FICTION: MODERN GOTHIC
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson (Harper)
An idyllic French hamlet, crumbling with age and crammed with secrets, is the Manderley-esque setting for this modern gothic novel, which has been likened to Daphne du Maurier’s classic, “Rebecca.” As in “Rebecca,” Deborah Lawrenson’s main character is a young woman, Eve, very much in love with an older man, Dom, whose absent former wife remains a presence in their lives.
But Lawrenson overlays the contemporary story with a second one, told by Benedicte Lincel, whose family previously owned Les Genevriers, the estate in Provence at which Eve and Dom have taken up residence. The split-screen tales, unfolding in alternating voices that span half a century, eventually converge, with disturbing and surprising answers to questions that haunt both narrators.
In brief, leisurely chapters, Lawrenson embellishes her merging stories with descriptions of the rich scents surrounding the hamlet: rosemary, ripe figs and a breath of lavender so fresh that readers might close their eyes and inhale, expecting a faint whiff of the purple-flowering plant. In real life, Lawrenson’s family owns a similar property in France, which is largely the inspiration for this novel, her first published in the United States. Although, in the end, it is not a modern version of “Rebecca,” “The Lantern” offers a vivid escape to an intriguing place, with location playing as much a role as those who dwell there.
