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Review
It would be fallacy as much as cliché to describe Ms Davy as a star of the future as The Legacy of Eden shows, she is a talent who is already very much here. We Love This Book
A haunting tale, beautifully written. An impressive debut Sarah Winman, bestselling author of When God Was a Rabbit
Totally gripping this is a seriously impressive debut Lindsay Frankel, Red Magazine
Combine Daphne DuMaurier with Jane Smiley, and you'll get The Legacy of Eden. This dark tale of a golden farm family is a wonderfully Gothic read. --Jenna Blum, bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Stormchasers
A haunting tale, beautifully written. An impressive debut Sarah Winman, bestselling author of When God Was a Rabbit
Totally gripping this is a seriously impressive debut Lindsay Frankel, Red Magazine
Combine Daphne DuMaurier with Jane Smiley, and you'll get The Legacy of Eden. This dark tale of a golden farm family is a wonderfully Gothic read. --Jenna Blum, bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Stormchasers
Review
'It would be fallacy as much as cliche to describe Ms Davy as a star of the future - as The Legacy of Eden shows, she is a talent who is already very much here.' - We Love This Book 'A haunting tale, beautifully written. An impressive debut' - Sarah Winman, bestselling author of When God Was a Rabbit 'Totally gripping - this is a seriously impressive debut'- Lindsay Frankel, Red Magazine 'Combine Daphne DuMaurier with Jane Smiley, and you'll get The Legacy of Eden. This dark tale of a golden farm family is a wonderfully Gothic read.' -- Jenna Blum, bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Stormchasers. 'A host of vibrant characters - both good and bad - litter this richly woven tapestry of emotion and imagination. An accomplished debut novel.' - Star magazine. 'A novel with a gothic feel that is full of fascinating detail and a great sense of place and one that I can't recommend highly enough. It is wonderfully plotted and paced and a complete pleasure to read.' Daily Mail
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is pitched as a reworking of I, Claudius set on a corn farm in Iowa, called Aurelia, where a matriarch works to keep the legacy of the farm alive no matter what the cost. Her youngest grandchild, Meredith, is forced to go back to the farm and confront its dark secrets when her cousin, its owner, dies.
I thought this was an incredibly accomplished debut, full of fascinating characters and some really shocking moments. The secrets hidden in the farm keep you guessing throughout, and there's a really claustrophobic sense to the farm - as if it, and its land, really is a separate kingdom where normal laws don't apply. Lavinia is a fascinating villainess and even though I hated her I was also fascinated by her drive and strength to develop Aurelia's legacy. This has some really lyrical writing, and I was covered in goosebumps by the end. I really recommend this read if you like smart, atmospheric novels that convey a real sense of place as well as flawed, believable, characters.
I thought this was an incredibly accomplished debut, full of fascinating characters and some really shocking moments. The secrets hidden in the farm keep you guessing throughout, and there's a really claustrophobic sense to the farm - as if it, and its land, really is a separate kingdom where normal laws don't apply. Lavinia is a fascinating villainess and even though I hated her I was also fascinated by her drive and strength to develop Aurelia's legacy. This has some really lyrical writing, and I was covered in goosebumps by the end. I really recommend this read if you like smart, atmospheric novels that convey a real sense of place as well as flawed, believable, characters.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book had me hooked from start to finish; it's a real page-turner and I often missed my tube stop in the mornings and evenings as I was desperate to reach the end. What an accomplishment for a debut novelist. It's up there with the best, better than some books by more established writers I've read this year and I'm desperately scouring blogs to find out when I can get my hands on her next tome.
The characterisation, setting and fluidity of language used is captivating and it achieved the impossible - actually making me want to visit Iowa! Lavinia, the matriach is a character that will undoubtedly split opinions but I was fascinated by her and drawn in by her ways. The ending had me holding my breath and you walk away unsettled and yet wanting to relive every moment again and again. Amazing!
The characterisation, setting and fluidity of language used is captivating and it achieved the impossible - actually making me want to visit Iowa! Lavinia, the matriach is a character that will undoubtedly split opinions but I was fascinated by her and drawn in by her ways. The ending had me holding my breath and you walk away unsettled and yet wanting to relive every moment again and again. Amazing!
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This book describes the trials and tribulations encountered by several generations of one family. The story is told by both recollections from a grandmother to her granddaughter on her death bed, and the granddaughters own memories of her childhood. The plot revolves around the intimate relationships of the family, and how the people closest to you can hurt you the most.
