My review of The Arrow Chest by Robert Parry

London, 1876. The painter Amos Roselli is in love with his life-long friend and model, the beautiful Daphne – and she with him – until one day she is discovered by another man, a powerful and wealthy industrialist. What will happen when Daphne realises she has sacrificed her happiness to a loveless marriage? What will happen when the artist realises he has lost his most cherished source of inspiration? And how will they negotiate the ever-increasing frequency of strange and bizarre events that seem to be driving them inexorably towards self-destruction? Here, amid the extravagant Neo-Gothic culture of Victorian England, the iconic poem ‘The Lady of Shallot’ blends with mysterious and ghostly glimpses of Tudor history. Romantic, atmospheric and deeply dark.

Having read and absolutely loved Robert Parry’s debut novel, The Virgin and the Crab, I was greatly looking forward to reading The Arrow Chest to see if once again, I might be taken on an enthralling journey. I am very happy to share that I was not left disappointed!

Those who have read my reviews before know that I don’t like to retell the events in great detail as I feel this detracts from the experience of reading the story. What I like to do is describe my response to what I have read.

A little background although is required. The story, for the most part, is set in Victorian England, although, to my delight, Parry offers up haunting glimpses of Tudor England.

The tale revolves around three main characters, Amos Roselli, a painter, Daphne, his muse and life long friend and her husband, Oliver Ramsey, a wealthy industrialist.
Amos is a passionate artist, Daphne intelligent and magnetic, and her husband a despicable tyrant who becomes increasingly repulsive as time passes.

Sound like anyone you know?

Another character worthy of mention is Beth, Roselli’s maid. I felt incredibly drawn to Beth, to her loyalty, humility and sincerity. She brought light and hope to even the darkest moments.

As for the beautiful Daphne, she marries Oliver Ramsey for the possibilities that life with a wealthy, powerful and influential man might present. His larger than life and haughty exterior at first seem fairly innocent, but as the story progresses, reveal a dangerous and ruthless individual—one who expects his wife to acquiesce to his every demand while turning a blind eye to his extra marital ‘sport.’ Ramsey also becomes progressively more violent and impatient for an heir…

Throughout the story, parallels between the Victorian characters and their 16th century counterparts become increasingly obvious. I enjoyed hypothesising about which Tudor personages Robert Parry might have used as inspiration when writing.

Parry weaves a spectacular tale, one that emerges from the pages through its complex and evolving characters, attention to detail and vivid storytelling.

Ghostly conversations, the appearance – and disappearance – of a mysterious woman, strange and puzzling dreams and an ever-increasing sequence of bizarre events shroud this tale in a haunting mist.

Does the ending mirror that of Anne Boleyn’s own tragic and unjust demise or does this tale have a happier conclusion? You will have to read it to find out!

In my opinion, a success.

Fast Tube by Casper