Hidden pasts!

The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper   

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Tea Cooper has an uncanny ability to join a story by threads of happenstance across several generations. This time in Morpeth, NSW (Australia). The story is connected by the central idea of a delicate painting of the first discovery of the Wanderer Butterfly, painted and researched by Theodora Breckenridge(unacknowledged of course!)

Add into this the tragedy of baby farms, stolen children and a woman who orchestrated these things, and we have a stunning expose across time delving into just exactly what happened in the Morpeth community between 1868 and 1922.

In 1922 Verity Binks, a struggling reporter and the daughter of the a now deceased war correspondent, is invited to write a piece about a charity, the Treadwell Foundation. The mover behind the organization is David Treadwell, husband to Theodora’s sister Florence . It’s in Treadwell’s home that Verity first sees the stunning painting of the Wanderer Butterfly. 

As the circle closes it appears Verity’s grandparents came from Morpeth where the butterfly was painted.

I love the way Cooper’s writing transverses the Australian historical landscape as she weaves her storytelling magic.

Sublime descriptions of gardens lush and heavy with perfumed anticipation contrast against the fractured lives of the women and babies that intrude into a harsh reality. Darkness hides amongst them. Mystery and tragedy beckons!

Another heart stopping treat from Tea Cooper!

A Harper Muse ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.