This was my first time reading one of Susanna Kearsley's novels and I thought it was wonderful. Well researched, beautiful writing, and unforgettable characters. The only downside for me, and it was completely my own fault, was that I didn't realize it was part of a series and I think it would have been an even more amazing read for me if I had read the books that came before it. Still a stellar read though and I will definitely be checking out more of Kearsley's books.

Reading my umpteenth Kearsley novel, I noticed something in her narrative I hadn’t beforehand: a common emotional trajectory that may be characterized as melancholy mood to joyful conclusion. Because they are the most historical of historical romances, their melancholy comes from Kearsley’s initial presentation of her characters as trapped by history. But she builds their strength, intelligence, and virtue and proves to us how these qualities can sometimes defeat history’s choke-hold. She writes about ordinary people (when considered through the lens of big-name, big-battle, big-power sweep) but extraordinary in how they wrest happiness out of what appear to be insurmountable obstacles determined by history and its cruel, expedient masters, men of power over honour. At their centre are women and child characters who are victimized but not victims, exercise agency within constricting circumstances and yet are often trapped by forces beyond their capacity to fight back. In the end, characters escape to a happy life by circumventing evil using wiles without losing their essential goodness. The Vanished Days‘ Lily Aitcheson and her helpers are such. Her story is told in a dual-timeline alternating between childhood/youth and the novel’s “present-day”, the early 1700’s. Her story is narrated by one Adam Williamson, who is tasked to investigate Lily’s claim for compensation as the widow of a man who perished in Scotland’s 1698-Darien-colony-bound fleet. The blurb fills in historical detail further:

There are many who believe they know what happened, but they do not know the whole of it. The rumours spread, and grow, and take their hold, and so to end them I have been persuaded now to take my pen in hand and tell the story as it should be told… Autumn, 1707. Old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to carry the young exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh the streets are filled with discontent and danger. When a young widow, Lily Aitcheson, comes forward to collect her lost husband’s wages, former soldier Adam Williamson is assigned to investigate her petition. As Lily tells her story, Adam has only days to discover if she’s being honest, or if his own feelings are making him blind to the truth. But sinister figures lurk in the background – is Adam being used as a pawn in an increasingly treacherous game?
Through Adam’s account, we learn Lily’s story as she recounts it to him, attempting to prove her marriage to Jamie Graham, her childhood friend at Inchbrakie, Perthshire. It was an idyllic time that yet is followed by another brief time of happiness for Lily when she lives with her father and his new wife. But the times they are fraught and the “Union” with England hasn’t stirred the hearts and swords of the Jacobites any less, au contraire. When circumstances tear Lily from her family, she finds herself alone and vulnerable until she is adopted by a kindly woman of ill repute, Barbara Malcolm, where Lily lives with her foundling “brothers,” also adopted and lovingly brought up by Barbara. Barbara’s husband, Archie Browne, on the other hand, is mean-spirited and exploitative. Lily’s life is beset by his abusive machinations. There is one foundling “brother”, however, who returns from his travels years after Lily is a grown, Matthew, the love of Lily’s life and she of his.

In every scene, political intrigue wars with characters trying to live their lives by building a family with a person they love. This is the narrative’s constant tension and it kept me glued, especially in the second half, to my Kindle, far into the wee hours. There are separations, losses, misjudgements, and the constant refrain of “vanished days” (from John Masefield’s “The Word”) as regret, but ultimately, the hope of better days to come. Captain Gordon (whom we met in The Winter Sea) says to Adam near the novel’s end ” ‘ … it’s a shame that we cannot reclaim those vanished days, and try to live them better.’ ” Adam’s response speaks more of future hope than regret when he retorts, ” ‘Who’s to say we would not live them worse?’ “

There is a quiet dogged dignity and strength to Adam and Lily, as their official business turns to love. They are careful, methodical, and ethical. What soon becomes evident to Adam is that Lily is ensnared in a scheme that sees her life at stake. Without spoiling the narrative, suffice to say Lily is, as with most of the female characters, trying to protect the innocent. Adam is a diffident man, but he is fully aware of right from wrong and sets out to free her. On the way, there are hinderers, but also helpers, one of whom comes as an utter, surprising delight.

Kearsley’s narrative is a maze of dead and open ends as we try to follow the players, historical and fictive, who enmesh the worthy Adam and Lily, and their found families and friends. I will indulge in one moment of whinginess: I did miss Kearsley’s contemporary timeline as she wielded it in Bellewether, for example. The Vanished Days‘ alternating but akin timelines were claustrophobic in a way that Bellewether‘s contemporary and historical timelines, and especially their romances, weren’t. My whinge, however, remains a minor note to Kearsley’s pièce de resistance, a narrative twist of breath-taking aptness and vindication. ’nuff said, though, lest I give the game away.

I’m sorry to say my Canadian and UK friends will have to wait till April 2022 to read The Vanished Days (what’s up with that?), while my American friends can enjoy it pronto. Miss Austen would approve of Kearsley’s lovers and their HEA and agree when I deem The Vanished Days “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Susanna Kearsley’s The Vanished Days is published by Sourcebooks Landmark and was released for the US on October 5th. I received an e-galley, from Sourcebooks Landmark, for the purpose of writing this review.

