atrocious, abominable things they were forced to do in war time with the person we knew? This book deals with all these issues, and manages at the same time to incorporate a brilliantly enthralling story, a doomed romance (or was it?) and some dreadful historical asides, such as the treatment of children in homes, which made me fume and cry and want to go away and read a whole lote more.
This is the second Katharine McMahon book I've read, and it lived up to all my expectations. Now I need to find another.
And then - go read the book!!! It's fab. I'm delighted to discover there's a follow up. Can't wait. If you haven't read any Katharine McMahon before, you are in for a total tread. I love her books.
Merged review:
Loved this! As a lawyer who never practiced, I was appalled at the way women lawyers were treated in the 1920s in the UK, though not really surprised (was astonished too, that not once in the years I studied law did the history of lawyers form any part of the curriculum). The key theme in this book was what happens to those who survive after a major war/catastrophe. Evelyn, the main protagonist, has lost a beloved brother, and aside from the continuing tragic effect of his death on her family, she has a huge guilt trip because she's effectively taken his place and would never have been allowed to go to university, never mind become an articled lawyer, if he'd survived. I'm utterly fascinated by the impact of war, by the way it shifts society from its roots, by the way it creates a before and after world that is irrevocably different, and the Great War is one of the most tragic, pointless, trully appalling wars in modern history.
What is it like to be a survivor? Do we owe it to the dead to uphold their memory or to move on? What if what we think we knew of them turns out to be inherently flawed? How can we reconcile the atrocious, abominable things they were forced to do in war time with the person we knew? This book deals with all these issues, and manages at the same time to incorporate a brilliantly enthralling story, a doomed romance (or was it?) and some dreadful historical asides, such as the treatment of children in homes, which made me fume and cry and want to go away and read a whole lote more.
This is the second Katharine McMahon book I've read, and it lived up to all my expectations. Now I need to find another.
March 29, 2010
If I had to sum up my feelings toward this book in one word, that word would be "apathetic".
The premise sounded good. Post-WWI era in London, one of the first female lawyers struggling to make her mark, the murder of a newly wed young woman, the accused her new husband. Family drama, court drama and love drama all wrapped up in one novel.
It wasn't that the writing was bad, or that the story was necessarily bad (I was most interested in the mystery part of it all), it was just that I was so incredibly bored the entire time I was reading this book. I found myself looking for chores to do rather than pick it up. And.. I'm ashamed to admit, I think I stared at the cover with more interest and longing then I felt at any time for the contents of the book. (It is a gorgeous cover).
I hate seeing so much potential prove to be so dull. In researching other reviews on this novel once I finished it, I found quite a few others sharing the same opinion. In fact.. I'm bored even writing this review. So I'll stop now. =)
The premise sounded good. Post-WWI era in London, one of the first female lawyers struggling to make her mark, the murder of a newly wed young woman, the accused her new husband. Family drama, court drama and love drama all wrapped up in one novel.
It wasn't that the writing was bad, or that the story was necessarily bad (I was most interested in the mystery part of it all), it was just that I was so incredibly bored the entire time I was reading this book. I found myself looking for chores to do rather than pick it up. And.. I'm ashamed to admit, I think I stared at the cover with more interest and longing then I felt at any time for the contents of the book. (It is a gorgeous cover).
I hate seeing so much potential prove to be so dull. In researching other reviews on this novel once I finished it, I found quite a few others sharing the same opinion. In fact.. I'm bored even writing this review. So I'll stop now. =)
February 5, 2014
There's obviously something about pioneer women that gets under McMahon's skin. In The Rose of Sebastopol it was Florence Nightingale and the first female nurses. In this its the first female lawyers. Again an area I know nothing about and was delighted to learn.
Its also about taking on an independent role, usually the man's role, and using individual character to succeed against the odds, the law, the establishment.
It also deals with real human emotions - grief, guilt, love, fear - in a way that is more than just a noble abstract but everyday living wise.
What a little gem!
Toast
Its also about taking on an independent role, usually the man's role, and using individual character to succeed against the odds, the law, the establishment.
It also deals with real human emotions - grief, guilt, love, fear - in a way that is more than just a noble abstract but everyday living wise.
What a little gem!
Toast
June 10, 2020
This story pulled me in with it interesting plot and good reviews.
Weather it is because of my lack of interest for period set books or the many many characters. I found this book hard to fall in to and almost a chore to read. Thought the storylines where great in concept I just feel like most of the book felt dragged out into not much of and ending.
Despite all ive said of you are intrigued by and simply writen 1920s drama this could be your book.
Just not for me.
Weather it is because of my lack of interest for period set books or the many many characters. I found this book hard to fall in to and almost a chore to read. Thought the storylines where great in concept I just feel like most of the book felt dragged out into not much of and ending.
Despite all ive said of you are intrigued by and simply writen 1920s drama this could be your book.
Just not for me.
