After a rocky start this book pulled me in with the 3 intertwined stories. I loved the characters and wanted to know more about them and their lives. The bittersweet ending was perfect.

I didn’t love this one but it was an interesting read. It’s crazy to think that not that long ago husbands were able to commit their wives to mental institutions. Thinking she was just going for a drive, she’s betrayed by the man she loves and left at a private facility. She navigates life in the institution while befriending doctors and fellow patients.
This is a multi POV read between between three women with their own distinct voices. I was mostly invested in Esther’s story. Rachel discoverers letters from 1950 and begins to investigate the stories within the pages.
The third voice is Eve who is taking care of her grandmother after a fall.
The tales are all woven together beautifully and well written.
While it’s not my cup of tea I appreciated the uniqueness of the story and the writing style.

In 1951, a young wife and mother, Esther Durrant is comitted by her husband to a facility on the isolated Isles of Scilly.
In 2018, a 35 year old single researc scientist discovers unsent love letters written to Esther on the island.
This book follows the two stories well, with lovely writing that takes you straight to the freezing cold winds on the Isles and also the beauty of their cliffs and flora.
The part I didn't subscribe to was the love story. My modern-day eyes just see that as an abuse of power in a situation with a very vulnerable person. Unfortunately it becomes hard to love the book when you don't believe in the romance.
There were also a few too many bows tied up at the end of the book which I felt were unecessary and bordered the novel on twee rather than solid historical fiction.

The writing and location are great, and I would still recommend this book to HF readers. Although I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and Hatchette Australia in return for an honest review (thank you), I also purchased the audio version and the narration was really well done and recommended.
3.5 stars

Thankyou to NetGalley, Hatchette Australia and the author, Kayte Nunn, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Such a beautifully written and highly detailed book. I thought the dual timelines were blended well. The characters are well drawn and captivating. The narrative draws you in and keeps a hold on you until the reach the final page.
Well worth a read.

A dual timeline novel set in 1951 and 2017 told by three characters. This had my attention from the first paragraph.

In 1951 Esther is on holiday with her husband, or so she thinks. He is actually sending her away to an asylum.

1n 2017 we meet Rachel, a marine biologist, who finds a stack of love letters, addressed to Esther yet never sent. We also meet Eve, Esther’s granddaughter who is writing a biography of her adventurer Grandmother.

Rachel wants to give the letters to their rightful recipient. Here sets in play a string of events and the discovery of secrets hidden for years.

What a delightful story!
Initially I was put off from reading this novel because of the title - I found it a bit dull and didn’t feel drawn to the book. How wrong I was as this was an incredibly interesting and intricate story that showed not only depth of historical research but also a lot of heart and feeling. The moving across times was smooth and easy to follow. The characters were also both interesting and intriguing with quite a range of personalities that enhanced the storyline.
Although a love story it also raised issues about the attitudes and treatment of those suffering from mental illnesses. While I would like to say our contemporary attitudes to mental illness, whether it be post-natal depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, have improved that would be far from the truth. There is still a lot to be done to change attitudes towards those suffering from mental illness but also the support and assistance given isn’t what it should be. Recent Australian newspaper reports in The Age on Australian Border Security employees highlights that there have been a significant number of suicides and that support for PTSD sufferers isn’t satisfactory with families of sufferers struggling without effective and appropriate support. More is certainly needed.
While the issue of mental illness is central to this story, it was sensitively handled with a focus on hope and positive outcomes that are achievable.

A highly recommended read.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Hachette Australia for a ebook copy to read and review.

The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant is a beautiful and immersive story of loss, healing, friendship and finding love. At the core of this wonderful historical fiction is a forbidden romance and a mystery surrounding a cache of long-forgotten love letters. With a cast of intriguing and intertwined characters, Kayte Nunn delicately and deftly explores the themes of relationships, mental illness, PTSD, women’s rights and choices. The imagery is so vivid that you can easily picture the remote and at times perilous locations and amazingly when Kayte shared the inspiration for the cottage and islands mentioned in her novel, they were exactly how I imagined them to be!

I loved the use of dual timelines and the perspectives of the three characters Rachel, Esther & Eve - the story flowed naturally, was easy to follow and it was a delightful blend and contrast of the past and present. The inspirations for this story is based on Kayte Nunn’s own family history, which she shares at the end of her novel, and lends further authenticity to such an absorbing tale and underscores the sense of longing and sadness felt throughout the novel.

I enjoyed this wonderfully measured story, it was my first Kayte Nunn novel and I look forward to reading more of her in the future - starting with The Botanist’s Daughter! Readers of historical fiction will find plenty to love in The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant.

4.5 stars

I had no hesitation in highly recommending Kayte’s book last year, ‘The Botanist’s Daughter’ to lovers of historical fiction - it had a real Kate Morton feel to it - and was fabulous! So it was with great anticipation that I embarked on her latest offering, ‘The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant’ and I am happy to report it, likewise, is a wonderful read.

