A Hidden Life by Adèle Geras

Here are some of my thoughts on the book A Hidden Life by Adele Geras

A Hidden Life by Adèle Geras

Sometimes you read the first page of a book and you just know that it is going to be brilliant, better than brilliant in fact – A Hidden Life by Adèle Geras is one such example. Adèle Geras creates an epic tale of family life woven together with threads from the past. As I was reading this beautiful book I became absorbed in the world of Constance Barrington and her family. The words jumped off of the page and unfolded in front of me as if I was watching a tense family drama play out on the big screen. My only burning question was which actresses and actors should play the pivotal characters – giving them the passion and magic they so rightly deserved.

For me this book contained a story with many complex layers, reading the book was like cutting into an onion and seeing its many layers unfold before me. The underlying theme of this book was families and how they communicate and so easily fall apart. This book showed that family loyalties can often become tested and that blood is not always thicker than water. It was about love and passion and how heartbreaking both can be and also how fantastic they can be if they come along at the right time. It was about discovery – discovering the past, family secrets hidden away because they were simply too painful to reveal and seeing people for who they truly were. Looking past a person’s normal every day façade and seeing the real person, seeing their true colours for the very first time. This book was about having dreams and ambitions and going for them. It was about betrayal and the evil with which we are all capable of when put into certain situations. Sometimes, as this book shows us, we will do the cruellest of things just to get what we want in life no matter who we hurt along the way. Finally this book was about money and desire – how money can be the root of all evil and destroy a person morally yet for some having no money at all can in fact be a blessing rather than a curse.

Adèle Geras tackles all these burning issues and many more besides in her fantastic book – A Hidden Life, which invites the reader to have a sneaky peak at the lives of the Barrington family right from the point where everything goes pear shaped and the head of the family, the matriarch, passes away and leaves behind a trail of destruction and betrayal that sees her remaining family torn apart and at each others throats.

Constance Barrington was a woman with money and plenty of it by all accounts. She was a snob who effortlessly made it clear who she liked and disliked. She was a wife and a mother yet she appeared to lack any maternal warmth and treated her husband, John Barrington, quite poorly. She spoke about him quite disrespectfully even before his death. She implied constantly that he owed her a great debt for being allowed to marry her and to share her wealth. Without her he was nothing, something she did not care to let people forget. Constance was a cruel and hard woman, wicked even, but it was only after her death that her family found out just how cruel she really was.

Adèle Geras has carefully put together a book that gives the reader a real rollercoaster ride. Memories of the past fill the chapters of the book bringing the life of the long since deceased John Barrington to life. Paragraphs from his book – Blind Moon bring his time in the prison camp to life and allow the reader to see why John Barrington was the man he was. The rest of the book is filled with the lives of the remaining family members, who all seem to have very complex lives and interesting back stories for readers to get their heads around. Adèle Geras gives the reader a chance to see how their lives twist and turn following the reading of Constance Barrington’s amended will in which, the youngest grand daughter Lou or Louise is left penniless with the just the copyright to her grand fathers books bequeathed to her. In comparison Nessa (Vanessa) and Justin, Constance’s two other grand children stand to inherit a small fortune. There is an understandable outcry at this news. Nessa and Justin bicker because Nessa thinks it is unfair that Justin has inherited Constance’s house whilst all she got from the will was half of Constance’s estate, which was still worth a hell of a lot of money. Matt, Constance’s son, is outraged that Lou has been left with nothing of any value. He believes that the will is unfair but it has been drawn up correctly and legally and in truth there is little anyone can do about it. Tempers flare as a result of the reading of the will and old ghosts resurface to cause trouble and to wreck the lives of those remaining. Maybe however unbeknown to Constance she has in fact given Lou the greatest gift of all.

Constance Barrington is a difficult woman to please. She is wealthy and looks down her nose at people less fortunate than herself. She belittles her husband and talks about him being a disappointment both in bed and as a husband. As the story unfolds we discover that Constance was manipulative and in some ways she felt shut out of her husband’s life. She detested him holed up in his study all the time writing and only showed any interest when she thought his books might bring in some cash. When his books failed to do so she lost all interest in them. We learn that Constance hid letters to her husband, throwing many away – destroying them so he would never get to know of their existence or what they contained. One such letter was the letter later found by Lou in the smashed vase from Mme. Franchard, who was writing to John Barrington after reading a copy of Blind Moon. By hiding the letter Constance cruelly prevented her husband from meeting his mother’s sister.

Constance was jealous of Lou because she got on so well with her grand father. Constance treated Lou rather harshly as a child probably because she was jealous of this bond the two shared. It was probably why Constance left Lou no money in the will just the copyright to her dead husband’s books. Even from the grave Constance was punishing Lou and rubbing her nose in the fact that she was the least favoured grand child.

Constance we are told also favoured Ellie, Matt’s first wife, over Phyl, his second wife. Ellie was always the golden girl in Constance’s eyes and Phyl could never compete with that. Maybe it was because Ellie was flamboyant and reminded Constance of herself at that age or maybe it was because Ellie had money and style and Phyl had neither. Phyl didn’t fit into Constance’s social circle so like Lou in many ways she was always made to feel second best. It was interesting how Constance always favoured Nessa and Justin over Lou, when it was Lou who was related to her by blood.

