The Mapmaker's Wife

LoveReading Says

Moving from the Caribbean island of Grenada in 1954 through to 2015, Hannah Evans’ The Mapmaker's Wife shares a sweeping intergenerational story of love and long-held family secrets. 

Exploring interracial marriage and racism, the effects of isolation on a young bride in an often-hostile new environment, and an impossible decision that only comes to light after being buried for decades, it’s very readable and packed with character.

Bright young Bea lives on the Caribbean Spice Island of Grenada when her life is turned upside after meeting Patrick, a handsome English-Irish surveyor, at a dance in 1954. There’s a tangible first-sight frisson between them — “Up close, the man – Patrick – was even more handsome than she’d first thought: sweeping brown hair just brushing above his eyes, light blue shirt revealing strong arms beneath, broad chest that she could already imagine leaning into” — and it’s not long before the two are set to be married, though Bea’s mother isn’t exactly happy when she first hears of it, having heard horror stories of life in England.

Nonetheless, Bea leaves her beloved island, but it turns out her mother had a point about life in England being far from a bed of roses, especially for an interracial couple. Then comes being forced to make a dreadfully difficult decision.

Meanwhile, a second narrative plays out in 2015, when a woman discovers a locked trinket box at the back of her mother’s wardrobe while packing up her family home. The box also contains a letter from the past that sends shockwaves through her life…

Radiant with many relatable real-life experiences, The Mapmaker's Wife is packed with emotion, romance and truths about family bonds. 

Joanne Owen

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