In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced
A novel, published by Agora Books
Set against the lush backdrop of early 20th-century India, In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced - the debut novel from Justine Bothwick - is the moving story of one woman's journey back to herself.
Agra, 1938: Eighteen-year-old Florence Hunt has grown up riding horses past the Taj Mahal and chasing peacocks through her backyard under the critical gaze of her father. Increasingly enamoured with his work on the booming railway, Florence yearns to know more, but finds herself brushed away, encouraged only to perform the more ladylike hobbies of singing and entertaining guests. So when a dazzling young engineer walks into her life, she finds herself not only gripped by secret lessons in physics but swept entirely off her feet.
Portsmouth, 1953: Fifteen years later, Florence finds herself pregnant and alone in post-war England - a far cry from her sun-drenched existence in India. Struggling to cope with the bleakness of everyday life in a male-dominated world, Florence is desperate to find the woman she used to be. But when someone from her past reaches out, Florence might just have a chance to start over.
Soaring from the shimmering heights of the big top to the depths of heartbreak, can Florence find the happiness, independence, and passion she once had in order to start living again?
“A heartbreaking yet hopeful tale of one woman’s determination, told in luminous, shining prose.”
“A perfect, absorbing read”
“A moving, exciting narrative of contrasts.”
“A moving book, beautifully written”
Static
A chapbook published by Nightjar Press
“This is a very accomplished story, subtle in the way it unfolds but written in vividly sensual language. A man on a paddle board reaches a local island, and is invited by a woman he meets to a vast, flamboyant mansion. That in essence is the plot, except that the story’s impetus derives from intriguing shifts in the protagonist’s inner world, which is fraught with schisms, and increasingly hallucinogenic, as his sense of personal reality, and agency, slip away. He is constantly beset by the voice of his dead mother, who addresses stinging criticisms about his character, mainly to his father, who is silent.
It would ruin the story to say much more, but the descriptive passages are superb, and accumulative in their effect. I found this a deeply unsettling story and an excellent example of its genre.”
Goodreads review by Michael Fox
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