I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for The Visitors, the stunning new historical novel by acclaimed author Caroline Scott. Thank you to Anne Cater and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read and review this incredible book.
About the book:
From the highly acclaimed author of The Photographer of the Lost, a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick, comes a tale of a young war widow and one life-changing, sun-drenched visit to Cornwall in the summer of 1923…
Esme Nicholls is to spend the summer in Cornwall. Her late husband Alec, who died fighting in the war, grew up in Penzance, and she’s hoping to learn more about the man she loved and lost.
While there, she will stay with Gilbert, in his rambling seaside house, where he lives with his former brothers in arms. Esme is fascinated by this community of eccentric artists and former soldiers, and as she gets to know the men and their stories, she begins to feel this summer might be exactly what she needs.
But everything is not as idyllic as it seems – a mysterious new arrival later in the summer will turn Esme’s world upside down, and make her question everything she thought she knew about her life, and the people in it.
Full of light, laughter and larger-than-life characters, The Visitors is a novel of one woman finally finding her voice and choosing her own path forwards.
About the author:
Caroline completed a PhD in History at the University of Durham. She developed a particular interest in the impact of the First World War on thelandscape of Belgium and France, and in the experience of women during the conflict – fascinations that she was able to pursue while she spent several years working as a researcher for a Belgian company. Caroline is originally from Lancashire, but now lives in southwest France. The Photographer of the Lost was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.
My Review:
The Visitors is the incredible new historical novel by Caroline Scott, critically acclaimed author of The Photgrapher of the Lost and When I Come Home Again, which were two of my favourite reads of the last couple of years. So when I heard she was releasing a new book I knew I just had to read it. And I’m so glad I did, as The Visitors is every bit as good, if not better, than its predecessors!
Once again the story centres on the aftermath of the First World War, only this time the focus is on Esme Nicholls, a young woman whose husband was killed during the war. Wanting to feel closer to her lost husband, widowed Esme decides to spend the summer of 1923 in Cornwall, the place where Alec grew up. While there she stays with her employer’s brother, Gilbert, in his rambling seaside house, where he lives with a fascinating community of eccentric artists and former soldiers. As Esme gets to know the men and their stories, she begins to feel more and more at home and believes the summer retreat is going to give her exactly what she was hoping for.
But as the summer days turn into weeks a mysterious new arrival will make her question everything she thought she knew, changing her life forever…
The Visitors is a stunning read that drew me in from the very first page and didn’t let go until the final emotion filled page had been turned. Beautifully written by Caroline Scott, this book is such an emotional read, filled with a poignancy that made my heart ache. Esme is a character I adored from the outset and the story one that held me in its thrall throughout. I don’t think I could ever find the words to describe just how wonderful this book is, with its glorious imagery and larger than life characters. Told mainly from Esme’s point of view, the story is interspersed with passages from a book written by Rory, one of the soldiers she gets to know, which gives Esme an insight into what life would have been like for her husband during his final days.
Caroline Scott is a phenomenal author whose passion for this time period shines through with every page. Beautifully written, The Visitors is a powerful and deeply emotional exploration of not only grief and loss, but also of how the human spirit is somehow able to cope and even recover after trauma.
A stunning book that will stay with me for a long time to come. Highly recommended.
The Visitors by Caroline Scott is available to purchase now:
Check out what these other fabulous bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 
Thanks for the blog tour support xx
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