Nell and Lady

Our Review

One of the reasons I am a fan of Ashley Farley is her excellent character development. I often finish her books feeling like I know all of her characters in real life and Nell and Lady is no exception.

When Willa’s housemaid and best friend, Mavis, dropped dead unexpectedly Willa chose to take in

her daughter despite the disapproval of her other friends and neighbours.

Mavis’ daughter Nell and Willa’s daughter Lady considered each other sisters and best friends until an incident on the night of Lady’s sixteenth birthday tore them asunder.

Now Willa is dying, and her biggest wish is to bring Nell back to the family she cut off all those years ago.

I thought the first sentence of Nell and Lady was great and it certainly made me want to read more.

“Adelaide Bellemore was known to family and friends as Lady, although no one considered her a lady, least of all her mother.”

When Willa asks Lady to find Nell Lady is reluctant to say the least, but she agrees to it anyway to appease her mother.

“Would she recognise Nell in this passing parade after thirty-one years? Nell was her sister, bound forever with Lady by legal documents but not by blood.”

Once inseparable Lady and Nell haven’t been close since the events of Lady’s sixteenth birthday party in the 80’s, something which still causes Lady pain.

Lady’s only relationship with her mother is rocky to say the least, Willa disapproves of how much Lady drinks and feels she is to blame for Nell’s departure from their family. Lady, for her part resents the way her mother clearly favoured, and still favours Nell. Also, she is jealous of her mother’s close relationship with Lady’s daughter, Regan.

Lady is shocked by not surprised when Nell’s only response to news of Willa’s impending death is that she will pray for her.

Whilst reading Nell and Lady I spent most of the time disliking Lady. One of the reasons for this is the selfish way in which both Lady and Willa reacted to the death of Mavis. Willa said to Nell that she wasn’t sure how she could cope without her and Lady reacted in a way that ended with Nell comforting her.

I also felt that Lady almost relished telling Willa Nell’s response.

“She refused to cover for Nell or sugarcoat her words.”

Nell for her part is devastated by the news of Willa’s illness but she feels unsure what her next step should be.

“Seeing Lady again had brought on a torrent of emotions. Guilt, for not visiting Miss Willa or calling or sending her a Christmas card. Shame for taking advantage of Miss Willa for so many years. Regret, for never showing her adopted mother proper appreciation for saving her from foster care. Heartache at the memory of her own mother’s death. Fear, at the thought of having to return to that house. Anger at the atrocities she’s suffered in the downstairs den. Fury, at Lady, for not stopping it from happening. Humiliation, over the whole sordid affair.”

She is dealing with a crisis in her marriage and her teenage son, Booker, will be leaving for college. Besides, she hasn’t told her husband everything that happened in the past and she hasn’t told her son the truth about any of it.

When a chance meeting leads Regan and Booker to realise their families are connected they decide to put pressure on their reluctant parents to find out what is going on. In discovering what happened between Lady and Nell there are ramifications for both their children.

Throughout the book Ashley Farley deals with a range of potentially emotive issues in a thoughtful and compassionate way.

Nell and Lady was an enthralling read and one which shows the author at her best.

Our Final Rating...

Fri, 21st September 2018