Maggie Humm – Talland House

‘Talland House’ by Maggie Humm is a historical fiction novel which is set in the years before World War One up to 1918.

The story revolves around a young woman, Lily who has been sheltered in her upbringing. She realises that if she wants to fulfil her dream of becoming an artist she needs to become more worldly, in order to do that she decides to travel to Paris for tuition. Lily then goes to St. Ives in Cornwall, meets Louis, a man with the same interests as her. He is a tutor and fellow artist who she ends up falling in love with. In St Ives, she also meets the Ramsays. Mrs Ramsay becomes almost a substitute mother to her and a woman that she feels she would like to be like, and Mr Ramsay who is a very volatile man, to say the least. She spends a lot of time at Talland House with them and spends time painting and meeting other artists.

During the war years, Lily becomes a suffragette and a nurse in London and throughout these terrible time, Talland house is a beacon for her. Twenty years later she is exhibiting a painting of Mrs Ramsay’s dahlias and she meets Louis there, to her surprise. He passes on some devastating news.

To me, Lily was a great character. A woman with the strength and determination that women needed in those days to get anywhere in life. It was lovely to see her grow and flourish as the story developed. Her love for Mrs Ramsay almost transcended her love for her real mother and this is clearly her motivation as the story goes on. Her love and loss also shape her as the person she becomes and I really empathised with her as she battled through the war years.

This is a book that slowly envelopes you, with vivid descriptions of St Ives harbour and of Talland House. The pace is like a meander through St Ives, take your time, no need to rush. I do realise others may not like the slowness of this story, but for me, it was just right. In conclusion a lovely book for me, I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and The publisher for my copy of Talland House.