Vera is the third novel I've read by Elizabeth von Arnim, who is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. Thrilling and unsettling, Vera is substantially darker in tone than The Enchanted April and Elizabeth and her German Garden. My interest in this novel was piqued when I heard it compared to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. There is some suggestion that it may have influenced Rebecca. While this can't be proven, the two stories do share some marked similarities, though they differ enough in plot to both stand as strong stories in their own right.
Vera follows the misfortunes of young and naive Lucy Entwhistle. Thrown into distress and confusion upon the death of her father, the now orphaned Lucy allows herself to be guided by the recently widowed Everard Wemyss, an older man who takes care of everything for poor little Lucy. In her bereavement, Lucy comes to rely on Wemyss as her comforter, her protector, and her solace. We the reader then get to watch Wemyss' progression from ostensibly fatherly concern to romantic suitor to controlling, cruel tyrant-husband.
Wemyss takes Lucy to his house, The Willows, which is still haunted by the memory (and belongings) of his dead wife Vera. (Here are similarities to Rebecca.) There are mounting hints that there may be more to Vera's "accidental" death. Was it murder? Suicide? Did I mention that she died from a fall out of the window of this very house?
Wemyss as a character is truly abhorrent. Utterly lacking in conscience and empathy, he seeks to dominate and control everyone and everything around him. His narcissism would be ludicrous if it weren't so frightening. Lucy is trapped in this house, with this man, and we are trapped in this nightmare with her. It's claustrophobic, disturbing, and suspenseful. What will happen to Lucy? What did happen to Vera? Von Arnim's novel is a page-turner, but it's not for the faint of heart.
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