I think the house itself played a big part in the book. Milthorpe House was a big old house that had been the lynch pin of the family for years yet it was also a giant rock that dragged everyone down. Matt had grown up in the house but he had felt that his own relationship with his parents was strained at best. Constance was always so rigid and unforgiving and his father was so distant it was like he was living in a different world. Lou had loved the time she spent with her grand father at Milthorpe House but she hated her grand mother and by the time she died she felt no love towards her at all. It angered Lou to see the way Constance treated John Barrington when he was alive. Nessa and Justin enjoyed going to Milthorpe House because it got them away from their stepmother. Constance had a great fondness for them both and enjoyed their regular visits. On her death both Nessa and Justin said they felt no sentimentality over Milthorpe House. It was just a house, nothing more. To Justin, who inherited the house after Constance’s death, the house was literally nothing more than a pile of bricks and mortar. All Justin was interested in was making himself lots and lots of money. When Lou went back to the house after it had been sold she felt sad when she thought about her grand father in the house but she also felt that the house had lost its life. It was nothing more than a skeleton with the rooms stripped of furniture and life.

John Barrington although deceased played a large part in the story. The story of his time in the prisoner of war camp and the death of his beloved mother allowed the reader to see why he was the man he was in later life. His story created the catalyst, which moved the rest of the story forwards and at something of a rapid rate.

John Barrington had captured his memories of the time he spent in the prison camp on paper turning his heartbreaking story into a work of fiction, which we later find out to be an accurate account of the early years of his life. We learn that his novel Blind Moon was based on his experiences and feelings during a time when he lost all that was dear to him and found his world turned upside down. John, who was called Peter in Blind Moon, witnessed his mother giving birth in a prison camp hut. Surrounded by women and covered in bright red blood he heard her scream in agony as his sister called Mary in the book was born. Peter was scared by what he witnessed, believing that his mother was giving birth to a monster and that this monster was killing her. He was probably right – giving birth to Mary did weaken his frail mother still further and probably speeded up her inevitable death. John as Peter watched as his beloved mother got weaker and weaker. Unable to do anything for her he willed the baby to die because she was getting all of his mother’s attention and he wanted some attention for himself. He also felt that the baby was using up too much of his mother’s failing strength. When the baby, Mary, died quite soon after her birth he felt guilty believing he had killed her with his bad thoughts. He wanted her to die and she had died. Knowing that the events in Blind Moon were in fact true and not a work of fiction at all it is hard to imagine how John Barrington must have felt believing that he had caused his baby sister to die by willing her dead. Of course it was not his fault at all but to a young boy – scared and afraid for the future it must have been a heavy guilt to carry on his shoulders every day. I am sure that even in adulthood John Barrington still thought of the death of Mary and blamed himself.

Sadly the worst was yet to come as Louise, John’s mother, passed away and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. In the book Peter blamed Dulcie, his mother’s so-called best friend, for his mother’s death. He had watched Dulcie fussing over his mother just before she died. Dulcie had promised to get help for his sick mother but in the end she did nothing. She returned to her own hut and let her friend die. John, as Peter in the book, knew that Dulcie had broken her promise to his mother about getting help and he hated her for that. He accused her of murdering his mother but she claimed he was just being hysterical and that his mother would have died even with medical help. In truth looking at the circumstances she was probably right but at the time viewing the world through the eyes of a young boy it did look like Dulcie had played a large part in Louise’s death.
As the book progresses we find out that Dulcie always wanted a baby of her own. When Mary was born she thought that if Louise died she could raise her as her own and no one would be any the wiser. She would get her wish and have a baby of her own after all. When Mary died soon after birth Peter was the next best thing. With his mother out of the way she could look after him and bring him up as her own son. He couldn’t protest even if he wanted to. He had no real choice but to go a long with her stories – if he had no one to care for him when he left the camp he would have ended up in an orphanage all alone, at least with Dulcie (who in real life was called Rosemary) he stood a chance in life.

As the story unfolds even further we discover that John never forgave Dulcie/Rosemary for murdering his mother. Constance detested Rosemary because of the way she spoke to her. Matt recalled an argument between his mum and dad when his mother had been complaining about the way Rosemary had spoken to her. His father answered her by saying that Rosemary was nothing to do with him, she was not his mother. Before her death Rosemary sent John a letter begging his forgiveness for her part in his mother’s death. She admitted in the letter that her eagerness to have a child of her very own had stopped her from acting like a good friend and seeking medical help for Louise. In the letter she hoped that if she met up with Louise in heaven she would forgive her for what she had done.

John Barrington’s character was extremely interesting and also something of an enigma. He’d had a very painful and traumatic childhood being raised in the prisoner of war camp. He’d seen many terrible things happen in the camp including the death of his mother and baby sister. He had seen people tortured and knew of many people who had vanished overnight, people he knew were most probably dead. He had watched his mother die and witnessed how her so-called best friend had played a part in her death by letting her die just so she could get what she wanted – a child. John Barrington had then had to spend the rest of his life being brought up by a woman he had once liked but after his mother’s death hated. He saw her as a murderer and a liar. It must have been intolerable for him living with that secret and being unable to tell anyone. Imagine hating someone so much and not being able to do anything about it, being forced to live with her and let her bring him up as her own. Of course John got married to Constance and had a son, Matt, but even in adulthood he still seemed very much locked in the past. He spent so much time shut away in his study on his own writing his books. Maybe writing was his way of keeping the memory of his mother alive?