March 29, 2021
Hmm, this book just really didn't do it for me. It took me ages to read, the characters were quite dull and the plot felt dragged out. It was fascinating reading about post-WW2 Britain but the story itself was one I didn't look forward to picking up to read.
January 10, 2021
I am not a fan of romantic fiction (historical or otherwise) but would have liked to give this one a rating of 4.5 as I occasionally felt this was short of perfection.
Beautifully and evocatively written, this period drama seemed at times drawn and stretched. However, the pages just manage to hold the reader's attention and the ending was unexpected, though somewhat deadened out.
Also I liked the fact that there were elements of mystery and suspense Many of the hardships faced by pioneering women are relatable as are their flaws and fallibility.
Yes I have definitely read far more gripping and thrilling books and yes, I did find myself being irritated (more than once) with the pace of the prose. Despite this, the characters' war experiences seem to bind them all together, and seem to be telling their own story of a devastating and an unforgettable era.
Beautifully and evocatively written, this period drama seemed at times drawn and stretched. However, the pages just manage to hold the reader's attention and the ending was unexpected, though somewhat deadened out.
Also I liked the fact that there were elements of mystery and suspense Many of the hardships faced by pioneering women are relatable as are their flaws and fallibility.
Yes I have definitely read far more gripping and thrilling books and yes, I did find myself being irritated (more than once) with the pace of the prose. Despite this, the characters' war experiences seem to bind them all together, and seem to be telling their own story of a devastating and an unforgettable era.
February 14, 2010
I got this book as a first-read, and I guess I expected a lame book in desperate need of publicity. Not so! "The Crimson Rooms" is extremely well-written and grabbed me from page one. In fact, I stayed up all last night, trying to finish it.
Our heroine is a female junior law clerk in 1924 London, one of the first few women admitted to the bar. Her entire family is a frozen tableau of grief for her younger brother, Jamie, killed in WWI, and her father, who, heart-broken, drank himself to death. She lives in a dark cloud surrounded by her mother, grandmother, aunt, and two ancient female servants, who are all scraping by on the tiny bit of money left to her once-more-successful family. Her brother's room is still as he left it, and Evelyn Gifford's ground-breaking status as a female lawyer is not lauded within her very traditional family. Still single as she approaches 30, she is seen as an utter failure in female terms.
Thundering into her life comes a young Canadian woman, Meredith, who arrives in the middle of the night with a six-year-old boy, Edmund, in tow. Meredith claims that the boy was fathered by Jamie in a hospital behind the lines in France. Evelyn is mistrustful of the woman, and her family is appalled by her arrival.
Meanwhile, Evelyn becomes involved in two cases, one involving a woman who gave up her children to a charity home and now cannot get them back, and the other a war veteran who is accused of having shot his beautiful bride of only three weeks.
And much to her surprise, a handsome young lawyer, Nicolas Thorne, who is involved in the murder case comes into her life. Although he is betrothed to another woman, the two of them spark immediately.
Evelyn wrestles with several mysteries: Can she help the mother of three children get them back before they are sent off to Canada or Australia? Did the bereaved husband really murder his bride? Is Thorne really in love with her? And what's the deal with Meredith?
*****SPOILER ALERT — READ NO FURTHER TO AVOID PLOT DETAILS*****
The character of Meredith never quite comes together for me. I guess she is supposed to represent some of the brokenness of all who participated in the horror of WWI, but she seemed very inconsistent to me. She was also the source of a heckuva lot of coincidences that weren't explained convincingly by the plot. She felt like a plot device more than a person to me.
I also didn't understand Evelyn's complete rejection of Thorne at the end of the book. It did turn out that he had some involvement in the cover-up of a dreadful crime, but his involvement was largely unwitting. I half expected the sudden huge twist of a Sarah Waters novel, where love is revealed to be nothing more than intrigue and betrayal, but that was not the case here. So, why the need to so utterly reject him?
She was able to forgive her mother's betrayal (withholding Jamie's last letter), but not Nicolas, who never really did betray her. I just don't get it.
And why, at the end, would she move in with Meredith, who seemed to me to be hellbent on her own slow, eventual dissolution?
I guess the author wanted to avoid the usual "happily ever after" of most heterosexual romances, but she didn't do it in a way that felt believable or uplifting. It felt like Evelyn was choosing to define herself as Edmund's spinster auntie, and that didn't really make sense to me.
On the other hand, the writing was strong, and the plot really involved me.
~~~
Note: The version of the book sent to me was supposedly an "uncorrected proof," and yet I found only a very few typos and perhaps one error. (Don't the well-to-do English go to "public schools" rather than "private" ones?) That impressed me because so many modern books come to us riddled with typos and mistakes. Obviously, some care went into its preparation. I am also supposed to note that I received this book via one of Goodread's First Reads, which offers us the chance to enter to win various books.
