Margaret Lea works in her father's antiquarian bookshop
where her fascination for the biographies of the long-dead
has led her to write them herself. She gets a letter from
one of the most famous authors of the day, the mysterious
Vida Winter, whose popularity as a writer has been in no
way diminished by her reclusiveness. Until now, Vida has
toyed with journalists who interview her, creating
outlandish life histories for herself - all of them
invention. Now she is old and ailing, and at last she
wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Her
letter to Margaret is a summons.
Somewhat anxiously, the equally reclusive Margaret travels
to Yorkshire to meet her subject - and Vida starts to
recount her tale. It is one of gothic strangeness
featuring the March family; the fascinating, devious and
wilful Isabelle and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline.
Margaret is captivated by the power of Vida's
storytelling. But as a biographer she deals in fact not
fiction, and she doesn't entirely trust Vida's account.
She goes to check up on the family, visiting their old
home and piecing together their story in her own way. What
she discovers on her journey to the truth is for Margaret
a chilling and transforming experience.
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