Constance was a hard woman to live with and maybe that was why he found solace in the company of his grand daughter Lou. She was able to bring him out of himself. He was able to share his stories with her because she was genuinely interested and wanted to hear them. We later learn that Lou looks very much like her grand fathers mother, Louise. It is like looking at a mirror image of herself Lou comments. Perhaps John saw that likeness and that is why he spent so much of his time with Lou?

Matt was perhaps the weakest character in the book. Let me quantify that statement. He was weak in the sense that he lacked any real backbone. When tested or angered he slipped into his professional mode making him seem a man of little or no substance or emotion. Maybe Matt inherited this personality trait from his father who would hide away in his study to avoid a fight? Matt used his professional stance to prevent his real feelings being exposed to the world. Also I found it interesting how Matt ended up with two children to take care of that were not his own. Two young children who were literally dumped on him by his ex-wife whilst she went travelling with another man. John Barrington of course had been brought up by his mother’s best friend. Although not the same set of circumstances they were slightly similar scenarios.

In relationships Matt was gullible and easily swayed. He flirted with Phyl at the vets making her believe she was in with a shot, then just like that he met and fell in love with Ellie. Soon after he was married. When Ellie ran off leaving Matt with her two children to care for he quickly turned his affections to Phyl once more. I think this is where the saying talk about having your cake and eating it comes into play.

Ellie was the lavish, sexy wife who did what she wanted when she wanted. Phyl on the other hand was maternal and homely with a very caring attitude. They were complete opposites in every way possible. Ellie and Matt had fallen in love, got married and then quickly divorced. Matt hadn’t had the time to really get to know Ellie before she got bored and left him to go travelling with another man leaving her two children – Nessa and Justin behind in his care. Saddled with two children who weren’t even his own flesh and blood must have been really hard to cope with. Matt must have wondered at the time if Ellie had only got together with him so she could dump her children and run away knowing they would be in safe hands. Matt could have put up a fight, refused to care for the children but that wasn’t his style. He was dependable and reliable no matter what. Matt eventually married Phyl and had Lou, his very own daughter.

Matt spent a lot of the book comparing Phyl to Ellie and vice versa. Ellie we learn was passionate and good in bed. She set him on fire when they had sex together. It was the one thing he really missed about her. Phyl on the other hand was the complete opposite. She made love it appeared more out of duty than because she felt passionate. She didn’t go in for passion and heated sex. Matt said he fantasised about Ellie at all the wrong moments suggesting that she popped into his head when he was making love to Phyl.

When Ellie returned from abroad and became an ever present figure in his life once again Matt was torn between behaving responsibly and being reckless and foolish. He loved Phyl but a big part of him still wanted Ellie. She gave him something that Phyl couldn’t and he missed that. When Matt slept with Ellie, I think it was inevitable that he would sleep with her; he enjoyed himself a great deal. He felt guilty that night after they’d had wonderful sex but not guilty enough to go home or sleep on the sofa, instead he got back into bed with Ellie and spent the whole night with her. When Phyl discovered his lies and deceit he crumbled. Seeing his cosy life with Phyl falling apart was his big wake up call. He was suddenly faced with losing his wife and house and quite possibly his daughter and grand daughter all because of one night of passion with Ellie. He pleaded with Phyl to stay with him, begging for a second chance. If I were Phyl I’m not totally sure I would have stayed with Matt. He loved her there was no doubt in my mind about that but Ellie still had a big claim on him and I think she always would. She would be forever in their lives one way or another because of the children, like a dark cloud hanging over their marriage just waiting to erupt. Matt promised nothing would ever happen with Ellie again and he probably meant those words as he said them I don’t doubt that for a second, but Ellie knew how to push Matt’s buttons. She gave him what Phyl couldn’t. Matt even admitted to himself near the end of the book that he still thought about Ellie and those thoughts excited him. He even argued with himself that there was nothing wrong with fantasising over his ex-wife. Phyl was always going to have to compete with Ellie even if she was miles away in another country.

Ellie was manipulative and flamboyant. She was like a volcano erupting and leaving a savage trail of devastation in her wake. She had captured Matt’s heart and broken it by running out on him. She’d callously dumped her two children onto him saying she wasn’t the maternal type and then out of the blue she came back ready to play happy families. With both of her children grown up she was ready to play at being a mother and at the same time meddle in Matt and Phyl’s marriage. It makes me wonder what kind of woman Ellie really was – having two children and just leaving them behind with a man who was not even their father or a blood relation. She married Matt and ran off shortly after with another man – if she was going to do that why marry Matt in the first place and put him through all that agony?

Ellie was always Constance’s favourite, which angered Phyl. Ellie had the good looks and charm whereas Phyl was down to earth and plain. It makes you wonder how Matt could be attracted to two such different women let alone marry them both.

When Ellie came back it was clear that she wanted Matt. She engineered meetings between the two of them to discuss the children and the will, but mostly so she could flirt with him. Matt loved the attention and found it hard to control himself and his actions. Ellie was like a poison seeping through his body. When she was around rational thought went out the window. Ellie wouldn’t have got back with Matt, not long-term anyway, I am sure of that. She liked a quick fling then move onto the next lover or victim. She wanted sex with Matt and didn’t care about the fact he was remarried. I believe that men were little more than play things to Ellie. Toys to be picked up and then just as quickly tossed aside. When Ellie got Matt drunk he didn’t put up much of a fight because he wanted sex with Ellie just as much as she wanted sex with him. For a short period of time all of Matt’s sense went racing out the window. Matt told Phyl that what had happened between him and Ellie was meaningless, Ellie would soon forget it. I think he was correct with that statement. I think to Ellie it was just sex and as soon as it was over she would move onto her next conquest. For Matt however I don’t think he would forget that easily or quickly. His memories of Ellie were a lot stronger than he let on to Phyl. Ellie wasn’t a horrible person – that is too strong a word to use to describe her and her personality but she wasn’t all that nice either. She used people to get what she wanted in life and she didn’t appear to care who she hurt in the process.

Phyl was the ideal wife in many ways. She never made a fuss especially not in public, she had a placid temperament and she could put her mind to most things when forced to do so. Phyl got the rough end of the deal really when you think about it. She had been keen on Matt before Ellie came along but had been put on hold so to speak in favour of the more glamorous woman. Phyl could not compete with Ellie on any level. Ellie was literally one of a kind. When Ellie ran out on Matt he rekindled his friendship with Phyl. Soon that friendship became a romance and the pair were married. Phyl was thrown right in at the deep end head first with the burden of looking after two children who were not blood related to either of them – how daunting that must have been for her. Phyl must have really loved and cared for Matt to be willing to bring up two children that were not her own. Having been passed over by Matt in favour of Ellie the first time around if I were Phyl I am not sure that I would have engaged in any kind of relationship with Matt. Surely Phyl must have always felt like second best? If I were in her shoes I am sure that is how I would have felt. When Phyl had her own daughter – Louise it must have been tough for her to provide equal love and attention to all three children. Nessa commented that Phyl always did her best but that she was no substitute for her real mother. When Ellie returned from abroad Phyl must have instantly been fearful of what would happen between her and Matt. She had more or less been dumped before in favour of Ellie – would that same scenario play out all over again? I wonder truthfully if Phyl always thought of herself as a poor substitute. If I were Phyl I think I might feel that way.

When Matt admitted sleeping with Ellie I think Phyl was probably glad in a way that it had finally happened. She knew Ellie was after Matt and she knew also that Matt could not resist Ellie’s golden charms. It was only a matter of time before something happened between the two of them again. I did admire Phyl for staying with Matt even though it looked as if once again she was second best – at least in the bedroom stakes. I guess deep down Phyl knew that Matt would never stray with anyone else other than Ellie and as long as she kept a close eye on Ellie’s comings and goings all would be ok in the future.

Nessa short for Vanessa was one of my favourite characters in the book. It was interesting to watch Nessa’s transformation within the pages of the book. Nessa, at the start of the book, was a rather hard nosed bitch. She appeared only interested in money and status. She looked down her nose at those less fortunate than her. In many ways Nessa was a carbon copy of her mother – Ellie. Her values seemed exactly the same as those of her mother. People were nothing more than stepping stones. Nessa thought Phyl was dull and slightly boring, even irritating – not an evil step mother but not a very exciting one either. Nessa’s relationship with Lou was almost non-existent at the start of the book. Lou was looked down upon; she was the poor relation in Nessa’s eyes.

Nessa had married Gareth, goodness knows why. She moaned about him non-stop and feared growing old with him. Their sex life was mundane with Nessa having to fake any feelings of excitement. The only good thing to come out of their marriage was their daughter – Tasmin. Unlike Ellie, Nessa was very maternal and loved her daughter to death. She was Nessa’s pride and joy. Nessa liked money and status and she got both of those things by being married to Gareth, even if he was rather dull and predictable. When Nessa discovered Gareth’s affair it was like she had finally found her get out of jail free card. Suddenly she had found a way of getting rid of Gareth and still come out smelling of roses. Nessa would be the wronged party so she would get all the sympathy while Gareth, the guilty party, would get all the criticism and be called a home wrecker. Although Nessa had been wronged by her husband I think it was almost a relief for her to have a reason to remove him from her life. It was the excuse she had been looking for. Throughout the book Gareth was portrayed as a weak man who obeyed Nessa to the letter. He definitely didn’t come over as the kind of man who would stray let alone have an affair with another woman. I didn’t feel sorry for Nessa one bit when she found out about her husband’s betrayal with Melanie. How could you feel sorry for her when it appeared as if this is what she wanted – her legitimate get out clause? She had feared spending the rest of her life with Gareth, growing old together and now she didn’t have to. Gareth was perhaps a bit callous making love to Nessa then instantly telling her he wanted a divorce. Maybe for once he thought he would have some power over her. I think that although Nessa was pleased as punch that Gareth was leaving her, although she could not admit as much to Gareth, the news that Melanie was pregnant was a bit of a kick in the teeth. Nessa obviously adored children; she adored Tasmin and knowing that Gareth was about to have another child by another woman must have come as a huge blow.