Our heroine is a female junior law clerk in 1924 London, one of the first few women admitted to the bar. Her entire family is a frozen tableau of grief for her younger brother, Jamie, killed in WWI, and her father, who, heart-broken, drank himself to death. She lives in a dark cloud surrounded by her mother, grandmother, aunt, and two ancient female servants, who are all scraping by on the tiny bit of money left to her once-more-successful family. Her brother's room is still as he left it, and Evelyn Gifford's ground-breaking status as a female lawyer is not lauded within her very traditional family. Still single as she approaches 30, she is seen as an utter failure in female terms.
Thundering into her life comes a young Canadian woman, Meredith, who arrives in the middle of the night with a six-year-old boy, Edmund, in tow. Meredith claims that the boy was fathered by Jamie in a hospital behind the lines in France. Evelyn is mistrustful of the woman, and her family is appalled by her arrival.
Meanwhile, Evelyn becomes involved in two cases, one involving a woman who gave up her children to a charity home and now cannot get them back, and the other a war veteran who is accused of having shot his beautiful bride of only three weeks.
And much to her surprise, a handsome young lawyer, Nicolas Thorne, who is involved in the murder case comes into her life. Although he is betrothed to another woman, the two of them spark immediately.
Evelyn wrestles with several mysteries: Can she help the mother of three children get them back before they are sent off to Canada or Australia? Did the bereaved husband really murder his bride? Is Thorne really in love with her? And what's the deal with Meredith?
*****SPOILER ALERT — READ NO FURTHER TO AVOID PLOT DETAILS*****
The character of Meredith never quite comes together for me. I guess she is supposed to represent some of the brokenness of all who participated in the horror of WWI, but she seemed very inconsistent to me. She was also the source of a heckuva lot of coincidences that weren't explained convincingly by the plot. She felt like a plot device more than a person to me.
I also didn't understand Evelyn's complete rejection of Thorne at the end of the book. It did turn out that he had some involvement in the cover-up of a dreadful crime, but his involvement was largely unwitting. I half expected the sudden huge twist of a Sarah Waters novel, where love is revealed to be nothing more than intrigue and betrayal, but that was not the case here. So, why the need to so utterly reject him?
She was able to forgive her mother's betrayal (withholding Jamie's last letter), but not Nicolas, who never really did betray her. I just don't get it.
And why, at the end, would she move in with Meredith, who seemed to me to be hellbent on her own slow, eventual dissolution?
I guess the author wanted to avoid the usual "happily ever after" of most heterosexual romances, but she didn't do it in a way that felt believable or uplifting. It felt like Evelyn was choosing to define herself as Edmund's spinster auntie, and that didn't really make sense to me.
On the other hand, the writing was strong, and the plot really involved me.
~~~
Note: The version of the book sent to me was supposedly an "uncorrected proof," and yet I found only a very few typos and perhaps one error. (Don't the well-to-do English go to "public schools" rather than "private" ones?) That impressed me because so many modern books come to us riddled with typos and mistakes. Obviously, some care went into its preparation. I am also supposed to note that I received this book via one of Goodread's First Reads, which offers us the chance to enter to win various books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2019
Romantic fiction is Not My Thing. And, superficially, this novel pressed all of my negative buttons: soft-focus cover art. Swooning blurbs. Seal of approval from the Richard and Judy Book club. (It is literally a little gold seal. For my American Friends: Richard and Judy are the married co-hosts of a British morning TV show. Now you understand my qualms.) But ... duty calls, this was this month's selection for our village book group.
And how very, very, wrong I was. This is a genuine Good Read: McMahon's plotting heaps personal and professional trouble on her heroine, Evelyn, right from Page 1. Her efforts on behalf of her clients in two cases provide strong narrative scaffolding for her personal dilemma -- how to react to the woman who has turned up on the family doorstep, claiming that her son is the child of Evelyn's brother, who died in the trenches toward the end of the war. The different threads of the story suggest the varying ways that families can support each other, can let each other down, and bring out the best and the worst in each other.
McMahon also demonstrates a very sure touch with her historical material. She wears her research (clothes, food, music, politics) lightly, but she makes the most of her context -- the decade following the war that, in the UK, is still referred to as The Great War, a period in which the survivors (both military and civilian) had to emerge from the nightmare of the war years, and create a "new normal." Again the plot threads do a great job of demonstrating the after-effects of the War: broken families, men crippled in mind and body, women with little or no prospect of finding someone to create a family of their own.
Great stuff for a wet weekend!!
And how very, very, wrong I was. This is a genuine Good Read: McMahon's plotting heaps personal and professional trouble on her heroine, Evelyn, right from Page 1. Her efforts on behalf of her clients in two cases provide strong narrative scaffolding for her personal dilemma -- how to react to the woman who has turned up on the family doorstep, claiming that her son is the child of Evelyn's brother, who died in the trenches toward the end of the war. The different threads of the story suggest the varying ways that families can support each other, can let each other down, and bring out the best and the worst in each other.
