Marion Grace Woolley – Secure The Shadow

Secure The Shadow by Marion Grace Woolley is a historical fiction novel that follows a dual timeline and explores loss and memory. The history of photography provides the link between the three main characters from over the years.

Although the story begins with Alfred, the redcoat it is Arabella from the Victorian times and the modern-day Cody that drew me into the story, we see Arabella held back in so many ways from pursuing her artistic dreams while Cody, living in the modern day has the independence that Arabella misses living in Victorian times. They both have their own struggles of loss of family and being alone.

The author shows us how photography is n asset in turning what we see into a wider view or even giving us the idea it may be something totally different, therefore reversing our opinion or idea. She also shows us that even photography has limitations and we should not always trust an image we see.

Little Angels is a photography business in the modern-day that memorialises stillbirths for families who have experienced this and, in a way, it is creating memories that did not materialise but allows them to be remembered. The Victorian take on it was to call it post mortem photography, and that has been seen as grotesque and weird, but turn it on its head and we have Little Angels. Maybe it was not as weird or strange as we think? This story shows us the links from the past to the present.
The characters are very well developed, I felt like I was connected to them and they could be real, as I followed their ups and downs, understanding just why they did what they did.

I really loved this book, a piece of historical fiction that was interesting and well written. I always love a good historical book and this one was more than just that. I enjoyed exploring photography to connect the past to the future. Thank you to Rachels Random Resources and the author for the book to give my review today.