Book Review: The Clockmaker's Daughter

Historical fiction novel by Kate Morton, published 2018

Grand Estates & Dirty Streets

Last month, while my friends and family were rooting for the Steelers at Heinz Field, I embarked on a solo mission to explore the entirety of downtown Pittsburgh. I stumbled across a small local bookstore, that had records haphazardly organized in plastic bins down the center aisle. Over an hour went by while I searched the shelves, and this book ended up in my purchase pile- and I am glad that it did!

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and while I had heard of the glory that is Kate Morton, I had somehow never cracked open one of her books.

Told from numerous perspectives, The Clockmaker's Daughter weaves an intriguing story of murder, the theft of a priceless family heirloom, and survival (in more ways than one). Morton's prose is simply captivating, and it enveloped me into the dirty streets of London during the 1800's, as well as the grand estate of Birchwood Manor. As someone who can quickly fall in love with old architecture and the tale behind them, descriptions such as “I have bought a house. A rather charming house, which although hot grand is of elegant proportions. It sits like a humble, dignified bird within its own bend of the river, at the edge of a small abut perfectly formed village” made it even easier for me to envision the plot as I read through.

4 out of 5 Stars

While other reviewers have been galled by Morton's use of so many character voices and multiple timelines, I found myself enjoying the continual change of pace and inner thought. Events in life are rarely fully formed by one individual's experience and she illustrates that beautifully here. For example, only Lucy knew where Birdie was hiding and why, but without Birdie's dialogue and love for Edward, the denouement wouldn't have made any sense.

My only real complaint is that the story was a slow burn and it wasn't until the last section that the pieces really came together, and even then, the ending of the story was a bit unfulfilling. I wanted to know what exactly happened to Elodie- did she follow through with her wedding and what about her and Jack's discovery? It seemed like there should have been an epilogue.

The Clockmaker's Daughter definitely kept me both entertained and wishing that I could visit Birchwood Manor at it's bend in the river. I'll certainly be picking up the rest of Morton's books soon.