The book mainly focuses on the women of the family, and how several members of the family can be so completely different. There is a wide spectrum of characters, from the viciously ambitious Lavinia, to the meek and down trodden Georgia-May. All the characters are well rounded and interesting in their own ways, and for many different reasons.
The characters are very isolated in the book and due to the skewed views of Lavinia, they seem to feel they are better than the rest of the town and rarely bother with anyone outside the family circle. This self imposed isolation leads to all the characters being overly emotional, and unhealthily dependant on the small world they have created for themselves. After several tragedies and various problems, the family structure begins to crumble, leading to the awful final act that dissolves the family completely.
The setting for the book is the sprawling lands of an Iowa farm, which I felt the author described very realistically. The day to day running of the farm, business deals and prospects were detailed clearly, and added to the feeling that the farm was something to be proud of and to fight for. The descriptions of the land and how it is farmed were so vivid, that I was surprised to find that the author is not American and that she actually lives in London! It is a credit to her talent that her writing automatically made me assume she was well acquainted with the small town farms of America.
This was a very enjoyable debut novel. The family dynamics and style of writing reminded me of early Virginia Andrews books, where the focus is on how family can both be a blessing and a curse. I am looking forward to a long lived career from Nelle Davy.
The book mainly focuses on the women of the family, and how several members of the family can be so completely different. There is a wide spectrum of characters, from the viciously ambitious Lavinia, to the meek and down trodden Georgia-May. All the characters are well rounded and interesting in their own ways, and for many different reasons.
The characters are very isolated in the book and due to the skewed views of Lavinia, they seem to feel they are better than the rest of the town and rarely bother with anyone outside the family circle. This self imposed isolation leads to all the characters being overly emotional, and unhealthily dependant on the small world they have created for themselves. After several tragedies and various problems, the family structure begins to crumble, leading to the awful final act that dissolves the family completely.
The setting for the book is the sprawling lands of an Iowa farm, which I felt the author described very realistically. The day to day running of the farm, business deals and prospects were detailed clearly, and added to the feeling that the farm was something to be proud of and to fight for. The descriptions of the land and how it is farmed were so vivid, that I was surprised to find that the author is not American and that she actually lives in London! It is a credit to her talent that her writing automatically made me assume she was well acquainted with the small town farms of America.
This was a very enjoyable debut novel. The family dynamics and style of writing reminded me of early Virginia Andrews books, where the focus is on how family can both be a blessing and a curse. I am looking forward to a long lived career from Nelle Davy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Stick with it !
I really struggled to get into this book to start with but am SO happy that I perservered. Once I was in , I was hooked and struggled to put it down. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Tilly Tompkins
Can a house affect a family?
The premise of this book is can a house have an adverse effect on generations of a family. Personally, I'd say no. Read more
Published 1 month ago by LEP
Unravelling the past
The story covers 3 generations of the Hathaway family in Iowa and their farm, Aurelia, starting in the 1940s. Read more
Published 1 month ago by HJK
Dysfunctional family life at its very best.
Aurelia, home of the Hathaways is set on 3000 acres of Iowa farmland and was originally created and owned by Lavinia Hathaway the family matriarch. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Karen Baxter
Good but a bit slow going
The Legacy of Eden retells the story of the three generations of the Hathaway family and Aurelia, a farm in Iowa. It is narrated by the youngest child, Meredith. Read more
Published 1 month ago by AimeeW
dynastic tale of ambition and downfall
Aurelia is a grand estate set in 3000 acres of Iowa farmland; it is a monument to the Hathaway dynasty created by Lavinia Hathaway. Read more
Published 1 month ago by H. Ashford
Barbara Taylor Bradford Ravenscar Dynasty Reincarnated.
My title sounds bad, but the book reminds me very much of her ravenscar dynasty books. Same premise, same back story, same characters almost. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sweetlilac
Up There With the Very Best
It's really very rare that a book manages to effectively combine beautiful, lyrical language with a gripping, un-put-downable story, but from the very first page, I was hooked by... Read more
Published 2 months ago by AFan
Sweeping family saga full of ambition, back-stabbing and betrayal
The author cites I, Claudius as her inspiration for this book, but moving the story from classical Rome to a farm in Iowa does rather limit the potential. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Roman Clodia
a cracking debut novel
I liked this book from the opening page, I was gripped in a story of power struggles within the farm of Aurelia, a family that is centred around the scheming Grandmother. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Charlie&Molly
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