Author: Sophie Green
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Genre: Modern & Contemporary Fiction, Fiction
Year of release: 2024
Release date 29/07/24
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Synopsis
Mornington Peninsula, 1999. Wife and now Grandmother Joan has checked into the grand old Duchess Hotel to find herself again after thirty-five years of being who her husband and family have wanted her to be. Peninsula local and soon-to-be octogenarian.
Frances is distracting herself from getting old, and avoiding her self-interested son by escaping to the warmth of the Duchess where the hotel staff treat her like the person she still is. Meanwhile, Frances’s daughter, Alison, is trying to manage significant disruptions at home while hoping to finally prove to her mother that she’s just as worthy of love as her brother.
New to the Duchess, hotel maid Kirrily is feeling the weight of a lifetime of responsibility, struggling to balance bills and work and family, and keeping thoughts of how there must be more to life at bay.
With its old-world glamour, sprawling seaside grounds and air of possibility, the Duchess Hotel might just be the place to help the women rediscover who they are and bring some spark back to their lives.
When Joan decides to pick up a brush and start painting for the first time in decades, she inspires Frances and Kirrily – and, eventually, Alison – to join her. Over canvas, conversation and creativity they will learn that you should always hold onto your dreams and that new friends can give you the courage to live life on your own terms.
Review
Victoria, Mornington Peninsula,1999. Wife and new Grandmother has travelled from Sydney to the Duchess Hotel, in the hopes of finding herself again after thirty-five- years of being a wife and a mother she feels she has lost the Joan she once was. Can a hotel that holds childhood memories also help Joan rediscover herself?
Frances is avoiding old age and avoiding her self-interested son by escaping to the warmth of the Duchess Hotel, where the hotel staff treat her like the person she still is. Meanwhile, Alison Frances’s daughter is trying to manage significant disruptions in her own household at the same time prove to Frances that she is just as worthy of love as her brother, will she be able to prove to Frances she can live with her mother’s past choices or will the pair drift apart?
Kirrily the newest member of staff at the Duchess Hotel weights the world on her shoulders always the caregiver, Kirrily is starting to wonder if there is more to life. Working at the Duchess Hotel is about to provide Kirrily with an opportunity she may not be able to refuse should she stay where she is, or should she see where this new opportunity will take her?
The Duchess Hotel is about to get even busier these three women are about to discover through canvas conversation and creativity they will learn you should hold on tight to your dreams and new friends can give you the courage to live your life on your own terms.
If Sophie Green puts pen to paper, I shall read. Any novel that celebrates friendships, fresh starts and finding yourself will always find it’s way onto my bookshelf.
Right from the opening line of this novel “It’s so lovely, this house” this reader gets the feeling Joan pays attention to detail in looking after things on the home front, but you get the feeling the finer things in life are available to this woman but as you spend a little time with her, you realise Joan has been playing a role of dutiful wife and mother and has let these things pass her by. Although she loves both her children and granddaughter, you’ll find locked away behind Joan’s sharp exterior she is a woman who is screaming out to pick up her paintbrush and easel once again.
By the time you finish reading this novel, you realise Joan is more than just a wife, and a mother she’s a friend, she’s now a woman on a never-ending journey of self-discovery.
Upon meeting Seventy-five- year- old Frances who is sitting in the lobby at the Dutchess Hotel people watching, immersing herself in the hustle and bustle of everyday life where she is still seen, her thoughts still appreciated, and her wants still valued. Frances knows that her daughter loves her but give that woman half a chance and she’ll ship her off to a nursing home the first chance she gets, Frances knows she’s not ready for that just yet. So, Frances shall hide out at the Duchess Hotel for as long as possible if they’ll have her, as for her son Keith, Frances’ only purpose she has to that son of hers is her bank account.
Alison has a lot going on in her life right now she has just welcomed her husband’s son into their home and things aren’t going as smoothly as she’d hoped. Her children don’t get along with their half-brother making the household a stressful environment for everyone. Can she help her family adjust to this new arrangement? Can she finally have the relationship with her mother she has always wanted before it’s too late? Will she be able to find a space that is just for her, or will she forever be stuck on her life’s current chaotic trajectory?
As a reader I hold a special place in my heart for any character that can make me cry and cry and for Frances I did! The woman might appear as if she is made of steel but sit down with her and you will see her skin is bruised and her heart has a tiny tear that she has carried around with her for far too long. By the time we farewell Frances you can see she has let go of her past and willing to enjoy the future.
Kirrily wife to Connor and mother to Bridget and Aidan knows that the household bills need to be paid the family needs to be taken care of, but Kirrily can’t help but wonder if there is more to life, she’s asking the age-old question is the grass greener on the other side?
Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel is certainly not lacking in characters this reader is once again in awe of the author’s ability to create characters I can love with my whole heart and even shed a tear or two for.
“Now she doesn’t know where she stands and she really needs to talk to someone other than Colin, because dogs are not ideally suited to giving advice” -Sophie Green
Having now finished this title, this reviewer has a little nagging thought at certain points in this novel I couldn’t help but feel a little disconnected from the friendships in this story; whilst I found I enjoyed the friendship between Joan and Frances, I struggled to connect to the friendship between Kirrily and Joan it didn’t feel as developed, it almost felt as though the pair were acquittances rather than good friends.
The book was paced well once again Sophie Green has delivered a novel her loyal readers are unable to put down the short chapters made this reviewer eager to keep reading even in the throws of illness.
Once again, this reader can see the main topic in this case, art is of interest and has been well researched by this author and it shows in this novel as well as previous offerings by this author.
Although I’ve stated that Sophie is well-researched in her previous novels it by no-way means this read is predictable rather the opposite each storyline has been crafted with individuality which seems to be Sophie’s writing style that always has me wanting more and more from her.
Sub plots are included in Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel:
- Self-Discovery
- Female friendship
- Loss of a sibling
- Loss of a child
- Grief
- Motherhood
- Secrets
- Self-acceptance
- Sick Child
Tropes included in Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel:
- Female Friendship
- Family drama
- Small town/community
- Loss of a sibling
- Loss of a child
- Motherhood
- Mother/daughter relationship
- Grief
- Stepparent
- Secrets
- Self-Discovery
By the time I closed this book I couldn’t help but feel a little sad I found Frances’ ending the most satisfying for me as a reader and not just because she is my favourite character in this novel. Whilst I was happy for Joan this reader wanted a touch more closure as it felt somewhat open ended, but life is like that.
I highly recommend this author and this novel to mature readers and readers of the Modern & contemporary genre.
With continued thanks to Hachette Australia author Sophie Green and Benson Publicity for sending a physical copy of this book to read and review in exchange for my honest opinion.