Nessa was angry when the will was read out because Justin had been left Milthorpe House, worth millions and all she had got was half of Constance’s estate. Considering Nessa was already quite wealthy and had her own successful business did it really matter? Half of Constance’s estate would give her a large sum of money. I think Nessa was a very greedy person and this showed in her horror at only being left half the estate.

The break up of her marriage seemed to mark a change in Nessa’s personality. She seemed to become more relaxed and happy with the world. It was as if she was finally allowed to be herself. When Nessa got together romantically with her business partner – Mickey, I can’t say that I was shocked or even that surprised. Even before her split with Gareth it seemed obvious that Mickey, at least, thought more of Nessa than just plain friendship. I know many people were shocked even horrified by Nessa’s romance with a woman but I think Nessa and Mickey complemented one another. They knew one another so well from working together as business partners for years that it was easy for them to make the transition from friend to lover. Nessa really seemed to come out of herself when she fell in love with Mickey; it was like she was a totally different person. She showed a new side to herself. There was a new warmth and freshness about her personality. She seemed genuinely interested in others for once in her life. Suddenly material things didn’t matter as much.

At first Nessa was afraid to show off her affection for Mickey in public for fear of repercussions but when she finally did – passionately kissing Mickey in the street with the whole world watching, it was like all of her inhibitions floated away. She could not have cared less at that moment in time who saw her or what they thought. She was happy and in love! I wonder if she had ever truly been in love with Gareth. Obviously she had loved him on a certain level or they would have never have got married and had a child together but it seemed like their marriage was built on status and convenience rather than happiness or love.

Nessa seemed to physically come alive and blossom when she hooked up romantically with Mickey. Suddenly she was a new woman – alive for the first time in her entire life. Nessa’s wish to declare her love for Mickey showed just how times have changed and how society has come to accept same sex marriages. With Nessa stepping into un-chartered territory for probably the first time in her life readers got to see a very different side to her personality. Suddenly she was vulnerable, nervous, seeking approval from Lou – someone who she had never confided anything in before. Overnight Nessa went from being someone who looked down her nose at most people to an ordinary woman who was genuinely in love and wanted to tell the world her happy news.

Mickey was a great character although she only had a small part in the book. I liked the way that Adèle Geras included a strong business woman in the book. Someone who could hold her own even though she was not wealthy. On top of all that Mickey was a lesbian. Mickey was instantly likeable because she was so strong and knew how to get what she wanted. When Gareth decided to leave Nessa it seemed inevitable that Nessa would run to Mickey’s house for comfort and support and that is exactly what she did. Mickey offered Nessa a shoulder to cry on and a friend when she really needed one. Nessa being a bit of a bitch had few friends of her own or so it seemed and she didn’t appear to share much with her family probably because in truth they weren’t really her family. Mickey was Nessa’s one true friend and her business partner. Someone she trusted and felt very comfortable around. I was glad that Adèle Geras didn’t throw Nessa and Mickey into bed together straight away. It was a very gradual process that built up over time. It would have been very wrong for Nessa to flee to Mickey’s and end up in bed with her hours later. Leaving it and letting Nessa’s obvious attraction for Mickey fester for some time seemed a lot more natural and realistic. Nessa had never been with a woman before so the situation had to be played out carefully. The way Adèle Geras handled the situation was fantastic. You really felt as if Nessa was making love to a woman for the first time. Although she was inexperienced she found herself growing into the role of a female lover with some ease. Pleasing Mickey came naturally to her and soon she found herself in love once again. I wondered at first if Nessa and Mickey’s relationship would die a quick death, just a rebound thing after the end of Nessa’s marriage to Gareth but Adèle Geras didn’t let that happen. She allowed Nessa and Mickey’s relationship to grow and develop naturally. We saw Nessa in a new light. For once she seemed real and at ease although she was scared about coming out to the world. Telling her family that she was in love with a woman was really very scary. I think this event was handled with due care and attention. Nessa testing the water with Lou first and then telling the rest of the family at the special dinner. I think Mickey brought the best out of Nessa, she allowed Nessa to be who she wanted to be not who she thought she ought to be. It was interesting to hear Mickey say that she had always loved Nessa and had often imagined making love to her. How dreadful that must have been, being so close to Nessa every day and not being able to make a move on her because she was married. I am not sure I could have stood that. It must have been sheer torture for Mickey. I wonder if Gareth had never demanded a divorce from Nessa if the pair would have ever got together. I think they might have done but I don’t think Nessa would have ever left Gareth on her own accord. She would have stayed with him no matter what – more to save face than anything. In the end Gareth did Nessa a big favour by having an affair with Melanie.

