I’m really delighted today to be joining the ongoing blog tour for The Golden Hour by Kate Lord Brown, and sharing my publication day review. It’s published today (10th April) by Simon & Schuster as an e-book on all major platforms, in hardcover, and as an audiobook – and the paperback will follow on 17th July, available from your favourite on-line or high street bookseller. My thanks to Sara-Jade Virtue at @TeamBATC for the invitation, and for forwarding a print ARC (looking particularly beautiful on my bookshelves – isn’t that cover gorgeous?) – the e-copy I read was provided via netgalley.
I’ve just been looking through my reading history to see how many of Kate’s other books I’ve already read – her name is so very familiar to me, I was so sure I’d find some earlier reviews. But no, although almost all of her books were purchased and downloaded to my kindle – starting with her very first, The Beauty Chorus, way back in 2011 – I’m rather ashamed to admit that this is the first time I’ve experienced her writing. But that’s also rather exciting – a back catalogue I’ll certainly look forward to exploring.
But let’s take a closer look at her latest…
The Golden Hour is an epic dual timeline story which interweaves glory-seeking desert archaeologists, priceless treasures, Nefertiti’s tomb and the decadent cabarets of WW2 Cairo with restless expat lives in bohemian Beirut.
Archaeologist Lucie Fitzgerald’s mother is dying – she’s also been lying. As her home, the ‘Paris of the East’, Beirut, teeters on the brink of war in the ‘70s, Polly Fitzgerald has one last story to tell from her deathbed. It’s the story of her childhood best friend Juno and their life in 30s Cairo. Lucie travels home to be with her dying mother and discovers the truth about her family, Juno’s work and their shared search for the greatest undiscovered tomb of all – Nefertiti’s.
From the cities to the deserts, this transporting and moving story of a lost generation transformed by war is a study of great love and sacrifice in all its forms, the perfect novel for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.
This really was such an engaging and wonderfully told story, richly atmospheric, filled with unexpected twists and turns – a dual timeline impeccably managed, and a multi-sensory experience of life in Cairo in the 1930s and 1970s Beirut.
Childhood friends Polly and Juno, having grown up in Cornwall, are reunited in Cairo as war approaches – a cultural melting pot, a chaotic way of life that suits Juno’s independent and adventurous spirit far better than it does her more cautious friend. Juno’s determined that her gender and her marriage won’t get in the way of her deep need to join an archaeological dig deep in the desert – Nefertiti has long been her fascination, she’s always harboured the desire to be part of the team who finally uncover her tomb, and will overcome any barriers that lie in her way. Polly, meanwhile, is quietly supportive – finding her own comfort of home in working with horses.
In the 1970s, archaeologist Lucie travels to Beirut to be with Polly, her mother, at the end of her life – again with war casting a dark shadow. She finds a friend and ally – and a welcome touch of romance – but also discovers a complicated family mystery to disentangle, with its roots deep in the childhood friends’ shared history, but its impact far reaching in the present day.
Juno describes Cairo as having “the novelty of Paris, the charm of Vienna and the nobility of Istanbul” – but it’s the author’s wonderful writing that entirely transports the reader to the city at that point in history, and it’s certainly a heady experience. The ex-pat lifestyle, with its many excesses and moral uncertainties, is so perfectly captured – and the author’s descriptions of the more opulent oases and seedier backstreets, the pervading sense of danger and unrest, were truly exceptional with an atmosphere I found entirely immersive. There’s a cinematic quality to the writing that makes you feel present in the moment – one of those books that made it easy to disappear into its pages and entirely escape from life.
The excitement – and discomfort – of the dig was perfectly captured too, as Juno’s moral compass shifts, tempted by the forbidden, always striving to be taken seriously in a world run by men and overshadowed by their struggles for dominance. And the author’s extensive research really shines through – all the archaeological detail bringing her desert experience to life, along with the palpable excitement of being tantalisingly close to a discovery that will change history.
The three main characters – Polly and Juno, and Lucie in the present day – are very real and quite perfectly drawn, all of them sympathetic in their different ways, all wrestling with finding happiness in the place they feel they belong. The supporting cast is just as strong – the male characters are equally well rounded, sometimes odious, but often playing their own important parts in the women’s unfolding stories. The central mystery linking the timelines and driving the story totally fascinates, its discoveries and revelations perfectly paced – I might have joined up the pieces ahead of the ending, but it couldn’t have been more perfect, rounded off by a particularly moving and fitting epilogue. But there are so many moving moments – the author really does have such a well-judged emotional touch.
It’s the story of a particularly special friendship, about love and betrayal, deeply hidden secrets, following your dreams, defeating the odds, overcoming fear and finding bravery – and a really gripping story, with characters I felt deeply about. And it’s a story that will stay with me for a very long time – a shared experience I really couldn’t have enjoyed more.
Praise for The Golden Hour:
‘Wonderfully escapist with beautifully drawn characters, stunning locations and an unashamedly romantic heart, The Golden Hour is a captivating story’ Hannah Richell
‘A Kate Lord Brown novel is always a treat, and I think The Golden Hour is her best yet, with its sumptuous combination of love, war and intrigue and its gorgeously exotic setting’ Jane Johnson
‘An exquisite story of love and the enduring power of friendship. Kate Lord Brown’s writing is so evocative and immersive that I felt transported to faraway shores and stood beside her characters sharing their experiences rather than simply reading about them. The Golden Hour is pure gold’ Ruth Hogan
‘Epic, sweeping and gloriously romantic, this is the kind of book we have all been longing for, with all the ingredients of a classic page-turner – exotic locations, intrepid women and thrilling adventure. An absolute delight’ Veronica Henry
‘Headily romantic, richly detailed, with marvellous characters and a vividly stirring landscape both geographical and historical, The Golden Hour offers escapism of the most elegantly seductive sort’ Christobel Kent
About the author
Kate was a finalist in ITV’s The People’s Author contest, and her novel The Perfume Garden, which has been published in nine languages, was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year 2014. She was regional winner of the BBC International Radio Playwriting competition this year, and she holds an MA in Creative Writing. Her books have been top ten bestsellers in the UK, Canada, and several European countries. In 2020 she was highly commended in the RNA Elizabeth Goudge Trophy.
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Sorry I missed this yesterday. Wasn’t it a great read? Lovely review.