Ghost towns, history and The Secrets of St Dee by Victoria Routledge

In 1943 the village of Imber in the UK was evacuated for military training purposes. To this day, the village remains closed off to the public with the exception of an annual feast day during which it comes alive once more.

Imber is the inspiration for the setting of'The Secrets of St Dee, Victoria Routledge tells us in the books forward, and I was immediately drawn by the idea of the deserted, overrun Imber finally being repopulated, even if it is in a parallel, fictional world. Because I suppose thats what fiction gives us, isnt it? The ability to experience parallel worlds, to take those forks, to seek out the many answers to those what ifs.'Routledge certainly gives us plenty of what ifs in what this quiet novel, and although I was a little dismayed by the inelegant, painfully conservative ending, for the most part'The Secrets of St Dee is an appealing readalthough much of this is due to the intriguing setting and the possibilities it opens up.

Tone-wise, the novel treads the boundary between chick lit and mainstream fiction, although the hugely conservative ending may mean that its destined for other areas of the bookshop entirely. Its a fresh start sort of premise, and one that reminded me a great deal of'Mr Chens Emporium by Deborah OBrien in that both involve the ferreting out of the histories of a buildings past owners, and that art and creation (and perhaps recreation?) loom large in both.

However, where'Mr Chen gives us two woman who have found and lost love,'The Secrets of St Dee offers an established relationship, something that is surprisingly unusual in this genre. That said, although the relationship may be one a few years in the making, its a new relationship in many ways: Carrie and her husband Mark know surprisingly little about each other, having focused, it seems, on making sure that the must have relationship boxes have been ticked, and then not worrying so much about the wider, broader experiences and shared outlooks that make a deep, fulfilling marriage.

Its this that allows Routledge to throw plenty of spanners in the works with regard to the relationship dynamics between the two, and she certainly does. Both Carrie and Mark are contractors, and where Carrie is striving for stability and financial independence, Mark is intent on maintaining a Peter Pan-esque way of life free of responsibility and and any of the practical skills that are needed for getting by as an adultsuch as paying the bills instead of buying dozens of new pairs of runners.

The two are in unfortunate financial straits, so when Mark inherits a house in St Dee, a ghost town that has only just emerged from the coma its been in since World War II, moving is pretty much a done deal. However, although Carrie sees the move as an opportunity for her to focus on her illustration work and deepen her relationship with Mark, Mark sees it as stifling and trapping: he pooh-poohs the newly arrived village-folk and avoids as best he can anything related to history, that terrifying spectre that is so at odds with his day-by-day vision of the world.

The book is at its best when were watching Carrie exploring village life, researching the past inhabitants of the village, and developing friendships with the locals: curiously, although she and Mark have moved away from the vastness of London to what might be considered an insular, cut-off community, its here that Carrie finally begins to break out of the just the two of us inwardness of her relationship with Mark. Mark, on the other hand, spends as much time as he can escaping from the villageand Carrie at thatand in doing so ends up more alone than ever. There are, of course, dark secrets and life-changing reveals, and I have to say that the end result of these left a bad taste in my mouth. Watching characters made ridiculous, submissive decisions in the name of narrative neatness makes for a a bit of grumpiness on my behalf.

Theres a fascinating spooky element to the book as well, and I loved that Routledge drew parallels between the ghosts of the villages past, and also the almost ghost-like return of the modern day residents, whose arrival very much mirrors the sort of freedom of movement granted to the dead on particular feast days. Routledge shores this up with an additional parallel in Carries work, and I found that this all worked quite elegantly (if not necessarily subtly, but thats not this genre asks for, so all good there) until the end of the book where things became a bit overblown. It all felt a bit to me like finally seeing the face of a monster in a horror movie: its so much more satisfying when youre relying on imagination alone.

Still, the disappointing ending (and awful man-child husband) aside, I enjoyed the opportunity to be a visitor to the town of St Dee, and to become privy to the idea that there are very real ghost towns out thereits one of those truth is stranger than fiction things, isnt it?

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Other books by Victoria Routledge: