The Silent Tide eBook: Rachel Hore: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

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Review

'Hore, like Kate Mosse, who also often follows the lives of a contemporary and a historical protagonist, prefers to write long, well-researched historical novels in highly accessible prose rather than lit fic, and, with both being bestsellers, who can blame them? ' -- Independent on Sunday

'The premise is good and main characters well-drawn and engaging'-- The Sunday Times

'Alternating between the 1950s and today, publishing assistant Isabel marries a celebrated novelist. But the marriage fails and her name disappears from records. Helping with the novelist's biography, Emily, who works at the same publisher 50 years later, decides to find out what happened to Isabel. The writer's second wife, now a widow, seems to be obstructing the truth. As the story goes back and forth between the eras, fragments of info are slowly revealed. An intelligent thriller'-- This Week's Hot Read Woman

'Ms Hore specialises in intelligent, well-written, romantic fiction, without a hint of chick lit. She's telling the stories of two women in different eras, connected by a novelist…. Delicious bookish romance' --Kate Saunders, Saga magazine

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The new novel from bestselling author Rachel Hore, much loved for her stories in which past and present are grippingly entwined.
When Emily Gordon, editor at a London publishing house, commissions an account of great English novelist Hugh Morton, she finds herself steering a tricky path between Morton's formidable widow, Jacqueline, who's determined to protect his secrets, and the biographer, charming and ambitious Joel Richards. But someone is sending Emily mysterious missives about Hugh Morton's past and she discovers a buried story that simply has to be told…
One winter's day in 1948, nineteen year old Isabel Barber arrives at her Aunt Penelope's house in Earl's Court having run away from home to follow her star. A chance meeting with an East European refugee poet leads to a job with his publisher, McKinnon & Holt, and a fascinating career beckons. But when she develops a close editorial relationship with charismatic young debut novelist Hugh Morton and the professional becomes passionately personal, not only are all her plans put to flight, but she finds herself in a struggle for her very survival.
Rachel Hore's intriguing and suspenseful new novel magnificently evokes the milieux of London publishing past and present and connects the very different worlds of two young women, Emily and Isabel, who through their individual quests for truth, love and happiness become inextricably linked.
Praise for Rachel Hore:
'A beautifully written and magical novel about life, love and family' Cathy Kelly
'Engrossing' Santa Montefiore
'Sumptuous prose, deft plotting, lush settings... enthralling' Daily Mirror

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Product details

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 553 KB
Print Length: 529 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0857209744
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (6 Jun 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.� r.l.
Language: English
ASIN: B008J40K4U
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled

X-Ray: Not Enabled

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (56 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #9 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #6 in Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
- #9 in Kindle Store > Books > Fiction

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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars An absorbing read (three and half stars) 18 July 2013

By little bookworm

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Emily Gordon, editor for a publishing firm in London, is thrilled when she is asked to take lead on a new commision; the book in question a biography of one of England's most beloved novelists, Hugh Morton, though on meeting his widow, Jacqueline, Emily rather fears the woman is quite intent on having the biography just as she wishes it, and hopes she won't exert too great an influence on the author Joel. When Emily then starts to receive secret missives telling the story of Hugh's first wife, Isabel, she quickly finds herself intruiged at this buried story of a woman in the 1950s and her struggle to exert her independance. Isabel's is a sad story; that of a modern woman striving to fight against the norms and expectations of her era, juggling her career aspirations with her personal life, and ultimately slowing sinking under the weight of it all. Emily begins to develop a deep connection to her, determined that her story should be forgotten no more, but that justice should be given to Isabel in Morton's biography; though with Jacqueline and Joel determined to keep Isabel's voice silent, will Emily succeed?

