A review by mwgerard
The Undoing of Violet Claybourne by Emily Critchley

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-undoing-violet-claybourne/

The narrator Gillian — known as Gilly — has been shipped off to the typical cold boarding school. Unhappy and lonely, she hasn’t made any friends among the cliquish girls. Then she falls in with Violet Claybourne, a girl even more ostracized than herself. If not endeared exactly, Gilly is fascinated by and protective of Violet. The two reply upon each other for companionship. As Christmas break approaches, Violet invites Gilly to come stay with her and meet her family. Gilly has heard stories about these sisters, and the manor house, and agrees.

Gilly is unprepared for the impenetrable tensions between the various family members. The Violet’s sisters barely tolerate Violet and her weird repetitive habits. They quickly begin to cannibalize her friendship with Gilly. The parents only vaguely acknowledge Violet, giving her up as a lost cause. Instead they focus on the other sisters who have any chance of landing a rich husband who can save their failing estate.

Then, early this morning we’d woken to find the park covered in a thick white blanket. The Claybournes had exchanged Christmas gifts after breakfast, mostly cashmere and crystalized fruits. There was a box of fruit for me too. Although the food had plentiful the atmosphere at lunch had been strained. Emmeline and Laura were still clearly put out about not being allowed to take part in the Boxing Day fox hunt. ~Loc. 1629

All of their careful plans are thrown into a panic when someone is shot on the day of the hunt. Coverups abound, as do false accusations. Gilly, the narrator and our guide in this strange world, will see the genteel facade fall away quickly. She will have to decide where her loyalty lies.

Set in 1938 England, the story is steeped in the very particular interwar setting, with dozens of connotations. Crucially, it’s the year Rebecca was written (and set). Like the classic Du Maurier novel, this book focuses on a shabby manor house, a young woman who struggles to fit in, and a crumbling aristocracy intent on covering up dark secrets. It also displays shades of I Capture the Castle and Atonement.

Those books have become classics because there is something imperfectly, dreadfully human about the main characters. The sisters are well-drawn and vivid, but I’m not sure Violet Claybourne quite seizes upon the aspects of its predecessors. I wasn’t yelling at them in my head, like I was with the second Mrs. de Winter. I didn’t ache for Violet like I did for Cassandra.

Still, it is a compelling narrative, well worth the reading. Critchley aptly evokes the very particular place, time, and class that these strange characters inhabit. One can imagine them in a loop, repeating their mistakes for all time in some liminal space where it is always 1938.

My thanks to Sourcebooks for the review copy. Read via NetGalley

Publisher: ‎Sourcebooks Landmark (March 4, 2025)
Language: ‎English
Paperback: ‎400 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1728287197



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