The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant in Aussie Readers

Jun 20, 2019 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-read, historical-fiction, reviewing-by-request, sent-by-publisher, aussie-authors, arc, 2019-release

It was 1951 when young mother Esther Durrant accompanied her husband John on an unexpected holiday. But unbeknown to her, John was leaving her in the care of a doctor, on an isolated island far from her home and her boy, Teddy. When Esther realized what had happened it was far too late to do anything about it. Abandoned and in the company of other mentally wounded men, nevertheless Esther gradually began to heal.

2018 and in her twenties, Eve had thought she would be with her boyfriend but the fa ...more

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Jun 07, 2019 Helen rated it it was amazing

This is a story that I found very hard to put down, the story of two woman one in the 1950’s and one in 2018 and the story of a love that lasts for over sixty years, the strength and courage shown by Esther and what she went through back in 1950 will have you turning the pages, a fabulous story that I highly recommend.

Esther Durrant is a young wife and mother living in England, it is 1951 and she has been sent away to an isolated island is the Scilly Isles by her husband to get help from a psych This is a story that I found very hard to put down, the story of two woman one in the 1950’s and one in 2018 and the story of a love that lasts for over sixty years, the strength and courage shown by Esther and what she went through back in 1950 will have you turning the pages, a fabulous story that I highly recommend.

Esther Durrant is a young wife and mother living in England, it is 1951 and she has been sent away to an isolated island is the Scilly Isles by her husband to get help from a psychiatrist who seems to be having some success with his patients, after the birth of her second child. Esther soon finds that this island will bring her back from the dark and help her into the future even if there are secrets that are kept for many years. Lives will change on this island.

Rachel Parker is a marine biologist and has just taken up a new position on the Scilly Isles, she is strong and very independent an Australian who has traveled a lot and never settled down, during a storm she gets washed onto rocks and rescued by a recluse Leah and while she is staying at the house she comes across a collection of hidden love letters that have been there for years, Rachel is pulled in by the love that flows from these letter and is determined to discover the writer and who the recipient should have been.

In England 2018 Eve is helping her grandmother with her autobiography learning about her mountaineering life that had kept her going for many years when Eve is contacted by a Rachel, requesting to visit with Esther, this starts a new chain of events that will uncover secrets that have been kept for over sixty years.

This is a moving and compelling story, I loved the setting Scilly Isles sounds beautiful the people that we meet, what they went through and why they were on the island is heartbreaking. But getting to know Richard Creswell the doctor and his way of treating people was uplifting in ways as well and the ending is just the best there were happy tears, I really did enjoy this book, a fabulous read that is sure to be enjoyed by many people.
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Jun 03, 2019 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, historical-fiction, aww2019

This book opens in such an intriguing way. Esther Durrant is a young wife and mother who has recently suffered a terrible loss. She’s been struggling to cope and her husband is apparently taking her on a holiday, leaving their young son behind in the care of others, so that Esther can find some sort of enjoyment again. Their destination seems somewhat suspect – a remote island in terrible weather, a huge mansion. Not really the relaxing and indulgent holiday that Esther was expecting. She astoun This book opens in such an intriguing way. Esther Durrant is a young wife and mother who has recently suffered a terrible loss. She’s been struggling to cope and her husband is apparently taking her on a holiday, leaving their young son behind in the care of others, so that Esther can find some sort of enjoyment again. Their destination seems somewhat suspect – a remote island in terrible weather, a huge mansion. Not really the relaxing and indulgent holiday that Esther was expecting. She astounded to wake the next morning, bound, in a strange room. Her husband has committed her here, to an experimental asylum. She will remain there for months, undergoing therapy and hopefully, learning to cope with the tragedy that has befallen her so that she can return to her family and mother her young son once more.

