It’s been an established trope from the very first Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto: portraits of the dead that can come to life and roam the halls. In Paulette Kennedy’s The Artist of Blackberry Grange, the home of an elderly painter living with dementia is haunted by her portraits of figures from her past. This historical Gothic, which came out last week, uses traditional tropes of the genre to explore themes of generational trauma, temptation, toxic relationships, regret, and overcoming all of these obstacles to find true love and contentment.
It is the summer of 1925 and Sadie Halloran’s life has fallen apart. For the past few years, she has been carrying on an affair with a married man who promised he would eventually divorce his wife so that they could be together. But Ted was only stringing her along, and when he dumps Sadie shortly after her mother’s death, Sadie is left both penniless and directionless. That’s when she hears about Great-aunt Marguerite’s failing health and the difficulty the family has had with keeping staff and carers at Blackberry Grange to look after her. With nothing keeping her in Kansas City, Sadie hops on a train to the Ozarks to take care of her great aunt. She’s unprepared for what awaits her in the grand house she remembers visiting as a child: rumors of ghosts abound and most of the staff have been scared away. On top of that, Aunt Marg’s health and moods are unpredictable. Sometimes she is the brilliant firecracker of a woman that Sadie remembers; at other times, she is agitated and angry, plagued with paranoia and delusions, and unable to remember Sadie’s name. What at first was a somewhat selfish plan to get room and board and a chance at inheriting a grand estate becomes a true passion for Sadie as she becomes invested in Aunt Marg’s well-being and learns the difficult skills of caring for someone with dementia. Sadie has also become invested in the eerily life-like portraits Marguerite painted throughout her lifetime, especially one of a gorgeous dark-haired man who resembles the ghost-like figure Sadie has spotted in her attic bedroom. Then there’s the brooding but secretly soft-hearted gardener who keeps trying to warn her away. But Sadie isn’t going anywhere. Even as she becomes increasingly mesmerized by the seductive portrait and finds her own health and mental state slipping, Sadie is determined to unlock the secrets of Marguerite’s past and help her to find peace in her final months.
The painted spirits that haunt Blackberry Grange embody and complicate a variety of tropes. First there is Weston, the handsome rake that draws an obvious parallel to Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray. Like Dorian, Weston’s beauty and charisma help to disguise his corrupt nature. Sadie even begins to question whether Weston truly once was a real person, or if he is some sort of demonic entity summoned by her ancestors in an unintentional Faustian bargain. But in line with more traditional ghost stories, Weston is also a spirit with a grievance. He targets the loved ones of those who wronged him, appearing most often to vulnerable young women. Iris, on the other hand, is a much friendlier spirit. This portrait of one of Marguerite’s former lovers appears like a classic “woman in white” ghost, but her goal is to help both Sadie and Marguerite. Iris’s spirit is ultimately the one who points the two women in the right direction to break the curse that has haunted their family.
Apart from literal ghosts, one of the key ways that the present is haunted by the past in many Gothic novels is when there is a past wrong, committed by previous generations that must be resolved in order for future generations to find happiness. Often, the younger generation is cursed to relive or reenact the same tragedies as their ancestors until the curse is broken. In this book’s case, many things went wrong during Marguerite’s young adulthood. She and her two sisters betrayed each other, fought over a man, and became the worst versions of themselves. For decades afterward, they kept many things from this time in their lives a secret, burying unresolved feelings and grudges. Now, as she nears death, Marguerite has the chance to quite literally right the wrongs of the past by revisiting certain moments in time through her paintings. But altering the past can have unintended consequences on the present. Ultimately, Marguerite must learn that the only way to resolve some past wrongs is by accepting them and embracing forgiveness.
The Artist of Blackberry Grange is at its core a story about family. About the messy relationships between siblings that love each other despite it all. And about the beautiful bonds that can be built across generations, even during the difficult time near the end of one’s life. Layered on top of that is a tale of temptation and romance, plus all the Gothic tropes you could wish for. You can find the book on sale now at your favorite local retailer or order it online and support The Gothic Library in the process using this Bookshop.org affiliate link. Once you’ve read it, let me know your thoughts in the comments!