McMahon also demonstrates a very sure touch with her historical material. She wears her research (clothes, food, music, politics) lightly, but she makes the most of her context -- the decade following the war that, in the UK, is still referred to as The Great War, a period in which the survivors (both military and civilian) had to emerge from the nightmare of the war years, and create a "new normal." Again the plot threads do a great job of demonstrating the after-effects of the War: broken families, men crippled in mind and body, women with little or no prospect of finding someone to create a family of their own.
Great stuff for a wet weekend!!
February 10, 2010
I won this book from the First Reads program here on Goodreads and it really sounded promising. But I've been having terrible luck with historical fiction recently and unfortunately, The Crimson Rooms has fallen into that stigma.
First, let me say that I love historical fiction books. They usually allow me to be immersed in a time period that I would never have been a part of and they have the added element of teaching me something that I didn't previously know. But the thing with The Crimson Rooms was that it was boring.
I think what mostly killed me was that The Crimson Rooms is supposed to be sort of a mystery. And I can get into mysteries no matter how badly written (ahem...James Patterson), mostly because they have this thrilling atmosphere. The Crimson Rooms wasn't like that. All of the tension that you could've felt, just fell a tad bit flat for me.
Sure, there were interesting aspects of the book, but they were overshadowed by the boredom I felt throughout most of the book. The main character Evelyn was intriguing, but even she couldn't save me from the boredom I felt. I found that I was doing things that I didn't enjoy (homework, cleaning, etc) just to avoid picking up the book again. Finally, I just sat down and said "I'm finishing this". Trust me, had I not won this book, it would've been gone so fast.
So, alas, this First Reads book was a miss. Hopefully, this one and Mistress of the Art of Death were just bad luck and I'll have more good luck with the historical fiction genre as a whole.
First, let me say that I love historical fiction books. They usually allow me to be immersed in a time period that I would never have been a part of and they have the added element of teaching me something that I didn't previously know. But the thing with The Crimson Rooms was that it was boring.
I think what mostly killed me was that The Crimson Rooms is supposed to be sort of a mystery. And I can get into mysteries no matter how badly written (ahem...James Patterson), mostly because they have this thrilling atmosphere. The Crimson Rooms wasn't like that. All of the tension that you could've felt, just fell a tad bit flat for me.
Sure, there were interesting aspects of the book, but they were overshadowed by the boredom I felt throughout most of the book. The main character Evelyn was intriguing, but even she couldn't save me from the boredom I felt. I found that I was doing things that I didn't enjoy (homework, cleaning, etc) just to avoid picking up the book again. Finally, I just sat down and said "I'm finishing this". Trust me, had I not won this book, it would've been gone so fast.
So, alas, this First Reads book was a miss. Hopefully, this one and Mistress of the Art of Death were just bad luck and I'll have more good luck with the historical fiction genre as a whole.
September 15, 2013
I received this in a pre-release giveaway from GP Putnam's, and I am so glad that I did!
The introduction to this story was very quick and abrupt; a major life event happening to the characters before we even knew their names. This bothered me at first, but as I got further into the story it came around and I don't think it would have worked any other way.
This story follows Evelyn, one of the first female lawyers in London, post-WWI. While dealing with the loss of her brother to war, her entire family lives a life that is very sheltered and mournful, even 6 years later. A serious of huge events such as the appearance of her brother's son and his mother as well as a major murder trial, force her to re-evaluate many facets of her life.
Thrown in is a great murder trial mystery, that intertwines the characters even more. I myself am not one to try to figure out mysteries, as I'm typically to engrossed in the story to really see anything deeper right away. After knowing the outcome of this though, I realized some great clues, moments of foreshadowing etc that could have led another reader to a conclusion that I just wasn't seeking, while not being so obvious to just give the story away.
Overall I think this book was very well written and engaging. Katharine McMahon painted a vivid picture of early 20th century London, as well as the trials and tribulations of a woman entering a new field. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction!
The introduction to this story was very quick and abrupt; a major life event happening to the characters before we even knew their names. This bothered me at first, but as I got further into the story it came around and I don't think it would have worked any other way.
This story follows Evelyn, one of the first female lawyers in London, post-WWI. While dealing with the loss of her brother to war, her entire family lives a life that is very sheltered and mournful, even 6 years later. A serious of huge events such as the appearance of her brother's son and his mother as well as a major murder trial, force her to re-evaluate many facets of her life.
Thrown in is a great murder trial mystery, that intertwines the characters even more. I myself am not one to try to figure out mysteries, as I'm typically to engrossed in the story to really see anything deeper right away. After knowing the outcome of this though, I realized some great clues, moments of foreshadowing etc that could have led another reader to a conclusion that I just wasn't seeking, while not being so obvious to just give the story away.