It wasn’t that long ago that men could commit their wives to mental asylums with relatively little difficulty and at first, I thought that this was what Esther’s husband was doing. Out of sight, out of mine. His intentions are ambiguous at first – dragging a grieving woman out in terrible weather to a remote island under the premise of a ‘holiday’. But there’s no denying that Esther is struggling mentally and needs some help in learning to cope with the terrible tragedy she has experienced. On the island, alone and feeling abandoned by those that should love her, Esther is at first somewhat reluctant and combative, preferring to sleep her time away. But eventually the island and its inhabitants intrigue her and she begins playing a part in the relatively experimental form of psychological evaluation.

Many years later Rachel Parker accepts a job researching marine species on islands off the Cornish coast. Rachel has lived a vagabond life, never staying too long in one place, always moving on to the next challenge and exciting location. This location is somewhat different to the tropical ones that she’s been used to – it’s a much more unforgiving environment than she’s used to but after an adjustment period, she finds herself drawn to one of the remote islands with an old gothic mansion, inhabited by a lone woman who shuns modern conveniences. Forced to stay there after losing her boat in a storm, Rachel finds a suitcase of abandoned clothing with love letters tucked inside, which sends her on a mission to reunite the letters with their intended recipient.

This book was amazing. From the first scene, where I was trying to figure out what had happened to Esther to grieve her so and what her husband’s true intentions were in leaving her on the island, to Rachel and her job. Some of Rachel’s earlier postings sounded like heaven on earth – atolls in the Pacific, living an endless life of summer and beaches. But there’s a serious side to her work, mapping the impact climate change is having by using certain species. I related to her initial feelings about the climate of her new home but Rachel adapts well, becoming a part of the local community and befriending a few of the locals. When she’s basically ‘shipwrecked’ and rescued by a woman living on her own, the mystery deepens with the discovery of letters from Esther’s time staying at Little Embers, the large mansion that was originally used as the hospice.

Esther was a woman in pain – all of the patients at Little Embers were experiencing great mental trauma. The others were men who had fought in the war and returned with PTSD and shock type traumas, which back in 1951, wasn’t particularly well understood. Esther slowly overcomes her resentment at being left there and begins to bond with the fellow patients and also their doctor as well, a kind and thoughtful man who just wants to be able to help people with his ideas and remote location, which helps focus the intensive therapy. The patients are encouraged to be out of doors, to walk and tend the garden, to take part in simple tasks that help keep the house running. Slowly she develops a special relationship with someone, the house becoming no longer somewhere she was abandoned, but a refuge, a place she feels safe and has given her happiness.

This book winds through two timelines – Esther’s ‘incarceration’ for want of a better term and Rachel’s discovery of the letters, which lead her to a woman named Eve living in London, helping her grandmother with her memoirs. Both of the timelines were amazing – I didn’t know what one I wanted to stay in more. I was so interested in Esther’s journey and how she would work through her grief but at the same time, Rachel’s job and exploration of the islands and her discovery of the letters as well as her journey to solve the mystery of writer/recipient kept me riveted too. The writing is so descriptive and wonderful that even though I’ve never left Australia, I could picture myself there, I could feel the sting of the salt and the ice of the wind and rain. The remoteness seemed so appealing as well, travelling by boat to these different islands and exploring a geography that’s totally different to what I’m used to. The characters were brilliantly rendered, the relationships and connections laid out with care.

This is two amazing stories wrapped up in one cohesive telling. I’ve really enjoyed Kayte Nunn’s last two books now and eagerly look forward to whatever else she has to offer in the future. Highly recommend it.

***A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more

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Dec 25, 2019 Kalliste rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is written between 1951 and 2018 with 3 different perspectives that all come together in the end.
It was an interesting read but quite predictable after the links between the timelines start to become established.

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Jan 15, 2022 Rhoda rated it really liked it

This story is set over two timelines: in 1951, Esther is sent to an isolated island by her husband, to recover under the care of a progressive psychiatrist. She initially views it as her prison, but soon comes to see it as her refuge.

In 2018, Rachel is a marine research scientist embarking on a new posting to the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall. When a storm finds her washed up on a remote island, she discovers some hidden love letters and determines to find the intended recipient. Me ...more

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