The Vanished Days

As an eighteenth century Scottish reenactor I was initially drawn to this story to discover more about the actions which lead up to the various Jacobite uprisings in Scotland. Having previously read Susanna Kearsley's, "Bellewether", I knew that I was in for a treat and an amazing story.

The story toggles between "current day" Edinburgh of 1707 and the 1680s for the background of this rich tale. The Acts of Union have dissolved the Scottish Parliament and created a united nation with England. To assuage the Scots, a fund called, "The Equivalent" was created to offset financial losses as well as those losses of human lives relative to the Darien settlement. The fund was managed by the commissioners. Widows whose husbands died in military show more service related to the Darien settlement could apply for recompense. One such applicant was Lily Aitcheson whose marriage had not been properly recorded beyond the provision of a marriage certificate. The investigation of the claim, which under normal circumstances would be handled by the commissioners, was passed off to Lieutenant Turnbull with the assistance of a Mr. Gilroy. In Turnbull's absence, the investigation was temporarily handed off to Sergeant Adam Williamson who had served under Turnbull. The investigation commences and the reader accompanies Williamson and Gilroy as they seek to prove or disprove Ms. Aitcheson's claim.

The story displays the many differences and social stigmas related to class. Social activities cavalierly practiced by one class are scorned when observed in the other. The sins of the parents are burdens of their offspring. Rising out of those stigmas is a precious and much coveted gift to be protected at all costs.

Kearsley's prose is exquisitely rendered. The settings are visually rich and atmospheric. Her historical research is Herculean and meticulous. This was an immersive book, rich with historic detail and beautifully executed. Well done Ms. Kearsley!

I am grateful to Susanna Kearsley and publisher SourceBooks for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: ‎ Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication date: ‎ October 5, 2021
No. of pages: 484
ISBN: 9781492650164 show less

In 1707, Adam Williamson arrives in Edinburgh to stay with an army friend and is offered a job investigating a young widow. Lily has come forward to claim her late husband’s wages, but only has an irregular marriage certificate to prove her relationship.

The story alternates between Adam and his co-investigator Gilroy’s inquiry in 1707, and a third-person account of Lily’s life, beginning in 1683 when Lily was seven and living with her grandmother on the estate of the Laird of Inchbrakie.

While I cared more about Lily’s story than about Adam’s, the framing narrative of the inquiry served to make her story all the more interesting, turning it into a mystery. I had questions! If Lily married her childhood friend Jamie Graeme, show more why then didn’t his family know about it? Why didn’t her own family know? How did she know the friends who witnessed her wedding?

The historical context was also intriguing -- the late 17th century apparently being a tumultuous time in Scotland, with the Jacobite Risings and conflict between Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Catholics (and possibly other factors I don’t now fully remember and likely didn’t fully understand to begin with!).

Lily’s story is bittersweet, full of joy and found family but also grief and disappointments. I was beginning to doubt that it could be concluded satisfactorily -- but I loved how the pieces all fell into place! It left me wanting to go back to certain scenes, to reconsider them now I knew the full story, which was a bit cumbersome to do with an audiobook. (Cue lots of skipping through chapters, trying to find the bits I wanted.)

I loved how it’s a hopeful ending.

“Tell me when I’ve lied.”
I found that an irritating challenge because he had been so clever with his words I could not find a single instance to reply with, so instead I took a new approach. “You did not tell me everything the last time I was here, nor yet the time before that.”
“Ah.” He sat back, and indicated I should do the same. “Well, that’s a different thing from lying, surely? All men do leave pieces out when they tell tales, it is no crime.”
I could not argue with that.

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This was a much anticipated read for me as I enjoyed the other two books in the Slains series, however I found this one disappointing. It was set in 1707 in Leith and Edinburgh, with flashbacks to the late 1600s. The story follows Lily Graeme who is claiming the recompense due to her, for her late husband’s involvement in the Darien scheme, wherein the Scottish attempted to establish the New Caledonia settlement in the Isthmus of Panama. Sergeant Adam Williamson is tasked with investigating her claim and the authenticity of her marriage to James Graeme. It moves between the present of his investigation and the past of Lily’s difficult childhood, orphaned and then living in two different households, at times preyed upon and other show more times adored. Lily’s early childhood is spent in friendship with the wealthy Graham family of Inchbrakie. After her father’s death she works for one family before being adopted by another, a family with many shady secrets, and grows up with her foundling brothers, who she becomes very close to. Scotland is a turbulent place at this time, with the Jacobites hoping for the return of King James from France and others eschewing this cause. There is tension between Presbyterian Covenanters and the Episcopalians. This is the historical background but much of it is assumed rather than explained.

I did not find either of the main characters relatable. Lily seemed very one dimensional in the later story. Adam may have come across much older than he was due to the audio narration by Robert Ian MacKenzie but also the awful doddery beginning to the story when he says the years have not dulled his recollection, but he has forgotten many things, and other horribly snooze-worthy lines to begin a book with. I found myself put off from the outset, almost amazed that a book set in the 17th and 18th centuries written by a contemporary author could feel like a dry Victorian piece. The romance had as much chemistry as a can of flat Lemonade. The twist was unexpected but didn’t quite ring true either, relying as a device on untrustworthy narration. Not disastrous but not my favourite Kearsley read by any stretch of the imagination. show less

Sergeant Adam Williamson's assignment is to investigate and evaluate a woman's claim that she is the widow of a deceased member of the failed Darien scheme, which would have established a Scottish colony in what is now Panama. Lily Aitcheson has a marriage certificate but apparently no witnesses to her union, and as Williamson and his partner begin their extensive interviews they discover that the case is more complex than it seemed initially, and there are a suspicious number of unknown hands pulling strings.