The Silent Tide is another classic Rachel Hore novel; elegantly written in its dual time narrative, with a wonderful recreation of 1940s/50s Britain, a sweeping love story at its heart and slowly emerging secrets. It is a novel that draws you immediately in with its rather dramatic opening chapter; and though thereafter the story is told at a sedate pace, it makes for a cosy and engaging read, with its attention to detail and sense of period. The story at the heart of the novel, that of a woman's struggle for a balance between her career ambitions and independance with a family life is deftly portrayed, and not completely irrelevant even in today's day and age. Hore captures the day to day frustrations for a woman in Isabel's shoes very well, and the novel certainly doesn't paint a rose tinted view of life after marriage, rather portraying the compromises and sacrifices that often have to be made.

Whilst I thought that Hore did a commendable job in exploring such issues, I did however, have difficulty always feeling sympathy for Isabel more personally as a character. For me she came across as too self-absorbed from very early on in the novel, always putting her own wants above everything else and having a somewhat superior attitude, such as the way she seemed to look down almost on her family. Furthermore, she seemed unable to take any responsbility for her own part in how things turned out for her, rather always looking to lay the blame elsewhere; nor did she often do much to help herself. More hypocritical was her inability to even try to understand Penelope's situation, when it had so much resonance with her own; they both after all had found themselves not cut out for motherhood, though at least Penelope dealt with the situation in a way that she felt was best for all. As such I often found Isabel as a charcter irritating, despite having sympathy for her overall struggle.

Perhaps by extension, I found Emily rather too obsessed and biased in her views of Isabel's story and her preoccupation with it regards to Hugh's biography. As an editor I didn't think she was particularly objective. Emily's modern day love triangle which formed the other part to the story was easy enough reading; though I simply wasn't as invested in it, and felt it all rang rather too familiar.

As for Hugh, I don't think Hore really explored him fully as a character. He mostly came across as merely a man very much of his times, yet there were hints of more to him beneath the surface, linked perhaps to his troubled past in the war and lost love; however, in the novel he was only really ever portrayed through Isabel's eyes.

I did think there were some interesting secondary characters, such as Berek; and I did particularly enjoy the first section of the novel which focused on Isabel during her career, and the people she met. By contrast the second part feels oppressive, which obviously was the writer's intent; though in places I must say it did feel rather overly drawn out and depressing.

Overall an absorbing read, and an interesting exploration of a woman's struggles in the 1950s; though for me personally let down a little by some of the actual characterisation. Read more ›

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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing Read 10 Jun 2013

By Ann M

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have read and enjoyed all Rachel Hore's previous novels and this one does not disappoint. It is a dual time novel set both in the late 1940s/early 1950s and the present day. Both Emily the present day character and Isabel the 1940/50s character work in publishing. The link between them is Hugh Morton a best selling author of the 1950s. Emily is editing a forthcoming biography of Hugh whilst Isabel edited his first novel and actually became his first wife. However she gets little or no mention in the biography and this surprises Emily. Hugh's widow and second wife Jacqueline is intent on controlling the content of the biography and wants little mention of his first marriage. Then, from an anonymous source, Emily receives a manuscript written by Isabel about her life and this determines her to find out more about Isabel and her role in Hugh's life. That basically is the plot of the book though there are many twists and turns to it. There are number of interesting and well drawn characters in the book and I found the publishing background interesting. It was an engrossing and enjoyable read.

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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Romantic and Undemanding Downtime Read 6 Jun 2013

By Susie B TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Rachel Hore's latest book is, like her previous novels, a romantic dual time-frame story which is shared between two young women: Emily Gordon in the present day and Isabel Barber in the 1940s and 1950s. In the present day we meet Emily, a young and attractive book editor, who works for Parchment Press, a London publishing house, which owns the publishing rights to the works of recently deceased novelist, Hugh Morton who, in the 1950s, wrote the best selling novel: 'The Silent Tide'. When her employers decide to commission a biography of Hugh Morton, Emily finds herself travelling to Stone House, Salmarsh, in Suffolk to meet Hugh's widow, the rather formidable Jacqueline. At Stone House, Emily meets Morton's biographer, Joel Richards, an ambitious and good-looking young man, who makes her aware that he finds her attractive. But Emily's affections are already spoken for as she is in love with Matthew, a tall and darkly handsome, but rather unreliable poet. However when Matthew calls a halt to their relationship, saying he needs more time and space for his writing, Emily throws herself into her work and, in consequence, becomes much more involved with the charming Joel than she intended. But Joel is not all he appears to be, and Emily soon becomes concerned about the Morton biography, feeling that Joel is allowing himself to become intimidated by the indomitable Jacqueline Morton, who has very firm ideas about what should be included in the biography of her beloved husband, which involves Joel practically ignoring the importance and influence of Morton's first wife, the beautiful and ambitious, Isabel.

