set after WWI — London — many men, young, dead, wounded, maimed — heroes of war
children send to orphanages — sent to Canada as servants / abused

Still haunted by the death of her only brother, James, in the Great War, Evelyn Gifford is completely unprepared when a young nurse and her six-year-old son appear on the Giffords' doorstep one night. The child, the nurse claims, is James's, conceived in a battlefield hospital. The grief-stricken Giffords take them both in; but Evelyn, a struggling attorney, must now support her entire family—at a time when work for women lawyers is almost nonexistent.

Suddenly a new case falls in Evelyn's lap: Seemingly hopeless, it's been abandoned by her male coworkers. The accused—a veteran charged with murdering his young wife—is almost certain to die on the gallows.... And yet, Evelyn believes he is truly innocent, just as she suspects there may be more to the story of her "nephew" than meets the eye...

The Crimson Rooms by Katherine McMahon
An interesting story set in 1920s London. It is partly a murder mystery, part social commentary and part romantic drama. I found most of the characters well-rounded and believable apart from Meredith who seemed to veer wildly from incredibly flighty and irresponsible to very sensitive and wise.
On the whole I very much enjoyed this book and was captivated to the end.
The end was very harsh. I kept hoping for things to get resolved but in a way it was more true to life as it stood.
A minor irritation was the use of the word 'hung' when it should have been 'hanged'. ( )

This is a really enthralling book. It's set in 1924. James Gifford was killed in WW1 and his sister Evelyn and her family have been living in the shadow of this event ever since. His hat still hangs on the hatstand in the hall and the book opens with Evelyn having what seems to be a regular nightmare about trying to save him from the sea of mud. She's awoken by the door and the arrival of a stranger with her son, who she claims is James'.
The book then follows several strands. the first is the family trying to adjust to the arrival of Meredith and Edmund, as well as the sometimes uncomfortable information that she brings with her about James's last few weeks. Intertwined with this are Evelyn's cases concerning a man supposed to have murdered his wife and a woman who surrendered her children to a charity home and now wants them back. In each case, Evelyn is the junior clerk on the case, as they've been assigned to the only chambers that would take her. and while Evelyn is set om law and being one of the first women lawyers, she is also struggling with the concept that she is only here because James isn't - he was supposed to have followed in his father's footsteps and taken up law.
There is also a romance that, it turns out, wasn't what it seemed. The cases become mingled with her private life and her past, such that the war is still a significant impact on the murder case, and the real cause is murkier than it might appear. ( )

The Crimson Rooms is a great story well told. Katherine McMahon’s tale of First World War trauma and loss is set in the mid-1920s, as Britain is trying to recover from the four years of bitter conflict. Evelyn Gifford is the protagonist, one of the first female trainee solicitors. The story is told through her eyes and encompasses a wide range of themes – her struggle to be taken seriously as a lawyer, the inability to have a rewarding career and to still be a woman, and how her gender often felt like a hindrance in trying to fight for justice for those she represents – all of which are warped by her grief at the loss of her younger brother in the trenches.

This is an atmospheric novel, rapidly and convincingly transporting the reader to London in 1924; there’s a real believability to the writing, but no soap opera, overly romantic slush. The characters are real and well drawn, and I enjoyed their company, despite the harrowing nature of some of their situations and dilemmas. There are no battle scenes or different time frames, yet the horror and obscenity of war permeates the narrative. Evelyn’s slightly dysfunctional family – shaken and bemused by the arrival of her dead brother’s wife – is well drawn, and it was moving and interesting to consider how hundreds of similar families must have been torn apart in the same way as the Giffords, and how they spent the next decade and more trying to adjust and over-compensate as a result of their stalled grief.

The three main narrative threads – Evelyn’s search for love, the arrival of Meredith with Evelyn’s young nephew, and the murder trial of Stephen Wheeler - all work seamlessly. This is good quality writing and I will be on the lookout for more of McMahon’s books. This really is a great read.

© Koplowitz 2013
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A good feel for the times.

This book gave an excellent feel for the effects of WWI, not just on those who fought, but also on those who nursed the injured and the families of the soldiers, whether they survived or were lost.

Evelyn lost her beloved brother to the war and her family has been mourning ever since. She harbours guilt for the fact that, due to his death, she has been able to study law, using the money that would have been used for James's education. Being one of the first lady lawyers, she also has to wrestle with the fact that, due to the attitude of most men of the legal profession, her clients will be disadvantaged if she represents them.
She works with her employer, a Mr Breen of Breen and Balcombe, on two cases. The first is a mother who voluntarily deposits her three children into a children's home because she is unable to care for them properly. However, when she returns to claim them she finds that she has signed away her rights to them when she put her 'X' on the form. This case also brings in the issue of exporting 'orphaned' young children to the colonies to new homes, a misnomer for free labour.
The second case is a man accused of murdering his wife. He is an ex-soldier and his experiences in the war have shaped the man he is now. He was a school chum of Mr Breen's and they are desperate to save him from hanging.
Meanwhile, a young lady and her son have turned up on the doorstep of Evelyn's home, claiming to be James's son and his mother. Some correspondence had gone on with Evelyn's father before he died, but Evelyn knew nothing of the existence of a nephew. Along with Evelyn's mother and aunt, the family must struggle to accomodate these two new members.

There is quite a lot going on and it was an enjoyable read. The ending felt a bit rushed and was in some respects frustrating, although I guess it would be believable for the era. Not quite five stars for me because I wasn't sure that the characters of Prudence (the aunt) and Meredith, were quite consistent throughout the book.

Also read:
The Rose of Sebastopol (4 stars) ( )