The Animals at Lockwood Manor

PerFiction_ist Rating

6.5 out of 10

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Jane Healy's atmospheric debut novel explores themes of childhood trauma, gender discrimination, and natural history while embracing the mystery and tension of classic Gothic novels.

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At the start of the Second World War, London's natural history museum evacuates its exhibits to country houses for safekeeping. Hetty Cartwright oversees the evacuation of the museum's collection of taxidermy mammals to Lockwood Manor. Hetty, like many other women at the time, takes on a man's role solely because of the war. She is usually disrespected and undervalued by her male colleagues and superiors, despite being highly qualified and passionate about her work. The book highlights the unfairness of gender discrimination in the workplace and just how hard women had to fight to gain recognition and respect. Hetty is also tragically anxious, socially awkward, and unsure of herself, experiencing frequent night terrors and nightmares.

Almost immediately we discover that the lord of Lockwood Manor is an infuriating, disrespecting, gas-lighting character, who could be described as the epitome of toxic masculinity. We also meet a range of resentful servants and Lord Lockwood's ethereal daughter, Lucy, who suffers from "bad nerves". Pretty soon things start going wrong for Hetty and she struggles to maintain a grip on reality as well as her authority over her animal charges.

"'Curiosity can be dangerous, Miss Cartwright, digging into secrets, opening locked doors. You should take more care wandering around in the dark.'"

Jane Healy does a great job of leaning into the creepy old house trope, ramping up the tension with mysterious sounds and figures. This is a more contemporary take on the Gothic theme, set against the backdrop of the Blitz and showcasing the decline of the aristocracy as well as the social norms and expectations of women. I enjoy books set during this period when women begin to gain independence and freedom from the restrictions of the past. It definitely reminded me of Downton Abbey in this regard. There are also shades of Jane Eyre, with rumors of ghosts and madness. There are a lot of descriptions of nightmares. A lot. These women have so many nightmares that it actually becomes hard to believe, and it began to irritate me.

"Lockwood was a claustrophobic world in miniature, with old hierarchies still in place, with its maze of rooms, and sometimes it felt like those of us who lived in the manor were the only people alive and that the war was but a dream."

What I liked about the book was the juxtaposition of the hunter vs. scientist mindset within natural history, the way it switches between two viewpoints, and the climax which was well thought out and executed. I also noticed that the author has a knack for writing exquisite descriptions of small, natural human mannerisms and movements during dialogue. And of course, the gorgeous cover, which is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.

I wish that I had enjoyed this book more, but I found it to be quite slow-moving up until the last few chapters, and to be honest, I was expecting something quite different when I bought it. I think that I didn't read the blurb properly because I was so transfixed by the cover. I don't think I quite realised that the animals would be stuffed. I genuinely dislike taxidermy, it upsets me, but it added to the creepy nature of the story so I understand why it had to play such a major role. I also assumed that Lucy would be a child, for some reason, and not a love interest.

Overall, The Animals at Lockwood Manor is a good historical fiction read and it is right on brand for the Gothic genre. It might not have been highly enjoyable for me, but that's mainly because I had incorrect expectations of it. It's a slow burn with an interesting plot and sufficiently shocking and satisfying ending.

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First published in 2020 by Mantle an imprint of Pan Macmillan

ISBN: 978-1-5290-1418-1