Overall I think this book was very well written and engaging. Katharine McMahon painted a vivid picture of early 20th century London, as well as the trials and tribulations of a woman entering a new field. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction!
June 7, 2010
I'm very interested in the entry of women into the professions in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly the legal profession, so when I read Bibliophile's review of The Crimson Rooms, I put it on my must-read list. Main character Evelyn Gifford is an articled clerk, making her way into the legal profession in the post-WWI world. Although she's the only one bringing any income into her now all-female family, rather than being appreciated, she faces disapproval for her defiance of traditional gender roles. Her tight-lipped, self-denying mother and aunt (there is a rather wonderful grandmother who was once an actress) try to manipulate her; and when a young Canadian ex-nurse turns up on the doorstep with her son, clearly the illegitimate son of the loved and lost-in-the-war son of the Gifford family, Evelyn has to make the first of a series of difficult decisions. There are two interweaving trial plots, as well as an unforeseen romance for Evelyn and the drama surrounding the introduction of Edmund and his mother into the Gifford household. While some of the oppositions Evelyn faces both in resistance to her presence in the courtroom and from her family members seem almost caricatured, my knowledge of the period suggests that they are not. Well worth the read, particularly if you're interested, as I am, in women in the legal profession.
January 4, 2011
"The Crimson Rooms" is a tragedy-style historical set in 1924 in England. It also contained a mystery and a romance. The characters were complex. Historical and setting details were expertly woven into the story and brought the story alive in my imagination.
However, it's a depressing story. Evelyn's family is stuck in their grief. Her two main legal cases can't really have "happy endings" even if won. And, due to the high post-war female-to-male ratio and her low self-image, Evelyn's desperate to have sex with the first willing male (even if she knows he's just using her) so that she can have sex once in her life.
Furthermore, I couldn't believe that Evelyn really had the guts to defy her family and society to get her legal training when she's so compliant to everyone's wishes and whims at the beginning of the story. By the end of the story, she'd gained my respect in her lawyer role but lost it in how she behaved in the romance role.
So the historical part of this story was excellent, the mystery was interesting (though the court scenes at the end were a bit slow paced), but the romance didn't work for me. There was a very minor amount of bad language. The story also contained some "hot" kissing and a brief, not-particularly-graphic sex scene.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
However, it's a depressing story. Evelyn's family is stuck in their grief. Her two main legal cases can't really have "happy endings" even if won. And, due to the high post-war female-to-male ratio and her low self-image, Evelyn's desperate to have sex with the first willing male (even if she knows he's just using her) so that she can have sex once in her life.
Furthermore, I couldn't believe that Evelyn really had the guts to defy her family and society to get her legal training when she's so compliant to everyone's wishes and whims at the beginning of the story. By the end of the story, she'd gained my respect in her lawyer role but lost it in how she behaved in the romance role.
So the historical part of this story was excellent, the mystery was interesting (though the court scenes at the end were a bit slow paced), but the romance didn't work for me. There was a very minor amount of bad language. The story also contained some "hot" kissing and a brief, not-particularly-graphic sex scene.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
April 4, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Crimson Rooms' by Katherine McMahon. The author wrote in a style that emulated the period in which it was set (1924) so it took a while for me to get into it. But I loved the idea of a protagonist being a young woman lawyer at a time when women were not welcome to practise and the few who had the courage and ambition to challenge the status quo were openly criticised and ostracised. I appreciated that each character had their good points and flaws, in particular Evelyn who is a feisty and engaging person. I also loved the way the very disparate threads of the story came together in the end: Evelyn's two cases and her detective work that was realistic and thoroughly absorbing; her continuing inability to get over her brother's death in the Great War; the sudden appearance of a woman who has had her brother's child; and her unexpected love affair with a barrister. The long shadow of the war envelops almost every character.
February 17, 2010
Evelyn has never stopped mourning the death of her only brother, James. When a nurse shows up on her doorstep stating that the child was James's, Evelyn is more then caught off guard. The nurse says that they need somewhere to stay and Evelyn opens her home to the two strangers.
Evelyn is an attorney who happens upon a case that one of her co-workers didn't feel was important. It turns out that this case hits close to home. What really happened to the brother she loved?
Katharine is a natural! I read this book in one afternoon because I could not put it down. I was hanging on her every word for hours. The characters are perfectly developed and the entire book just seems to flow. A winner for any mystery fan!
Evelyn is an attorney who happens upon a case that one of her co-workers didn't feel was important. It turns out that this case hits close to home. What really happened to the brother she loved?
Katharine is a natural! I read this book in one afternoon because I could not put it down. I was hanging on her every word for hours. The characters are perfectly developed and the entire book just seems to flow. A winner for any mystery fan!