Justin’s character was full of flaws; some might argue that his character was stereotypical of many of the male characters in books and films. He was good looking – too good looking for his own good really. He had money and he knew how to spend it. He wore designer clothes and always looked amazing. He was always late for family meals just so he could make an entrance and be the star of the show. Justin was also something of a disastrous entrepreneur squandering his inheritance on a dodgy deal.

When Justin was left Milthorpe House in Constance’s will everyone was up in arms. Justin was single and had no need of a big house so why did Constance see fit to leave her home to him or all people? Justin when questioned made a big deal of saying that he might like to live in the house and who was to say that he wouldn’t one day get married and have children of his own? In truth Justin was already seeing pound signs flashing before his greedy eyes. He had no intention of keeping the house, he would sell it as soon as he could and invest the money. Afraid that Matt would try and talk him out of the sale of the house he only confided in his sister Nessa. She was angry with Justin not because he was selling the house but because he was going to be so wealthy as a result. Justin had been offered three million pounds for Milthorpe House, which was to be turned into some kind of fancy spa retreat. Matt was devastated when he discovered what Justin had done with the house without consulting him. Justin argued that it was none of Matt’s business what he did with the house as it was left to him in the will but still Matt felt aggrieved. In Matt’s eyes it probably looked like Justin could not wait to get shot of the old house in order to make some quick cash and in truth that was exactly what Justin was doing. I think for Matt the house had been such a big part of his family’s life that he found it hard to let it go for good.

Justin told Nessa that he was being offered the chance to invest his money back into the health spa. Nessa tried hard to get in on the act so that she could make some extra money. In the end however Justin didn’t invest in the spa at all, something he may have come to regret, he put all of his money from the sale of Milthorpe House into another scheme that to him seemed like a sure fire winner. In typical Justin fashion the scheme soon went belly up leaving Justin with just a small fraction of the money he originally invested. When Matt finds out what has happened he is furious with Justin but as is normal for Matt he reverts to his professional mode and keeps calm and restraint. Justin seems genuinely gutted at the loss of his money but it isn’t long before he is talking about going off to Argentina with his mother to start up some other money making scheme.

I think Matt does well to control his temper when Justin tells him about the loss of the money he invested so foolishly. First Justin was left the family home quite out of the blue by his grand mother, and then he sold it almost before she had settled in the ground so to speak. After telling everyone he had made millions on the sale of the house he foolishly invested in it in a scheme that saw him lose the majority of it. I think what made matters far worse was that Justin didn’t seem all that bothered by his major loss of money. He was already planning another money making scheme and if that didn’t work out he could always fall back on his mother and her kindness. Matt was probably angry that Lou had been left nothing of any value in the will and Justin, who had, had squandered his away practically over night. There is a scene towards the end of the book, which sees Nessa and Lou giggling over Justin’s bad fortune. Both girls agree that Justin got his just deserts.

Lou or Louise is the principal character in this charming book by Adèle Geras. For that reason Adèle Geras had to create a character that was both believable and likeable. Lou had to be able to carry the bulk of the story off on her own and keep it moving along at a reasonable pace in order for the reader to remain hooked. Lou played the role of detective in this book discovering all about her grand father and his past life as well as making some shocking discoveries along the way about her relations.

Lou was a survivor something with which Adèle Geras is keen to point out over and over again throughout the book. Lou hasn’t had a lot to celebrate in her life but she has made the best of it. Lou was close to her grand father and thought the world of him. She enjoyed her time with him at Milthorpe House. She loved the stories he used to tell her and the extracts from his book that he used to read to her. She didn’t get on very well with Constance, who seemed jealous of her husband’s affection for his grand daughter. Lou was regularly in Constance’s bad books and being punished for speaking out or throwing a well justified tantrum. By the time Constance died Lou found herself hating the old woman. She never even when Lou was older had anything good to say about her. If she could put Lou down then she would, it seemed to give her great pleasure and satisfaction to do so. Maybe even after John Barrington’s death Constance still resented Lou for taking up so much of his time and for being the only one he really confided in?

Through the early part of the book we learn quite a lot about Lou’s life. We learn that she met a man called Ray and fell head over heels in love with him, sacrificing her studies to move in with him. Ray was a fatal mistake but by the time Lou realised this it was too late and she was trapped in a violent relationship with a man who was jealous of every move she made and of every person she saw or spoke to. Ray made Lou’s life a living hell and it was only when Lou fell pregnant that she was able to make the break from him and get away. Constance implied that Lou had brought what happened with Ray upon herself. She told Lou that she had deserved the abuse she suffered at the hands of Ray. Matt and Phyl helped Lou out as best as they could but Lou was fiercely independent and wanted to do as much for herself as she possibly could. Lou moved into a small quite dingy flat and got a job, which she could do from home writing reports on scripts.

Lou is a very down to earth character and I think that most readers of the book will be able to relate to her and her situation. Although she comes from a reasonably wealthy background money has never been a big thing for her. She refuses to take hand outs from her parents preferring to find her own way in life. Lou has suffered many knock backs in life but she is still fighting on. I think that is why she doesn’t create a fuss when Constance leaves her nothing of any value in the will.