‘I can see that you’re trying to find the light, just as fiercely as you were digging for those clams. But you know the real trick is to contain the darkness.’
She knew he wasn’t talking about photography.
‘You have to make it a place that you can return to, but–and this is the key–one that you can leave,’ he said. ‘Make it a shadow room in your mind if you like. Put all the sadness, the anger, the sheer impotence there. Otherwise it’ll take over your life, poison everything.’

Once again, Kayte gives us a compelling dual time narrative, this time set in the stunning Isles of Scilly and is full of romance and tragedy. However, it also incorporates much more through the role of women in the 1950s compared to today and sensitively looks into conditions such as PTSD and SIDS. Within this tale I appreciated both female leads - my heart went out to Esther committed to an asylum by her husband after suffering from a loss and Rachel in the present day with her adventures around the world. Add to this mix loads of secrets, lost loves and difficult choices and you have a most compelling read.

Kayte is a talented writer as both stories, especially transition between timelines, being flawless. The locations are richly described and the selection of characters are positive, contributing worthily to the story as a whole. The atmosphere, particularly on the island in the 1950s, literally jumps off the page at you. This is a cleverly written tale that is sure to engage readers of historical fiction.

The Forgotten Letters Of Esther Durrant is a truly beautiful story, as it shines a light on life, love and loss and how, with time, heart and mind can be healed.

‘How do you keep going on?’
‘Beauty.’
‘Beauty?’ she echoed.
‘Even when it seems there is none to be had, you must seek it out. Find a way to dream again, to believe, believe in the beauty of life, however fleeting.’

The Lost Letters of Esther Durrant is a dual timeline novel set in both 1951 & 2017. The book starts in 1951 with Esther's husband taking her on a supposed holiday to the Scilly Islands, I was horrified at the turn of events when it turns out he is committing her to an asylum. I had to put the book down I was that disturbed that a husband could have the power to do something so underhanded. I felt Esther's shock and disbelief in what was happening to her.

In 2017 we have two separate stories, the first being Rachel, a marine scientist who gets a job on one of the Scilly islands and when an accident occurs she comes across some letters from 1952 addressed, but never sent to Esther. Rachel is very curious and touched by the letters and decides to try track down Esther and find out who wrote the letters.

We also meet Esther and her granddaughter Eve, Esther is telling Eve her life story for an autobiography of her life that they are writing.

The novel switches between the three storylines as we slowly uncover what happened to Esther on the island and learn the secrets she has been keeping for over 60 years.

Rachel was a tough character, afraid of getting close to people she flits from place to place, I found her interference with one of the characters in the story's life to be wrong, even though she was coming from a place she thought was right. I really liked Jonah, one of the men living on the island that Rachel moves to, I found him such a warm and thoughtful guy and loved the way he pushed Rachel to think about her life and what she was doing with it.

There are many secrets uncovered in this novel and a few twists that I wasn't expecting. I loved how Esther became a mountaineer, which back in the 50s would have been nearly unheard of for a wife and mother. After all Esther had been through, she led an interesting life. The ability of a husband to commit his wife still leaves me cold, no matter what the reasons for him doing it, I can't get over this fact, no discussion, nothing, Esther's power and choices were completely taken away from her at this time. Thank goodness this is one thing that has changed since then.

This was a highly enjoyable story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for a digital copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Some books just resonate with you from the first page and that was very much the case for me as I indulged in The Forgotten Letters Of Esther Durrant. This is a beautifully written and elegant book providing insight into aspects of psychology in the 1950’s through the experience of Esther Durrant, sent to a remote island off the Cornish coast for treatment of her severe post natal depression.
Written as a dual timeline novel wth three distinct stories, this is a complex book yet author Kayte Nunn has succeeded in knitting all three stories together to provide a satisfying conclusion. Her research has obviously been extensive. She demonstrates an excellent understanding of post natal depression as evidenced in Esther’s behaviour, and post traumatic stress disorder as evidenced in the characters of Wilkie, George and Robbie.
While this story takes place in a remote setting and with unspeakable horror having affected most of the key characters who feature in the 1950’s segment, it is very much a story of hope in the face of adversity and love against all odds.
The characters in this book are all skilfully developed and well rounded. It is easy to imagine them as real people and to care about them as a result. The story is hard to put down - I found myself powering through it to find out what would happen next to Esther in the 1950’s story and Rachel in the 2018 one. Despite effectively being two or three stories in one, everything was clearly inextricably linked and I couldn’t wait to see how. It does all come together in the end, but it’s the journey that makes for a wonderful story and this is a book I won’t soon forget. It was a wonderful story to read.