August 8, 2012
Such an enjoyable novel, quietly suspenseful and as full of pent-up emotion as hoydenish Americans imagine early 20th century British ladies to be. How many people aren't what they seem? How many ways are there to sacrifice oneself for something--or for nothing? It's a multi-layered story of the struggles between people's higher and lower selves, the classes, and the sexes in the aftermath of the first World War. The most enjoyable novel I've read all year, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys suspense, mystery, pre-CSI detective stories, BBC costume drama, and the Gothic first-person narrative style. So good!
May 21, 2010
What I loved about this book: setting (London 1924); the heroine's unusual-for-the-time career and her efforts to practice as an attorney; authentic period details in fashion, socio-economic concerns, and post-war sensibilities. I was transfixed by and transported to a time and place that is not much written about, where it was unusual for a woman to dine alone in a tea-room, not to mention smoke a cigarette. The relationships and actions of the characters seemed believable in context.
August 30, 2012
Really good--surprised me. Set in England a few years after the end of WWI, it is told by Evelyn, a woman grieving for her brother, lost in the war, and for her own life, shattered like so many others at the time. One of the first female lawyers, she struggles with two cases in particular, a murder, and a woman threatened with losing her children. Very intelligently and movingly told, and I'm really hoping McMahon decides to write a follow-up at some point.
ETA: just visited her FB page, and she is indeed writing a sequel. She has a number of other books out, so I'm on the hunt.
ETA: just visited her FB page, and she is indeed writing a sequel. She has a number of other books out, so I'm on the hunt.
did-not-finish
September 11, 2011I resorted to a Random Number Generator to pick what to read next. And it pulled out this books number.
The blurb sounded pretty promising, but I soon as I started it, alarm bells started ringing. I couldn't connect to Evelyn, the protaganist; Meredith was portrayed as manipulative & horrible in a totally stereotypical way...I think this tried to be a Sarah Waters novel...but didn't quite manage it.
Who knows, it might suddenly all click into place, but 150 pages in and I just cannot go on.
The blurb sounded pretty promising, but I soon as I started it, alarm bells started ringing. I couldn't connect to Evelyn, the protaganist; Meredith was portrayed as manipulative & horrible in a totally stereotypical way...I think this tried to be a Sarah Waters novel...but didn't quite manage it.
Who knows, it might suddenly all click into place, but 150 pages in and I just cannot go on.
June 17, 2011
Superb book- great combination of an intriguing and at times harrowing personal story, with a compelling element of "whodunnit" The insight into the lives and motivations of the brave and intelligent female pioneers of the period is invaluable for me as I embark on writing a book about a head teacher belonging to this generation.
September 3, 2012
nothing special - had to make myself keep reading.
March 7, 2013
Didn't do much for me I'm afraid...a bit slow to start...and never warned to any of the characters...our felt anything about them...even mild dislike might have sparked an interest.
August 2, 2014
I enjoyed this while I was reading it but thought the ending was rather ridiculously overwrought.
May 22, 2017
(This review first appeared on my website blog at www.lindanewbery.co.uk)
Set in 1924, THE CRIMSON ROOMS is very much concerned with the aftermath of the First World War, with the distinction of featuring a young female lawyer – one of the first of her kind – as its viewpoint character. Evelyn Gifford, at thirty, shares the view of many women of her generation that she is unlikely to marry, and looks to her work for a sense of purpose and the chance to bring about change. She is assistant at the law firm of Breen and Balcombe, where the eponymous Breen is known by reputation as a champion of the poor, and – unlike many of his peers – willing to take on a capable, newly-qualified young woman. Evelyn’s work involves her in two court cases which form the background to the novel.
Since the death in the trenches of Evelyn’s younger brother James, the household in Maida Vale has been exclusively female: Evelyn and her fussy mother, a grandmother and great-aunt. Within the opening pages there are new arrivals: Meredith, a former nurse, and the young boy she introduces as James’ son, of whom Evelyn – but not her mother – has been quite unaware. Although the family’s finances are already stretched, the newcomers must be accommodated; the capriciously charming Meredith proves to be demanding and unproductive, leaving the boy to be looked after while she attends art classes with new friends from the Slade. To Evelyn, the boy brings touching reminders of her lost brother, and must be cherished. She also sees Meredith as a source of information about James’ last days, as the family has had only sketchy details; but when Meredith eventually does confide in Evelyn, a new shock must be absorbed.
Katharine McMahon's writing gives readers the confidence that we won't be let down. Her portrayals of domestic life (tepid celery soup, lavender and mothballs, limited clothing), class and attitudes are convincing without ever being overdone, and Evelyn is believably a product of her time: intelligent, observant, ambitious but wary, slowly learning to make her way against male intransigence and prejudice. As McMahon points out in an afterword, Evelyn was ‘on the horns of a terrible dilemma – her aspiration to be a lawyer must be at the cost of her clients, who in court would be disadvantaged by the sex of their advocate’. The patronising remarks Evelyn receives from judges and magistrates (addressing the bench, she is asked whether the court "is so lowly that it can be used as the playground in which ladies may conduct a flirtation with the law") would be outrageous today, yet she must weather them and prove herself through doggedness and by trusting her insights. Even so, others in her group of women lawyers challenge her for focusing on the saving of individuals, rather than more riskily making them test cases to bring about policy change.