My first taste of Kearsley's writing was The Winter Sea, which I adored, and I've read most of her subsequent works with mostly positive response. Her writing is always detailed and interesting, and when the story is captivating show more it's *chefs kiss*. This book is beautifully written, the setting is intriguing and the characters are engaging and likeable. Having said that, when I'm reading a book and the plot twist suddenly arrives, I'm expecting to be surprised and wowed by the author's clever machinations. Here, my reaction was one of confusion, to the point where I wondered if I would need to go back to reread portions in order to fully comprehend what had happened and whether it made sense. Having neither the time nor willpower to do that, I opted to accept the explanation as presented, but it sure didn't sit right. I'm curious to hear others' thoughts on this. show less

This is the third book in Ms. Kearsley's Scottish series, though each can be read as a stand-alone novel. This is also my favorite of the three books and that's saying something because I love this author's books. I think it's partly just the story and partly because this one is not a dual timeline between past and present as the other two books but the story of Lily Aitcheson. There are flashbacks to Lily's childhood and young womanhood, but they are presented as a memoir.
Lily is a lower class than the Moray and Graeme children she plays with as a child, but her life is intertwined with theirs. Now grown, she needs to prove her marriage to Jamie Graeme who died during the Darien expedition. Adam Williamson is appointed to investigate show more her claim.
As always with this author, the writing is exquisite. There is a scene where young Lily runs out to bring her soldier father his sword and no spoilers, but that scene just slew me. My heart broke as Robin Moray tells her to look away.
The historical details are interesting and integrate into the story impeccably. Lily's story has some twists and turns, some sad moments, and some very satisfying moments, but it will stay with me. This is a book to reread over and over. show less

Having read most of Susanna Kearsley’s books I admit to being an admirer of her research - In this book she exhibits her scholarship and remembers the Scottish souls who set sail for Darien. That was an ugly tale which she touches on here and there while incorporating the fight for the monarchy and ascent to the throne of England by William and Mary and the unwanted and reviled union with Scotland amidst the many attempts of the Jacobites to bring exiled young King Jamie back to rule.

The history unspools around the story of Lily Aitcheson and the investigators who are looking into her monetary claim for wages as a surviving spouse of one of those who attempted the journey. This intricate tale brilliantly weaves together insidious show more politics where a man may be imprisoned and tortured on another’s whim, the every day struggle of the common man and woman to provide shelter and food, the back and forth of which religion is in command at any given time and the punishment for following one’s beliefs when they are out of fashion. It is an historical story of Scotland at the turn of the eighteenth century - but beside a heavy focus on its politics, truly the center of attention is a romance amidst great mystery, all the while dancing around how clever a woman had to be to avoid the blatant gender abuse of the time, acknowledging how easily a woman could be ruined.

While one man thinks of the vanished days as those that are lost and can never be relived nor regained, another man acknowledges that without the living of them, despite the darkness and pain, there would be no recognition when the light shone and happiness prevailed. One is a tale of a man who felt he had lost while the other knew he had won all. I loved them equally.

I admit to being confused on occasion and I am not sure whether it was my failing or that there was so much information and so many characters within the story. I am rounding up for the extraordinary research and a well told tale. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a copy. show less

The story in this book is related to other historical novels that Kearsley has written set in the late 1600s and early 1700s in England and Scotland. They concern the lead-up to the 1708 Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland, an attempt by the Scots to negate the Union of 1707 between England and Scotland and bring the exiled Catholic King James VIII back from France to take the Scottish throne.

There is a great deal of background imparted about the history and politics of the time, because it also forms the backdrop for the main story, which has to do with the life of Lily Aitcheson.

The book begins in 1707 in Edinburgh, when the narrator, Sergeant Adam Williamson, is staying at the house of his friend and commander Lieutenant Turnbull. Their show more relationship stemmed from their time together working and fighting for the Scottish colony at Darien. [The Gulf of Darien was the site of the Scottish colony of New Caledonia on the Isthmus of Panama, established in the late 1690s. The plan was for the colony to provide an overland transportation service connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, thus obviating the need to sail all the way around South America. The scheme failed for a number of reasons. In this book, it is suggested that the English government worked to subvert it, less the company take away business from their East India Company.]

When Adam showed up at Turnbull’s door, Turnbull was away, and Adam was at the same time struck with one of his periodic bouts of malaria, contracted in Panama. Turnbull’s wife Helen insisted he stay, even after he recovered. Adam agreed to complete an assignment for Turnbull brought over by Gilroy, a clerk of Lord Grange. The men were tasked with investigating a claim for wages from the African Company owed to spouses of men lost in the Darien adventure.

Adam was immediately enamored with the claimant, Lily Aitcheson, who said she was the widow of James Graeme, lost at sea on the way to Darien. Her proof is questionable however, and so Turnbull and ergo Adam were requested to help Gilroy investigate. In the course of doing so, we learn Lily’s life story.

Meanwhile, Helen is trying to fix Adam up with an eligible young lady, but Adam is clearly smitten with Lily. He can relate to the Platonic claim that every person has one matching half, and must search the world for the one person who completes us. We readers know Adam feels he has found that in Lily. But would Lily feel the same about him?

Evaluation: Underlying much of the story is a theme about the mistreatment of women, and how difficult it was then - much more so than now, to have any means of resistance or redress. We also learn a great deal about the complicated machinations of men in power in this time period over who would rule Scotland and how the conflict among competing religions might be sorted out. Both the personal and political interrelationships were confusing and at the end I felt like I could benefit from starting over again at the beginning, but I didn’t mind doing that; it is a good story, with a number of surprising twists at the end. show less