A review by thebooktrail88
The Disappearance, by Katherine Webb
4.0
Visit the locations in the book
I do love a Katherine Webb novel. They've been set in rural houses, secrets in the mist and historically intriguing and this latest one is no different. Inspired by the Bath Blitz, it's more of a war story this time and there's less intrigue and stunning settings in the countryside, but it's typical Webb with its full formed characters and wonderful writing.
The novel is set firmly in the war-torn city where bombs are raining down on the streets and houses in and around Holloway and Beechen Road. This history of the city really helps bring the time to life as you feel the fear, the shock and the horror of the war. Houses bombed and destroyed, the fear of having having to flee into the air raid shelter when you hear the sirens.
The people of Bath try to lead normal lives but one night, a girl goes out for some time on her own and when she gets to her friends house, it’s been destroyed and is now a pile of rubble. Missing people and the unknown were common sadly at that time, and the fear and uncertainty of the time mean that it was very hard to get any real answers about missing people and/or accidents.
The author is keen to point out that the story is inspired by the Bath Blitz but it’s not a fictional account by any means. Many of the events are based on real ones but the people with speaking parts in the novel are fictional.
The Leper Hospital which is such a part of the novel was located on Holloway with the St Mary Magdalene Chapel. The poor workhouse was also a sad feature of the Victorian times and earlier.
A mystery of a girl and a child told across time reveal the confusion of war and a city trying to come to terms with its past.
I do love a Katherine Webb novel. They've been set in rural houses, secrets in the mist and historically intriguing and this latest one is no different. Inspired by the Bath Blitz, it's more of a war story this time and there's less intrigue and stunning settings in the countryside, but it's typical Webb with its full formed characters and wonderful writing.
The novel is set firmly in the war-torn city where bombs are raining down on the streets and houses in and around Holloway and Beechen Road. This history of the city really helps bring the time to life as you feel the fear, the shock and the horror of the war. Houses bombed and destroyed, the fear of having having to flee into the air raid shelter when you hear the sirens.
The people of Bath try to lead normal lives but one night, a girl goes out for some time on her own and when she gets to her friends house, it’s been destroyed and is now a pile of rubble. Missing people and the unknown were common sadly at that time, and the fear and uncertainty of the time mean that it was very hard to get any real answers about missing people and/or accidents.
The author is keen to point out that the story is inspired by the Bath Blitz but it’s not a fictional account by any means. Many of the events are based on real ones but the people with speaking parts in the novel are fictional.
The Leper Hospital which is such a part of the novel was located on Holloway with the St Mary Magdalene Chapel. The poor workhouse was also a sad feature of the Victorian times and earlier.
A mystery of a girl and a child told across time reveal the confusion of war and a city trying to come to terms with its past.