Evelyn’s two cases are of equal interest. In one, she learns that children placed in care institutions are routinely shipped out to Canada, where (in the guise of ‘home children’) some are treated in effect as slave workers. She is determined that Leah Marchant, convicted of abducting her own baby, should be reunited with her two young daughters before this fate befalls them. Seeds are well-planted for this case to be linked to the other: that of an ex-soldier accused of murdering his flirtatious young wife. Evelyn’s instinct tells her that he cannot be guilty, and it’s she who finds and interprets two crucial pieces of evidence; but McMahon subverts the conventions of murder mystery and courtroom drama with a poignant twist which feels exactly right for the character and situation. Evelyn’s emotions are also engaged by Nicholas Thorne, a young barrister with whom she finds herself falling in love – until she has reason to suspect his motives.
THE CRIMSON ROOMS is thoroughly engaging (though the echo of Wilfred Owen’s poem 'The Kind Ghosts' strikes a rare false note, in a letter from James to Evelyn). McMahon seems completely at home in this period – attitudes, even Evelyn’s own at one point, towards rape and shell-shock are very much in keeping – and has created a strong but fallible character with whom readers can readily identify. While the plot becomes increasingly gripping towards the end, the novel never loses sight of its main theme – the pity of war, and the profound effects of loss on survivors and relatives.
Set in 1924, THE CRIMSON ROOMS is very much concerned with the aftermath of the First World War, with the distinction of featuring a young female lawyer – one of the first of her kind – as its viewpoint character. Evelyn Gifford, at thirty, shares the view of many women of her generation that she is unlikely to marry, and looks to her work for a sense of purpose and the chance to bring about change. She is assistant at the law firm of Breen and Balcombe, where the eponymous Breen is known by reputation as a champion of the poor, and – unlike many of his peers – willing to take on a capable, newly-qualified young woman. Evelyn’s work involves her in two court cases which form the background to the novel.
Since the death in the trenches of Evelyn’s younger brother James, the household in Maida Vale has been exclusively female: Evelyn and her fussy mother, a grandmother and great-aunt. Within the opening pages there are new arrivals: Meredith, a former nurse, and the young boy she introduces as James’ son, of whom Evelyn – but not her mother – has been quite unaware. Although the family’s finances are already stretched, the newcomers must be accommodated; the capriciously charming Meredith proves to be demanding and unproductive, leaving the boy to be looked after while she attends art classes with new friends from the Slade. To Evelyn, the boy brings touching reminders of her lost brother, and must be cherished. She also sees Meredith as a source of information about James’ last days, as the family has had only sketchy details; but when Meredith eventually does confide in Evelyn, a new shock must be absorbed.
Katharine McMahon's writing gives readers the confidence that we won't be let down. Her portrayals of domestic life (tepid celery soup, lavender and mothballs, limited clothing), class and attitudes are convincing without ever being overdone, and Evelyn is believably a product of her time: intelligent, observant, ambitious but wary, slowly learning to make her way against male intransigence and prejudice. As McMahon points out in an afterword, Evelyn was ‘on the horns of a terrible dilemma – her aspiration to be a lawyer must be at the cost of her clients, who in court would be disadvantaged by the sex of their advocate’. The patronising remarks Evelyn receives from judges and magistrates (addressing the bench, she is asked whether the court "is so lowly that it can be used as the playground in which ladies may conduct a flirtation with the law") would be outrageous today, yet she must weather them and prove herself through doggedness and by trusting her insights. Even so, others in her group of women lawyers challenge her for focusing on the saving of individuals, rather than more riskily making them test cases to bring about policy change.
Evelyn’s two cases are of equal interest. In one, she learns that children placed in care institutions are routinely shipped out to Canada, where (in the guise of ‘home children’) some are treated in effect as slave workers. She is determined that Leah Marchant, convicted of abducting her own baby, should be reunited with her two young daughters before this fate befalls them. Seeds are well-planted for this case to be linked to the other: that of an ex-soldier accused of murdering his flirtatious young wife. Evelyn’s instinct tells her that he cannot be guilty, and it’s she who finds and interprets two crucial pieces of evidence; but McMahon subverts the conventions of murder mystery and courtroom drama with a poignant twist which feels exactly right for the character and situation. Evelyn’s emotions are also engaged by Nicholas Thorne, a young barrister with whom she finds herself falling in love – until she has reason to suspect his motives.