‘A seam of light escaping heavy curtains that had been drawn across a window came into focus and she raised her head to fully appraise herself of her surroundings. She had no idea where she was. Beneath her, an eiderdown, on top of her a blanket, though she was clothed beneath it. She tried to move her arms but found that they were securely wrapped around her waist. A coarse fabric chafed at her neck. She rolled to one side in an attempt to free her arms, but it was in vain. She had been bound. The design of the garment was such that it could not be torn, could not be loosened. She’d heard of such things, but never actually seen one: a strong dress.’

I first heard of this novel via a short publicity Q&A with the author, Kayte Nunn, in which she highlighted that the inspiration for this novel was two fold: from childhood wanderings through the ruins of an abandoned mental asylum, and from the real story of her own great-grandmother, who was committed to a mental hospital with post-natal depression when her son was a small boy, and tragically, she spent the rest of her life there. Both sources of inspiration struck me as profoundly sad, yet also, quite intriguing. I made a note then and there that this was a novel I would be reading as soon as I got my hands on a copy. It did not disappoint.

‘Esther was dumbfounded. He’d left her there? She’d heard of husbands committing their wives to insane asylums – for she was under no illusion now, that is what this godforsaken place must surely be – but had never imagined John would do such a thing to her, despite everything that had happened. She’d always believed that he loved her; depended on his kindness. Would he have really thought this the most appropriate course of action?’

The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant is an exploration of mental illness at a time when respectful care was still in its infancy. Esther is incarcerated, at the will of her husband, at a remote private hospice, located on an island off the Cornish coast. She is the only female patient, the other patients all being ex-soldiers suffering from different degrees of post traumatic stress. There is a lot of sadness threaded through this story, but it rings true. The doctor in charge is a caring, empathic, intelligent man who wants nothing more than to bring his patients back to a point where they can successfully live in society. He doesn't use medication, and with the exception of the straight jacket for patient safety, he also doesn't used barbaric methods of treatment. I felt that these sections were crafted beautifully; containing a great deal of sadness, but tinged with hope. What happened to Esther was tragic: the loss, the lack of compassion and support, the judgement, and then the eventual betrayal from her husband – all seemingly par for the course in keeping with the era. Now that's a tragedy.

‘They must have taken Samuel away from me. I still don’t know where he went. I never saw him again, never even got to say goodbye.’ She twisted her hands on the chair. ‘There wasn’t a burial and I was in too much of a fog to ask why not. It was only later that John told me they had taken his body to hospital. To see if they could find out what had happened to him. He let them do that, to his own son!’ She spat the words out. ‘They never gave him back.’
‘Oh Esther, I’m sorry,’ he said. Hearing her tell the story, even though John had told him some of it already, made his heart ache for her.
‘There’s no grave, no way of sending his poor soul to heaven, no way of telling him how sorry I was, how I had let him down, that it was all my fault, that I hadn’t loved him as a mother should.’

The narration exists within two distinct timelines, but with three main characters. The author showed a lot of skill with this, and I really enjoyed how she connected these via her unravelling of the story. Kayte Nunn is certainly at home with this style of writing. The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant is a quiet novel, an unfolding of a story in layers, the mystery and drama almost reserved. I liked this about it, a good, solid story that was devoid of dramatic overplay; the characterisation was subtle too, each uniquely rendered, yet not over shadowing the story, or each other. This really was my ideal novel and I loved it. It's deeply moving, contemplative, and absorbing. Highly recommended.


Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing me with a copy of The Forgotten Letters Of Esther Durrant for review

In depth ★★★★

With The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant, Kayte Nunn has cemented her status as one of Australia's most exciting historical fiction voices. The novel, with it's compelling dual timeline and spectacular Isles of Scilly setting, is an easy one to get swept up in, full of tragedy, romance, empowered women and a good dose of adventure. Readers should note triggers for SIDS, PTSD and suicide.

In 1951 Esther Durrant and her husband John take a boat trip to a remote southern UK island, ostensibly for a holiday. However Esther soon learns that's not the trip's true purpose, and finds herself having to face her personal struggles head on. Meanwhile in 2018, Australian Rachel moves from the Cook Islands to Scilly to monitor the effect of climate change on the local clam population, but a chance encounter on a remote island leads her to discover a series of unsent letters from the post-war era.

The dual timeline structure is one of my favourite historical fiction devices and Nunn executes it flawlessly. The scenes move naturally and the plot is perfectly portioned to keep you wanting more as each chapter unfolds.

Nunn has something to say about the historical treatment of women, inspired by her great-grandmother's personal experiences. Esther, Rachel and Eve, who provide the three main narrative perspectives, are empowered yet vulnerable, all showing great strength in turn. This is exactly the sort of novel I love to read and want young women to pick up - it acknowledges past ill treatment and the confines women experienced, but also looks on the present and future with hope.