In the late 1940s we meet Isabel Barber, a beautiful, auburn-haired young woman who runs away from home and turns up on the doorstep of her Aunt Penelope's London home. There she meets refugee Czech poet, Alex Berec, who helps her get a job at his publishers, McKinnon and Holt. At McKinnon and Holt, Isabel comes into contact with debut novelist Hugh Morton, an older, sophisticated man and, after a whirlwind romance, the pair fall in love and marry. Marriage, however, is not a bed of roses for young Isabel because Hugh expects her to give up her job at McKinnon and Holt to look after his ailing mother, Lavinia - but Isabel's work is not just a job in her eyes, she thinks of it as her career. And Lavinia Morton, a rather imperious and cold woman, has no hesitations in making Isabel aware that she thinks she is not good enough for Hugh, and when Hugh's old childhood sweetheart, Jacqueline, makes a reappearance on the scene and ingratiates herself into their lives, Isabel begins to think she might just be disappearing. (No spoilers - there is a lot more for prospective readers to discover).

Unashamedly romantic, Rachel Hore's latest novel makes for entertaining downtime reading. The author's description of both Emily's and Isabel's working life in publishing was very well-depicted and I enjoyed the descriptions of the Morton family home and its environs. The author also carefully described her main characters' appearances and personalities - although I would have liked to have learnt more of their inner thoughts and feelings, and I would have been interested in reading more about the Czechoslovakian poet, Alex Berec, and also more about Isabel's friend, Vivienne, a young Jewish scientist. I thought Isabel's frustration at having to give up her editing job was realistically portrayed by the author, as were the latter stages of Isabel's pregnancy and her post-natal depression. I should perhaps mention that I found some of the situations and language rather romantically cliched: "..my temptress, we must wait... I want you madly.." says Hugh when Isabel offers herself to him before their wedding and, later: "I want my wife and I will have her!" However, this is not intended to be a great literary novel; it has been written with entertainment firmly in mind - and, on that basis, I found this an enjoyable story which I started and finished in one long and very lazy sitting; so, in summary, if you are feeling in the mood for a light, romantic holiday, downtime or bedtime read, then this should fit the bill nicely.

3.5 Stars. Read more ›

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerising 2 Nov 2013

By Welsh Annie TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE VOICE

Format:Paperback

I found this book absolutely mesmerising from beginning to end, an absolute page turner with none of that wrenching from historical (late 1940s/50s) to present day story that you sometimes get, perfectly paced, with engaging female heroines and a strong supporting cast. Hugh's mother Lavinia is a real tour-de-force, and I also really enjoyed the publisher Stephen McKinnon, exotic Aunt Penelope and the manipulative Jacqueline. I loved the setting of the world of writers and publishing - a book about the world of books is always a sure-fire winner for me, and this one was so cleverly done with the clues being left for Emily in the present day while the reader gains more of the story by following Isabel and Hugh's story. The background - the publishing world, the North Sea flood of 1953, the Suffolk settings - all seem meticulously researched. The social issues of the historical story are really well done too - the expectation that marriage meant the end of a woman's working life, the challenges faced by those who don't conform to the norm.

If you're a lover of Susanna Kearsley, Barbara Erskine, Kate Morton - or have enjoyed any of Rachel Hore's other books - I guarantee you'll love this one.

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