I enjoyed Rachael King’s debut novel Sound Of Butterflies when it was published a couple of years ago and was therefore very keen to read her new work Magpie Hall.
Magpie Hall is the story of a young woman, Rosemary Summers, a mature student, whose issues with her unresolved past take her back to the family estate, somewhere in Canterbury. The original Summers settler was a remittance man who travelled the world collecting and preserving wildlife before ending up in New Zealand. A complex chap with a problem with anger and a fascination with taxidermy and tattoos, Henry reluctantly began to see potential in this new country, especially after meeting Dora Collins.Meanwhile, back in the present, Rosemary’s grandfather has died and the family farm is to be sold off and the old house, Magpie Hall, restored as a B & B. Rosemary is appalled at her family’s intention to destroy the source of her family memories. It happens that Rosemary’s own life is a bit of a mess with her thesis incomplete and her most recent relationship consigned to the waste bin.
This book is Rosemary’s attempt to uncover what may have been the story of Henry’s New Zealand life at Magpie Hall while she also comes to term with what happened to her and her siblings during a teenage holiday stay with her grandparents. This mix of historical and contemporary events works well and a more complete picture of the Summers family unfolds as the novel progresses.
Rachael is the daughter of the eminent historian Michael King. The Sound of Butterflies, her first book, was set in South America and England. In this new book Rachael is telling a truly New Zealand story, a story of settlers who have made their own history. Although fictitious, this particular history is very enjoyable and well crafted.
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