In addition, the novel adeptly explores the question of war veterans and PTSD, as Dr Creswell tries individualised treatments during a time where lobotomies were often prescribed. Nunn's veterans are some of the best minor characters, and undoubtedly the most moving sub-plot, of The Forgotten Letters. Mental health, trauma and guilt are the central preoccupations of the story, and all are dealt with sensitively.

The novel is written with an effortless flow, dipping easily from descriptions of the sweeping island landscapes to the texture of a homemade scone, thus filling out the world with the details it needs to come alive.

The Forgotten Letters is a well-written and moving tale of love, loss and empowerment - a perfectly transporting read to curl up with on a wintry afternoon.

Recommended if you liked: The Fragments

I received an advanced copy of The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant from Hachette Australia in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Australia and Kayte Nunn for my digital copy of her new book : The Forgotten Letters Of Esther Durrant and I really enjoyed reading this book.
In 1951, John and Esther Durrant leave to go on a holiday. But John has made other plans and Esther finds herself isolated on a small island off the coast of Cornwall, she's not very happy when she discovers that she has been tricked by her husband and he did what he thought was the best for his wife at the time.

Esther was in fact staying at a private mental asylum run by an old school friend of her husbands and his name is Doctor Richard Cresswell.
Esther discovers that she is the only female patient that's being treated at the private sanatorium all the other patients are men who are being treated for shell shock.
She soon finds out that she can't leave the island, it's in a very remote area, obviously the only way in or out is by boat, she soon settles in and makes friends with her fellow patients. Esther soon discovers that the peaceful island is what she needs to heal from a tragic death in her family, plenty of fresh air, good food, she starts to enjoy going for walks around the island and building up her strength.

In 2017, marine scientist Rachel Parker is employed to do a research project around the small islands off the coast of Cornwall. She is a free spirited Aussie, who uses her job as a way of traveling the world and she doesn't stay in the one place for very long and she likes to move on to the next challenge.

The Forgotten Letters Of Esther Durrant is a book with a dual timeline, it flows easily between 1951 to 2017.
Esther is now in her 90's she had a fall, she is being looked after by her grand daughter Eve who has put her own life on hold to look after her Gran and help her get back on her feet.

One Day Rachel decides to take her tinny out to do some research when she gets caught in a bad storm and she ends up being marooned on the same island that Esther stayed on so many years ago.
Rachel finds shelter in the same house, she is rescued by a lady called Leah a recluse who lives on the island and she's also using the island as a way of escaping from the world.
Leah gives Rachel a suitcase with some old clothes in it, as she has nothing to wear and Rachel finds some old letters hidden in the suitcase.
Once she is rescued Rachel decides to try and find out who wrote the letters and why they never posted them?

The Forgotten Letters Of Esther Durrant is a beautiful story, it's about how the mind, body and soul can be healed. Finding friendship in the last place you might expect and love. I gave it 4 stars and I'm now very keen to read Kayte Nunn's first book called The Botanist's Daughter.

‘It wasn’t their usual destination for a holiday and the timing was hardly ideal.’

In the autumn of 1951, John and Esther Durrant embarked on what she thought would be a holiday. But Esther quickly discovers that the house on the isolated island off the coast of Cornwall is a private mental asylum. She’s angry with John for committing her to this asylum and frustrated that she is unable to leave. Dr Richard Cresswell, the psychiatrist who runs the asylum, takes a small number of patients. Esther is the first woman; the other patients are men suffering because of their war service. This place of imprisonment soon becomes a refuge.

In the spring of 2018, marine scientist Rachel Parker is chosen to undertake a research project in the islands off the coast of Cornwall. At the same time, in London, Eve is caring for her grandmother and helping her write her memoirs. Eve’s grandmother, now frail, was once a renowned mountaineer.

So what will draw these three separate stories together? The story moves between 1951 and 2018, between Esther’s life on the island, Rachel’s marine research and Eve’s caring for her grandmother. After a violent storm Rachel ends up on the island where Esther was in 1951. The woman who lives in the house, Leah, finds her and takes care of her. And, in an old suitcase full of clothes Leah gives her, Rachel finds some old unsent love letters. Rachel is intrigued: who owned the clothes, and who wrote the letters?

Once rescued from the island, Rachel sets out to try to find both the owner of the clothes, the intended recipient of the letters and the author.

There are several different stories contained within this novel, and I found each of them satisfying. While some of the connections between 1951 and 2018 are obvious, others are more subtle. Each of the women has a story and there are secrets to be revealed. Affairs of the heart are rarely straightforward.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I love starting a book and immediately feel like you have been wrapped in a snuggly blanket and can settle in for a wonderful read. Kayte Nunn certainly delivers in this captivating tale set in a remote Cornish Island. The indomitable spirits of her characters shine through in this dual timeline as the forgotten letters lead us on an intersecting trail of healing, love and secrets.