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Anne Allen lives in Devon, England by her beloved sea. She has three children, and her daughter and two grandchildren live nearby. Her restless spirit has meant a number of moves, including Spain for a couple of years. However, the longest stay was in Guernsey for nearly fourteen years after falling in love with the island and the people. She contrived to leave one son behind to ensure a valid reason for frequent returns.
By profession, Anne was a psychotherapist, but long had the itch to write. Her work enabled her to study the human psyche in depth and this has contributed to her characters’ personalities and experiences. The prompt to start writing came after Anne won a true-life story competition in Prima magazine, with a prize of £500 worth of M & S vouchers. Realising writing might actually pay the bills, or at least put food in her mouth, Anne drafted what was to become, years later, the first in The Guernsey Novels series.
Now a full-time writer, she has published seven novels in the series. However, each one is a standalone story with links to other books and characters. Although not originally planned, Anne is, in effect, writing a saga of Guernsey; featuring numerous characters and stories covering the German Occupation, Victorian Guernsey and the present day. The next book is another dual-time story, set partly around the early 19th century and features privateers and smugglers. Oh, and a ghost! A mix of family drama, mystery and love.
Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite
The Inheritance is Book 7 in The Guernsey Novels by Anne Allen, a compelling narrative steeped in mystery and featuring a historical personage that immediately catches the interest of the reader. The novel is set in 1862 and 2012. When her husband dies suddenly in 1862, Eugénie knows she has no future in Guernsey. When her path crosses with Victor Hugo, living in exile on the island near her home, everything changes for her. She becomes his copyist. A strong friendship quickly develops between the young widow, Victor Hugo and his mistress, Juliette Drouet. It is 2012 and Doctor Tess Le Prevost, born in Guernsey, is living in Exeter, but she is shocked when she learns she is to inherit her great-aunt’s house on the island. There have been stories in her family about Eugénie and that she knew Victor Hugo. Was Victor Hugo the biological father of Eugénie's child?
This is a suspenseful story that is intelligently plotted and beautifully told. The author uses the first person narrative and shifts the story from the past to the present, a literary technique that reinforces the suspense as the reader moves from one timeline and from one point of view to another. The prose is beautiful and it is filled with wonderful descriptions. The story is infused with humanity and realism and readers can feel as though they were sitting in the same room with the legendary author and the other characters. The Inheritance is deftly plotted and it features characters that are real and compelling. I enjoyed every bit of this story.
