BOOK REVIEW: Florence and Giles by John Harding ★★★★☆

SORRY. NOT SORRY. SPOILERS AHEAD.

John Harding is one of Britain’s most versatile contemporary novelists. He is the author of five novels, all very different from one another. Apart from a short period working on newspapers and magazines as a reporter and editor, he has been a freelance writer and novelist all his working life. The Girl Who Couldn’t Read (2014) is a sequel to Florence and Giles that can be read as a standalone novel by those who haven’t read the earlier book.

1891.New England. In a remote and crumbling Blithe Mansion, orphan Florence, and her younger brother Giles are neglected by her guardian uncle, who bans women education. Florence reads books in secret, using Shakespeare as her teacher, narrates her story in a unique language of her own invention.

Inspired from Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, Harding’s version follows twelve-year-old Florence who (after the death of the previous governess Miss Whitaker) utterly convinced the new governess Miss Taylor is a witch who wants to kidnap her brother Giles. Florence takes the matter into her own hands. She’ll do anything to keep her brother safe.

I actually didn’t have much hope when I was reading this. Honestly, I was a bit bored in Part One. It’s probably because of Florence’s weird narrative and her dragging on. But I do like how Harding set the scene; really got you connecting with a lonely Florence who would rather read a book as opposed to socialising with others. Characters like the tall and asthma prone patient Theo van Hoosier, the house servants and detective Hadleigh, although minor really brought the story together.

The climax/ending had to be the highlight of the whole book. The ending is ambiguous because you don’t know what to think. Is Miss Taylor really evil and is she Giles’s mother? Was it all in Florence’s head? I like books that make me scratch my head, but not so that I’ll turn mad. It turns into a sinister game of cat and mouse. You don’t know who’s really evil until the very end. I skimmed back to the beginning and started hunting for clues that actually blew my mind.

I didn’t mind Florence’s invented grammar but did you notice she used proper grammar when speaking to other characters? Anyway, I was at times thinking where is this all going? Part one was indeed slow. But it really picked up near the end and it left me with ‘kids are creepy’ vibe.

I read this a couple of years back and it was the only book I DNF. This time around I read it from start to finish. I’d recommend it to gothic readers, but once you get over the weird grammar narration it’s actually a creepy book. If you're into gothic and mystery then yes, Florence and Giles is for you. However, if you want a book that scares you, you might want to read something else.

Rating 4.5/5 Stars
Publishers: Harpercollins UK
First Published: January 1st, 2010
Second Publication Date: March 4th, 2010
Genre: Horror/Gothic/Mystery