In her debut novel Rebecca Mascull has brought together so many elements I love to find in books …..
- Female Friendship
- Ghost Story
- Victoriana
- Coming of Age
- Love Story
….. and she has spun them into a story that is both original and engaging.
It is the story of the daughter, the only child, of a hop farmer, born in late Victorian England, told from the moment of her birth.
“When I cry out and open my eyes I see a grey blur. Within it crowds a host of faces; pale and curious, they whisper and nod. This is my first meeting with The Visitors.”
Adeliza is born with little sight, and what little she has she quickly loses. And then, the cruellest of blows, she loses her hearing to a fever. She cannot communicate with the world; she only has The Visitors. But she rages to live and to explore the world. As she grows she runs wild, beyond the control of her parents and their servants.
Her voice was so real, so clear, that I completely understood, and my heart went out to her.
One day she runs into the path of Lottie, a young hop picker, who seizes her by the hand and finds a way to communicate with Adeliza, by drawing patterns onto her hand. Adeliza’s father sees what has happened, and he takes Lottie into his household. She teaches Adeliza, she finds ways to bring her into the world. It was quite wonderful to watch that process, and to be able to share Adeliza’s joy in all that she learned and discovered.
An operation she restore Adeliza’s sight – she had cataracts – allowed her to learn and discover even for. Her joy in seeing the world that she had previously only known by touch was palpable, and so very, very moving.
Adeliza was still constrained by her lack of hearing, but she was freed by an upbringing that had been free of so many of the restrictions that would have been placed on other children of her age.
Her relationship with Lottie grew from teacher-pupil into true friendship, and their bond grew stronger as Adeliza came to understand The Visitors, and was able to give something back to her friend in a time of trial.
Adeliza’s ties with Lottie’s family would take the pair to South Africa, when her brother, Caleb, who they both loved dearly was in terrible trouble. What they discovered there, what they had to do, what they learned, made owed much to The Visitors, and it made Adeliza’s understanding of them complete.
I realised, as the story came to an end, that I had lived with her through her journey from childhood to maturity; Adeliza was an intelligent, compassionate young woman as she sailed towards a new future.
It was a wonderful story. It wasn’t perfect: there were times when things fell into place too easily, and times where practicalities were glossed over.
In the early part of the book I found it difficult to understand where Adeliza’s understanding of abstract concepts came from – though, when I think about it, I have no idea how I learned them myself.
I could understand why The Visitors were there, I could understand that they were an integral part of the story and it wouldn’t have worked with out then, sometimes their presence seemed odd. But, then again, odd can be good …..
The important thing, the thing that overrode everything else, was that I loved the heart and soul of this book.
Adeliza’s voice rang true, and her story spoke so very profoundly about the sheer wonder of being alive, about the capacity to learn and grow, and about the importance of friendship.
Fleur in her World 
Thank you for such a well-written and thoughtful review. I appreciate your careful reading and the wonderfully positive comments you have given. Happy New Year! (Rebecca Mascull)
I was very taken with your book Rebecca, and I wish you success with it.
The early part of this sounds like Helen Keller’s story and the work that Annie Sullivan did to help her to understand the world around her and to communicate with others. Unfortunately, Keller remained both blind and deaf for the rest of her life but she still went on to do some remarkable work. I shall keep watch for this.
Thanks, yes. I did look at Keller in my research and also a lesser known figure – Laura Bridgman: I believe the first deaf-blind person to be educated in America. She was quite famous in her youth, even visited by Charles Dickens! But Keller became much more famous subsequently. I wanted to convey the sheer spirit and defiance of Laura with the urge to learn of Keller.
I did think of Helen Keller as I was reading, but I knew nothing of Laura Bridgman. I’ve just looked her up and I am intrigued.
Hello again Alex, Fleur and everyone else – if you’re interested in Helen Keller, Laura Bridgman and other issues surrounding deaf-blindness, here’s an article I wrote for Wish List about this subject:
https://www.hodder.co.uk/Articles/THE%20VISITORS%20AND%20DEAF-BLINDNESS.page
You can also find links to it on my Twitter, Facebook & Tumblr pages.
Jane, what a fascinating review. You have given enough to whet the appetite about also capture the characters for me to feel that I certainly want to know more. I am off to add this book to a wish list.
It’s a fascinating book Jo, and I’m sure you would love it too.
This sounds wonderful Jane, I hadn’t heard about it before, thank you for reviewing it, on to my wish list.
This one does seem to have got a little lost among quite a rush of new books this month, but hopefully it will find its niches. I do think you’ll love it too, Lindsay.
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Oh just the bullet points at the beginning make me want to read it! I have to wait 6 months for it to be released here though.
I’m so glad you like the sound of it! What country are you in, Eva?
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You know Fleur, I have a strong feeling that I might ‘owe’ Rebecca partly to you! I didn’t find The Visitors till it had been published, – my review was this time last year. It turned up on I think either a Vine second Thursday, as it was then, or the precursor to Vine for All. And I wasn’t sure about it, whether to take it or not. I remember looking at reviews on Amazon, which were clearly written by very ‘bookie’ who were explaining WHY they felt the way they did about books, and also doing a tagline search on WordPress – and I think I discovered that some of our literary tastes are the same, and was picking up some quality stuff from you – and I do have a feeling The Visitors, which of course I was immediately blown away, once I started it, was one of those ‘quality’ introductions.
So, thank you, backwards in time!
How lovely! I didn’t realise that’s how you found it, Lady F. So pleased both of you did. 🙂
I can really see why publishers (and authors!) like bloggers, because the book blog is such an excellent medium for spreading the word on books, and really works brilliantly for all of us who find a book we want everyone we know to read. Friends who don’t share your taste in books might get tired of ‘no, you MUST read this!’ but the book blog is something you can dip into, peak at what someone else is reading….and find a little selection of like minded readers, who lead you on to other like minded readers, who lead you on…
Speaking personally, I find other peoples’ book blogs a much more useful way to find authors than any other method
If I did bring the two of you together I’m thrilled.
I’d given up Vine by the time Adeliza and her story came out into the world, but I remember spotting this lovely post about the book, immediately wishlisting it, and pouncing when I spotted it on Netgalley.