- Poet's Cottage by Josephine Pennicott
Review submitted by: Rachel
Title: Poet's cottage
Author: Josephine Pennicott
ISBN: 9781742610894
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2012
Genre: General fiction
Age group: Adult
Rating: 4 out of 5
Synopsis: When Sadie inherits Poet's Cottage in the Tasmanian fishing town of Pencubitt, she sets out to discover all about her notorious grandmother, Pearl Tatlow. Pearl was a children's writer who scandalised 1930s Tasmania with her behaviour.
Haunting...murder-mystery/narrator's path of self-discovery yarn
My experience with Poet's Cottage was a rather serendipitous one - for I had just finished watching the movie Enid (starring Helena Bonham Carter) and was, at the time, also reading Enid Blyton: A biography by Barbara Stoney. The eccentric, cruel and yet childlike character Pearl in Poet's Cottage reminded me so much of an Australian Enid. The book initially makes references to Enid Blyton in the beginning which makes me wonder if this mirroring of complex children's writers is intentional.
The murder mystery aspect of the novel is a delightful surprise which had me somewhat hooked, but the tender story of daughter Sadie in search of her roots, her soul and her true home is also a strong feature - making this novel a nice balance of sorts. I would highly recommend you read this book in conjunction with Enid. There is a more-than-meets-the-eye moral and theme, and it gives an insight to the relationships of these children's authors and their own children. Who will like this book? I have never really read anything like this but if you're looking for something light (nothing too cerebral), with a bit of the old murder-mystery... this is for you.
Further recommendations: Enid Blyton: A biography by Barbara Stoney
Enid [DVD] - the movie
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