THE CRIMSON ROOMS is thoroughly engaging (though the echo of Wilfred Owen’s poem 'The Kind Ghosts' strikes a rare false note, in a letter from James to Evelyn). McMahon seems completely at home in this period – attitudes, even Evelyn’s own at one point, towards rape and shell-shock are very much in keeping – and has created a strong but fallible character with whom readers can readily identify. While the plot becomes increasingly gripping towards the end, the novel never loses sight of its main theme – the pity of war, and the profound effects of loss on survivors and relatives.
January 5, 2020
For me, this was one of those books that leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions but with no desire to get the answers.
The first chapter started out strong but the rest of the book stretched across hundreds of pages that left me quite bored. I doubt I would have finished it, or even picked it up, if I didn’t have to read it for school.
Only around page 200 did I take any interest in the story and hundred pages later did it actually become mildly interesting. At page 400, with only fifty pages left, did it the narrative progress at a speed which made it interesting enough to want to read.
Meredith is an interesting character, though she didn’t feel real, more like a tool to get Evelyn to the place the author wanted her. She tells a lot of stories, but they go against each other. Her stories of James, specifically, are very strange and appear to depend on the situation.
Most other characters felt just like that: characters, not people.
Edmund was advertised to be a significant part of Evelyn’s life, but I felt he was kept to the background and only occasionally mentioned, like the author forgot him. Thorne, however, was mentioned all the time, even when he wasn’t relevant to the plot.
Now, the back of the book. It mentions the great influence of the war on everybody’s life, but this is scarcely mentioned and only in the second half hangs over the characters. Once this happens, the descriptions of how everyone was a victim of the war are very good.
The back also states Meredith claimed to be James’s lover. Meredith makes many claims about James, which as I mentioned don’t make much sense, but she never claims to be his lover.
The ‘disturbing connections’ between Evelyn’s cases and James I haven’t seen at all. Except for Thorne knowledge of his death, no one outside the family seems to have even heard of James.
Which brings me to the next point: the cases. Not bad, though quite slow. The Wheeler case only got really interesting when the trial began. Until then they had been buggering on, with nothing really happening. And then Evelyn suddenly knew everything and made up a whole story and it was all true and bam case solved. The Marchant case too dragged on for a while, until suddenly everything was settled and happy and perfect.
Finally, Evelyn. It isn’t unusual for an author to have to get to know their characters, but it felt as if the author couldn’t quite settle on what kind of person she would be. This could be intentional, but it did make it very hard to see her as any kind of person instead of a collection of words not fitting together.
All in all, the narrative was slow and didn’t seem to be going anywhere, but ended reasonably well. I wouldn’t recommend the book, but I didn’t hate it. My family and friends did note that I took a very long time to finish this book, which I suppose is true, as I never really wanted to pick it up again. The review is a bit messy, I think, so sorry about that but I wanted to leave my opinion.
The first chapter started out strong but the rest of the book stretched across hundreds of pages that left me quite bored. I doubt I would have finished it, or even picked it up, if I didn’t have to read it for school.
Only around page 200 did I take any interest in the story and hundred pages later did it actually become mildly interesting. At page 400, with only fifty pages left, did it the narrative progress at a speed which made it interesting enough to want to read.
Meredith is an interesting character, though she didn’t feel real, more like a tool to get Evelyn to the place the author wanted her. She tells a lot of stories, but they go against each other. Her stories of James, specifically, are very strange and appear to depend on the situation.
Most other characters felt just like that: characters, not people.
Edmund was advertised to be a significant part of Evelyn’s life, but I felt he was kept to the background and only occasionally mentioned, like the author forgot him. Thorne, however, was mentioned all the time, even when he wasn’t relevant to the plot.
Now, the back of the book. It mentions the great influence of the war on everybody’s life, but this is scarcely mentioned and only in the second half hangs over the characters. Once this happens, the descriptions of how everyone was a victim of the war are very good.
The back also states Meredith claimed to be James’s lover. Meredith makes many claims about James, which as I mentioned don’t make much sense, but she never claims to be his lover.
The ‘disturbing connections’ between Evelyn’s cases and James I haven’t seen at all. Except for Thorne knowledge of his death, no one outside the family seems to have even heard of James.
Which brings me to the next point: the cases. Not bad, though quite slow. The Wheeler case only got really interesting when the trial began. Until then they had been buggering on, with nothing really happening. And then Evelyn suddenly knew everything and made up a whole story and it was all true and bam case solved. The Marchant case too dragged on for a while, until suddenly everything was settled and happy and perfect.
Finally, Evelyn. It isn’t unusual for an author to have to get to know their characters, but it felt as if the author couldn’t quite settle on what kind of person she would be. This could be intentional, but it did make it very hard to see her as any kind of person instead of a collection of words not fitting together.
All in all, the narrative was slow and didn’t seem to be going anywhere, but ended reasonably well. I wouldn’t recommend the book, but I didn’t hate it. My family and friends did note that I took a very long time to finish this book, which I suppose is true, as I never really wanted to pick it up again. The review is a bit messy, I think, so sorry about that but I wanted to leave my opinion.
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