Lou fears that she is a bad mother and throughout the early part of the book Lou worries non stop that something bad will happen to her baby daughter named Poppy. It must have been scary for Lou having been with a man like Ray who abused her to move into a flat by herself and be bringing up a baby on her own as a single mother. We learn later that Lou hasn’t been able to let a man touch her let alone have sex with her since her break up with Ray. This is totally understandable given the circumstances.

When Constance’s will is read Matt is in uproar at how little Lou is bequeathed but money isn’t the be all and end all to Lou and she doesn’t complain, in fact she seems happy to have been given the copyright to her grand fathers books. When Lou re-reads John Barrington’s book – Blind Moon she suddenly sees it in a new light. Memories of the past, conversations with her grand father and newly discovered information lead her to discover that the book is not a work of fiction but a true portrayal of John Barrington’s life in the camp. Through her discoveries Lou and her father get to meet Mme. Franchard, the sister of John Barrington’s mother Louise. Although frail and very old she is able to offer the pair valuable information about Louise.

I thought Adèle Geras was cruel allowing Lou to fall in love with her boss Harry only for him to break her heart by falling in love with a woman in America. Just when Lou was beginning to open up and feel ready to be with another man that has to happen. Harry was a bit of a swine leading Lou on and then letting her down at the last minute. For weeks he had been courting her to some extent, sending her emails and taking her out. He had given her all the signals that he was interested in making a move on her. When she offered to take him to Paris with her he jumped at the chance and even kissed her passionately, then he dropped his bombshell that he was in love with someone else and that it was unfair to give her false hope that anything would ever happen between them. For god’s sake, what a horrid little man! How could he kiss her passionately then protest his love for another woman? Why did he go to Paris with her in the first place, surely he knew that she thought it meant something – the two of them going off somewhere romantic together? I guess Harry thought he was doing the honourable thing by letting her down gently but I still think he was cruel and mean. I suppose Harry got his just deserts when Lou met and fell in love with Jake Golden, a man with pots of money and a prestigious business. Possibly Harry did Lou a huge favour by ditching her when he did. If they had got together she would never have had the chance to get to know and fall in love with Jake Golden.

Lou’s life was transformed by her inheritance. Upon rereading Blind Moon she discovered there was a lot about her grand father that she didn’t know. It took her to France to meet Mme. Franchard, her long lost relation that Constance Barrington had done her best to keep quiet about all those years a go. It allowed her to discover that John Barrington’s mother Louise died in the prison camp and that John Barrington blamed his mother’s best friend for her death – something, which on her death bed Rosemary confessed to in a round about way.

When Jake Golden contacted Lou about getting Blind Moon republished it was like a bolt out of the blue. After years out of print and poor sales when the book was first published someone wanted to reprint John Barrington’s story. Jake took a personal interest in the book and asked to meet with Lou and her father as well as to look around Milthorpe House, which by this time was just an empty shell. Jake wanted to see where John Barrington had worked on his book, to get a sense of the man behind the book. Lou was honoured that someone wanted to reprint her grand father’s book and who could blame her? It was a fitting tribute to her grand fathers work and his life. Lou was even more honoured when Jake asked Lou if she would write an introduction for the book.

Lou had always dreamed of writing a screenplay of her own. Having read many for her work and written report after report on them she knew what made a good screenplay and what didn’t. Lou saw potential in her grand father’s book – Blind Moon. It could be a film on the big screen if someone liked it enough. Lou asked Phyl and Matt to look after Poppy for a while and whilst Poppy was away with her grand parents Lou set to work writing her own screenplay based upon Blind Moon. Lou feared showing it to Harry because she thought he would not be able to be objective enough. He would feel obliged to say it was good because of who she was and their friendship so she took the screenplay to Ciaran Donnelly, someone she knew who would be objective.

In truth I don’t think Lou ever expected Ciaran to read her screenplay. Having been to his house in person to drop it off she knew that his house was littered with piles of paper and scripts and she believed that her screenplay would just get lost in amongst all the other paper in his house. Near the end of the book Ciaran tells Lou that he would like to option the screenplay. It could be made into a film but this was something he couldn’t guarantee. In the mean time she would get a small sum of money. I don’t think Lou was interested in the money that was just an added bonus. To her all that mattered was that someone had liked her work enough to option it and that her grand father’s story stood a chance of being made into a film.

When Jake came on the scene as a reader I did wonder if something would develop between his character and Lou, but she was still interested in Harry at that time so I thought no more of it. When Harry so cruelly dumped Lou in Paris for another woman I began to wonder once again if Lou would get together with someone. It seemed fitting that Lou should have some kind of happy ending after all that she had been through in her life. Of course Adèle Geras gave us just that by linking Jake and Lou together romantically. Jake was rich and had a good business head so Lou was very lucky to find someone like him. Although Lou had a small child, which would have put a lot of men off getting involved with her, Jake couldn’t care less. He was a natural with Poppy and made her feel at home buying toys and car seats for her. Jake was a rare diamond in a world full of rotten men.

When Mme. Franchard sadly passed away Lou was expecting it given that she was so old and frail. It was sad that the family had only known her for so short a time. Constance had deliberately deprived the family of knowing her. Mme. Franchard offered one last surprise for Lou in that she left Lou her house in Brittany. It was in need of a lot of restoration but even so it was a property and it was in a beautiful location.

