I have very much liked most of the books I’ve read by Marcia Willett over the past twenty or more years. I discovered her novels after a serendipitous find in a thrift store, introducing me to the ‘Chadwick’ family. I acquired the sequels and have regularly put her latest novels on my wishlist.
I was given ‘Reflections’ for Christmas 2020 and started reading it last year. But I quickly realised, to my delight, that it involved some of the Chadwick family. So as I had not read the earlier books for a while, I thought I would re-read them first. I like to spread out my re-reading, so I finished ‘Looking Forward’ again in September, ‘Holding On’ in November, ‘Winning Through’ in January this year, and the much later sequel ‘The Prodigal Wife’ in February. Then finally I embarked again on ‘Reflections’ a few days ago.
As I’ve come to expect with Marcia Willett, the writing is gentle, descriptive, and based around relationships, particularly those within families. This particular novel has three main characters initially: Cara, Cosmo and Amy. Cara is in her fifties, I imagine, recently widowed, and staying with her brother Max. Cosmo is probably in his early 30s, taking a break from work to look after a dog and explore his talent for photography. Amy is a young builder/decorator in her early 20s who lives with her widowed father Jack.
These three are all located in the same small village. The other main character is Sam Chadwick, the small child who arrived in the family as an orphan at the end of ‘Winning Through’, and who was barely mentioned in ‘The Prodigal Wife’. Sam has just been accepted for naval training, after a gap year teaching in China, which he loved. He’s feeling quite confused, wondering if he should give up on the navy, and train as a teacher. So he decides to spend a few days with Max, who is his godfather.
Of course nothing is straightforward. Max is married to the rather uptight Judith who - at the start of the story - is in Oxford with her son and his family, as they are expecting a new baby. Cosmo, who has a girlfriend in London, is rather attracted to Amy, and somehow omits to mention that he’s in a steady relationship. Cara needs to decide where to live, as she has sold her London house; but she’s full of all kinds of stressful memories and secrets, which don’t emerge fully until near the end of the book.
It’s not the most exciting of stories, and I suspect I would have found it less interesting if I were not already a huge fan of the Chadwick series. It was very enjoyable to see Hal and Fliss again - there are several scenes set at ‘The Keep’, and to catch up with a few others of the family, albeit in passing. Sam is an extremely likeable young man, as reserved as his father, yet more outgoing at a superficial level. He and Cara become quite friendly, discovering a kind of kinship despite the difference in their ages, and I loved reading the sections where they are chatting.
As with all Marcia Willett’s novels, this is family-friendly, with only the briefest references to bedroom scenes, and nothing at all explicit. There’s no bad language, and no violence; there aren’t really any nasty people either. There are those who are somewhat manipulative and who cheat, but even they are not deliberately unpleasant, and there’s always the possibility of redemption.
Definitely recommended if you’re a fan of Marcia Willett’s work and particularly the Chadwick trilogy. It’s not necessary to have read them first, but it adds to the enjoyment, in my opinion, to ‘know’ some of the people already, and to feel as if one is catching up with old friends. I don't think it's the best of her books, and probably not a good one to introduce people to her work. But very pleasant and relaxing reading for those who like warm, gentle character-based novels.
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