Secrets of the Lighthouse

This is a random dust-gathering selection from my TBR pile that was published some twelve years ago. I was a fan of Santa Montefiore’s earliest novels but for some forgotten reason – perhaps one of her later novels was a disappointment - I moved my attention elsewhere. Being set in that beautiful part of Ireland that is Connemara is why I probably picked it up in the first place.
 
Ellen is thirty-three, lives and works in London, but is still very much under the control of her mother Lady Anthony Trawton (Maddie), who is planning Ellen’s upcoming society wedding to toff, William.

​Maddie is delighted that the last of her three daughters is finally going to tie the knot and make a successful marriage, but Ellen rebels. She doesn’t really want to marry William and has never felt as if she fitted into the manicured, controlling life of her parents and has little in common with her sisters. Without telling anyone where she is going, she runs away to her aunt Peg in rural Connemara. There, she discovers her large Irish family of whom her mother never spoke. Although welcomed with open arms, she has a major mystery to solve. Why did Maddie reject her family?
 
And then there’s the burned-out lighthouse that Ellen can see from her bedroom window. Another mystery that is bound up with a man her relatives want her to stay well away from: the dark, brooding Heathcliff-like figure of Conor whose wife died at the lighthouse in tragic circumstances. But, of course, Ellen meets and falls head over heels in love with him.
 
What makes this tale different from similar romantic plots, is that one of the narrators is Connor’s deceased wife, Caitlin, who is wandering in limbo, plotting and determined to keep Conor to herself even though she’s a spirit.
 
It would be easy to dismiss this novel as romantic slush and give it one star. There is Ellen’s naivety in working out the pretty obvious reason why Maddie left that most readers will spot early on. For someone in her thirties, she displays immaturity in dealing with her autocratic mother and there are dubious aspects in her instant I’ll-love-you-forever relationship with the unknown Connor. Plus, lots of other cliches in the narrative - every Irish man is “handsome” and naturally the local pub is called Pot of Gold.  The ghostly Caitlin can be unsettling, even creepy, with this unseen entity spying on you on the beach, in the garden or kitchen, and even following the participants into the bedroom.
 
On the other hand, there are charming aspects to the novel that must lift it above a petty single star. The Irish atmosphere and countryside are well represented. The characters are likeable. Ellen’s newly discovered family display generosity and warmth. Peg’s kind heart and eclectic collection of animals make her especially appealing. And there’s her canny neighbour Oswald’s perceptiveness in matters of the heart. Also, the sad musician Dylan who pines for his lost Maddie and the priest who makes sloe gin and knows everyone’s secrets. Surprisingly, even Caitlin’s quandary can offer glimpses of might await on the other side for those who are undecided about such things.

Three stars


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