Lou might have been given a raw deal when Constance died only being left the copyright to her grand fathers out of print books but in the end she was in fact the biggest winner. She had got a deal to get her grand fathers books republished, she had her screenplay optioned, she had a house in Brittany and she had fallen madly in love with a man who adored her and Poppy. She had everything she could ever have wanted and far more besides and none of that had come from money.

Mme. Franchard was a fine character. I loved the way Adèle Geras brought her into the book. The description surrounding her dwellings in France was amazing. We are told that she is in a darkened room full of papers, which cover every available surface. Matt and Lou have to move papers in order to sit down. Mme. Franchard is frail and old, being looked after by a housekeeper. It is so easy for the reader to picture Mme. Franchard in her chair in that room. You can really sense the atmosphere of the room just through reading the words on the page in the book. When Lou returns to visit Mme. Franchard later on she is in bed. Again Adèle Geras does a good job of bringing the scene to life and off of the page. Lou tells us that Mme. Franchard looks older than before and that her skin is paper thin. Lou struggles on her own to make conversation with the old lady and ends up reading her a passage from Blind Moon. In this passage Louise, John Barrington’s mother dies after being abandoned by her friend Dulcie. I think it gave Mme. Franchard some comfort to know what happened to her sister even though the details were not pleasant to read about. Her sister had suffered greatly and in the end been beaten by weakness and frailty. It was such a huge shame that John Barrington never got to talk to Mme. Franchard about his mother.

Harry came over as a really nice guy, one of the good guys! He was attentive to Lou and seemed to genuinely like her a lot. For the first time in years Lou actually felt like she could be happy with a man in her life once more and she wanted Harry to be that man. He gave her all the right signals – taking her out for working meals and emailing her. He even agreed to come to Paris with her when she went back to meet Mme. Franchard. Lou had took this as a sign that he was definitely interested in her and wanted more from her than just friendship. Lou even commented that she had worn her best underwear to Paris just in case. In the end Harry turned out to be a bit of a rat. Having got Lou’s hopes up that something special might happen between the pair of them he broke her heart by confessing that he was actually in love with someone else. I don’t think that Harry meant to deceive Lou in any way. He was too much of a gentleman for that. I think at first he did like Lou and thought that maybe something could happen between them in time but with Lou’s background and her fear of men after what happened with Ray he was keen to take things slow so as not to push or hurt her. The trouble was whilst he was thinking of Lou’s feelings and taking it slow he met someone else and they captured his heart.

When he went to Paris I think he went more as a friend, maybe he thought it was better to let Lou down gently in Paris than at home. I don’t think he realised just how much Lou liked him at that point and that she was willing to go all of the way with him. It was wrong of him to kiss her so passionately in Paris but I think deep down he still had strong feelings for her. At least in the end he remained good friends with Lou. She didn’t let her feelings get the better of her and walk out on her job.

Jake Golden was the golden boy in every sense of the word. He was rich as we discovered from Harry and he came from a very wealthy and well respected family, something else we learned from a slightly jealous Harry. Jake was kind to Lou and treated her like his equal. Jake was a likeable character and I think it was fitting for Lou and Jake to fall in love at the end of the book. Lou didn’t fall in love with Jake because he was rich or came from a wealthy family – she fell in love with him because he was loving and caring and made her happy. I am sure that given time the two of them would end up getting married. I just hope that Lou’s lack of wealth would not become an issue between the two of them over time.

It is hard to sum up a book as fantastic and as complex as A Hidden Life. In this book with every page there came a new twist or turn. A new secret was revealed and lives were torn apart or wielded together. Adèle Geras, the author of this powerful book, does a brilliant job of pulling all the characters together and telling the readers about their lives past and present. This book is rich in atmosphere and emotion.

You really get a feeling for the places visited in this book like Milthorpe House, the house in Brittany and Mme. Franchard’s place in Paris. You can reach out and touch the dust and see the piles of papers scattered all around in Mme. Franchard’s room. You can see the view through Lou’s eyes when she looks out from the house on the cliff top in Brittany. When Lou goes back to Milthorpe House you can feel the emptiness of the rooms.

Just as Adèle Geras brings the places in her book to life with her vivid and colourful descriptions she also brings to life the amazing array of characters in the book. Although a family drama this book encompasses a large number of principal characters all of whom share the limelight as this eventful drama unfolds. Although Lou is our guide through much of the book the other characters have strong solid roles to play in helping to bring the story of the Barrington family to life.

John Barrington’s memories of the past give this book a slice of haunting reality. His words bring home how cruel people can be and how much we have to be grateful for in our own lives.

As this book reaches its climax it is hard to let it go, the characters are still very much alive in the reader’s head just waiting for their next drama or adventure. As the slice of life that we as readers have been privileged to look into comes to a sad end we can rejoice that Lou got her happy ending. Nessa was a changed woman happy for once in her own skin. Justin got his just deserts and Matt and Phyl remained together having barred the brunt of the storm. I just wish that we could be privileged enough to read some more about the lives of the Barrington family as one book is just not enough!