I’m so delighted today to be joining the blog tour for The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore, and sharing my publication day review: published today (31st July) by Simon & Schuster, the book is now available as an ebook on all major platforms, in hardback and as an audiobook, with the paperback to follow in February 2026. My thanks to Sara-Jade Virtue at @TeamBATC for the invitation, and for forwarding a print ARC (and with such an evocative cover… Norfolk perfectly captured!) – the e-copy I read was provided via netgalley.
When I looked back at my many reviews of Rachel’s wonderful books, I was rather horrified to find that the last one I read was in 2019. That was The Love Child – an enthralling read as always (you’ll find my review here), and I can only guess that the timing just hasn’t worked for her more recent books (and I certainly have some serious catching up to do…!). I’ve been an unashamed fan of Rachel’s books for such a long time, having discovered her wonderful writing with The Memory Garden back in 2008 – way before I started sharing my reviews. But I can share a few – The Silent Tide (2013) was a particular favourite (you’ll find my review here), as was the excellent Last Letter Home in 2018 (review here).
And I’m thrilled to be returning to the fold – let’s take a look at her latest…
Uncovering secrets that span generations, Rachel Hore delivers intriguing, involving and emotive narrative reading group fiction like few other writers can.
Nancy Foster has harboured a devastating secret that shattered her professional and personal life. On meeting her, journalist Stef Lansdown realizes that she has the power to restore Nancy’s reputation and to heal the wounds, if only Nancy will trust her. But someone else wants to get to the bottom of the story first, someone who doesn’t want it to be told.
Set in the beautiful environs of the Norfolk Broads in 2010, and in London in the ’40s and ‘50s, when life for career-driven women was so different, The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge is Sunday Times multi-million copy bestselling author Rachel Hore’s utterly compelling new novel, interweaving the past and the present.
A freelance journalist, Stef is also a frustrated author – her first book wasn’t received as favourably as she’d hoped, but she now has plans for her next, featuring the lives of women scientists. During a stay in Norfolk with her mother, she is introduced to Nancy – who formerly worked in the zoology field, is now in her 80s, and who she feels might have a story to tell. At first, her approach is rejected – and Nancy’s visiting son Aaron is particularly fierce in protecting her – but she slowly wins her trust and her agreement to share her experiences. Living in an isolated – and rather neglected – cottage on a nature reserve, she now lives a simple and solitary life, caring for animals who need her intervention in her garden shed. And there are those who no longer want her there, making her life rather less comfortable than she wants it to be.
But she goes ahead with sharing her story – to tell Stef more about what it was like to be a woman at that time trying to make a name for herself in a scientific world dominated by men, but also gradually revealing her personal story. In childhood, there was that first chemistry set from Aunt Rhoda – then her decision to study zoology at Prince’s College in Kensington in the late 1940s, when they were rebuilding the department after the war and willing to offer opportunities for women. To some extent, hers is a coming of age story at first – mixing with the opposite sex for the first time, forming friendships and relationships – but it becomes a story of prejudice, inequality of treatment, and ultimately others (men, of course) taking credit for her work. She also becomes involved in particularly controversial work with a chemicals firm, in a time when their agricultural use was believed to be needed – but it turned out there were other, much more personal and emotional, secrets that ultimately ended her research career, and saw her becoming a teacher for the rest of her working life.
The bond that develops between the two women is particularly touching, and something I really enjoyed. As Nancy’s story unfolds, her son Aaron softens in his opposition to her telling her story – and, with Stef newly single, there are also the beginnings of a possible (very believable) romance. And they do need to work together to protect Nancy from those who might want her to move on – with some particularly well-written drama along the way. But there are also other aspects to the present day story punctuating Nancy’s storytelling, providing many of the lighter moments – notably Stef’s mother and her constant concerns about her love life, and her rather over-dramatic sister seeking refuge from a failing marriage.
I very much enjoyed both timelines – although Nancy’s back story was perhaps the more compelling. This was a substantial book – 480 pages, and I’ll readily admit that I thought that might be overlong – but I really was entirely engaged by both women’s stories throughout and consumed it in a couple of sittings. The pacing is perfect, the descriptions of the atmospheric Norfolk setting quite stunning, and Nancy’s voice in telling her story – in third person, but very much from her perspective – exceptionally engaging. As you might expect, there’s a substantial amount of scientific detail, but I found it both fascinating and easy to understand – while becoming increasingly angry about her experiences, because she was an individual I really took to my heart.
This was a book I very much enjoyed – and having discovered the author’s wonderful storytelling once more, I’m looking forward very much to seeing what she does next.
About the author
Rachel Hore worked in London publishing for many years before moving with her family to Norwich, where she taught publishing and creative writing at the University of East Anglia until deciding to become a full-time writer. The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge is her fourteenth novel. She is married to the writer D.J. Taylor and they have three sons.
Visit Rachel at her website, or follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
