In The Mirror, A Peacock Danced by Justine Bothwick

Synopsis

Agra, 1938: Eighteen-year-old Florence Hunt has grown up riding horses past the Taj Mahal and chasing peacocks through her backyard under the critical gaze of her father. Increasingly enamoured with his work on the booming railway, Florence yearns to know more, but finds herself brushed away, encouraged only to perform the more ladylike hobbies of singing and entertaining guests. So when a dazzling young engineer walks into her life, she finds herself not only gripped by secret lessons in physics but swept entirely off her feet.

Portsmouth, 1953: Fifteen years later, Florence finds herself pregnant and alone in post-war England – a far cry from her sun-drenched existence in India. Struggling to cope with the bleakness of everyday life in a male-dominated world, Florence is desperate to find the woman she used to be. But when someone from her past reaches out, Florence might just have a chance to start over.

Soaring from the shimmering heights of the big top to the depths of heartbreak, can Florence find the happiness, independence, and passion she once had in order to start living again?

Review
Before I start the review I want to say how beautiful the cover of this book is, it really captures the essence of the book. In The Mirror, A Peacock Danced is set both in Agra, India and Portsmouth, England from 1938 until 1956. In India 1938, Florence is turning eighteen, and gets her first taste of love. She has been brought up by her father and Sita her amah after the death of her mother. She loves her life in India, the freedom she has and she has an inquisitive mind around engineering and the railway her father works for; not a lady like pursuit in his eyes. After the War of Independence, Florence is sent to live with her Aunt Sarah in Portsmouth, to hopefully start a new life and find a husband. But England is a far cry from Agora, and Florence starts to lose who she is, the mundane lifestyle of cleaning and running a household are new to her after having servantsin India. But when a surprise visitor arrives, Florence starts to believe in her self again, with a chance to follow her dreams at last.

In The Mirror, A Peacock Danced is as a beautiful read as the cover hints at. This was such an enjoyable book to read, both in the wonderful characters and the exotic setting of India. The plot is centered around Florence, from her eighteenth birthday in Agora until she is thirty six and living in England. Whilst the locations are complete opposites, the heat, exoticism and colourful India, and the grey, damp existence in Portsmouth, so are the two different Florence’s; India seems to feed her life force whilst Portsmouth seems to drain the life from her. In India, at eighteen, Florence is a young woman finding her place in life. Due to that era she is very much under the control of her father, who wants her to sing and dance, and not take an interest in science, the railway and combustion engines. It is a chance meeting with her father’s colleague Jay, that gives her a first taste of love. Unlike her father, Jay takes her seriously and talks engineering with her, he understands her a passion. Seeing Florence fourish, and grow was wonderful, and she used this information and experience during WWII. Florence is someone who shows no fear, she believes in herself and will try her hand at anything; from railways, to driving trucks in the war, to working in a factory to the trapeze and canon in the circus. I think her most endearing relationship was with Sita, her amah, who was a mother to her, even breastfeeding Florence as a baby after the death of her mother. Florence is certainly a determined, ambitious and loyal young woman.

My favourite part of this book was the parts set in India. Both my parents were brought up abroad, in Qatar and Singapore, so I was able to relate to some of Florence’s experiences in India, and especially her relationship with Sita. The thought of riding on elephants, seeing tigers by a lake, and having the freedom to ride your horse sounds exciting, and gives Florence a freedom she could never have in England. Justine Bothwick’s writing is sublime, she captures the nuances of her characters, the beautiful backdrop od India and the atmosphere of the Indian War of Independence. Justine Bothwick doesn’t go into to much detail of the war, so there is no heavy historical detail, but just gives us enough of the feeling at that time, and how dificult it was for those who worked for, and felt like family to their British employers. The themes of colonialism, racism, and domestic abuse are all dealt with empathy and understanding, and add to the reality of the period this book is set in.

In The Mirror, A Peacock Danced was such a amazing book to read, and one I read in a day. Florence is a fascinating character, determined, ambitious and a woman ahead of her time, especially when she came to England. The writing really drew me into this book, in its vivid descriptions of the landscape, and the very different sights, smells and tastes of India and England. A stunning cover, leads into a stunning read that offers pure escapism. A brilliant debut novel and I look forward to what Justine Bothwick writes next.

The Kindle version of this book is released on 24 June
The Paperback is released on 22 July

I would like to thank Peyton Stableford from Agora Books for my blog tour invite in return for my honesrt review.