I don't know how Kearsley does it. Her stories are always the perfect blend of history and fiction. Her characters never fail to make an impression so vivid that they feel like friends ... like people you wish to have in your own life. People you want in your corner.
The Vanished Days is a bittersweet story about second chances and hope, of loyalty and sacrifice, of strength and honor. It's a story about taking control of your own life when time and again the control is wrenched from your hands.
It's a story that will stay with me for a long, long time.

Must read.

Loved this wonderful historical fiction - with a touch of mystery! Having spent some time in Edinburgh earlier in my life - I enjoyed remembering the wonders of one of the most beautiful towns in the world. It was hard at first keeping up with the time hopping - but became easier as the story progressed.

I have long been a fan of Susanna Kearsley and have enjoyed many of her books. I was happy to see her returning to Scotland and some of her earlier characters. It had been awhile since I read "The Winter Sea" and "The Firebird" so much of that was lost on me. However, I greatly enjoyed the story of Lily and Adam and the intrigue surrounding the union of Scotland and England. The addition of the Darrien colony reminded me that Scotland had attempted its own colonial agenda but that it failed due to politics. The story is well written, well researched and it read well. I read it quickly and found myself promising myself one more page...and now it is finished! I high recommend it!

For my money, Susanna Kearsley is one of the most gifted authors writing historical fiction today. With impeccable research, vivid descriptions, and complex, fully developed characters, she fully immerses me into whatever place and era she writes.

In The Vanished Days, that place is Edinburgh, Scotland and the time is 1707. The narrator of the story is Sergeant Adam Williamson, an American soldier of Scottish birth who is tasked with investigating the claim of the young widow, Lily. The story is told through flashbacks, from both his perspective as well as Lily's. It's intriguing, poignant, suspenseful, and powerful. Once I began reading, I could not put the book down, eagerly flipping pages right up until the stunning conclusion. It's a fictional tale of friendship, betrayal, intrigue, pride, mystery, revenge, and enduring love, seamlessly playing out across the historical landscape of actual events with real people interwoven throughout the fictional. I could probably fill three or four pages with everything I loved about this book but readers should have the personal experience of discovering all the facets of these characters as well as the twists and turns of the journey on their own.

While The Vanished Days is the third book of a series, it is actually a prequel to the first two books. Though it does weave in and out of the timeline of book one, The Winter Sea, it stands well on its own and readers shouldn't miss out on anything by reading The Vanished Days first. I do, however, highly recommend both The Winter Sea and book two, The Firebird. In fact, I recommend everything Susanna Kearsley has written. If you enjoy rich historical detail paired with spellbinding storytelling, she is an author you will not want to miss.

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

I had a hard time getting into this new book by Susanna Kearsley. I love her previous novels a lot but this one was a lot harder for me to finish reading.

Kearsley writes with the detail I love. This sets the scene for books to come and is a must read if you love her other titles. Just as beautiful and magical as the others!

The Vanished Days is a historical novel following the life of a young Scots woman from 1683 to 1707. A deeply turbulent era politically, this time period saw the ordinary lives of everyday citizens upended as everyone was affected by the machinations of the great men who were desperately vying for power.

Queen Anne’s commissioners have been paying the back wages of those who participated in Scotland’s disastrous Darien expedition eight years earlier. A scheme to set up a colony in what is now Panama and establish an overland route to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean trades, the endeavor failed due to stratagems and hostility from the English and Spanish which all but bankrupted Scotland. The belated payments to the families are a panacea which the Crown hopes will encourage peace among the restless and dissatisfied Scottish citizenry.

However, some have seen the commission’s payments as an opportunity, and submitted fraudulent petitions. Lily Graeme née Aitcheson might just be one such person. She has proffered a marriage certificate showing she’d wed Jamie Graeme just before he took part in and died as a result of the expedition, but the marriage was irregular. It did not take place in a church. There were no guests. Both witnesses are dead. Sergeant Adam Williamson is assigned to discover whether the marriage was legitimate or whether Mrs. Graeme is attempting to deceive the commissioners.

When Adam asks Lily to tell him the story of her courtship with Jamie, she goes back to the very start when they were just children, playing in the woods surrounding Inchbrakie, the great estate of the Graeme family. Over the next few weeks, as Adam meets the people who have known Lily through the years, and pieces together her life during the past quarter century, uncovering her trials and triumphs, her friends and enemies – he realizes there are puppetmasters behind the scenes, directing his steps. But why, exactly, would Lily, the poor widow of a simple sailor, be of interest to anyone? That question haunts Adam, who is growing increasingly attached to the beautiful young woman, and he determines to see her come safely out of whatever mess she has inadvertently landed in.

But is it inadvertent? Or has Lily played him false?

Ms. Kearsley’s writing is – as always – beautiful, evocative, and lyrical. Her prose calls forth a perfect sense of a chilling, atmospheric world in which we are never sure of our footing and lends the perfect air of menace to the mystery of this tale. Fans of her novels often rave about the meticulously detailed and immersive history and that, too, is in full evidence here.

However, some things are different this go-round. Ms. Kearsley typically writes dual timeline/time-slip novels which contain a modern era hero/heroine and a historical couple embroiled in some kind of clandestine behavior. That is not the case here. As mentioned earlier, the book is about Lily’s life, and we travel in time only through the thirty years or so of her days on earth. I missed the modern perspective for a couple of reasons. One is that Ms. Kearsley’s contemporary romances tend to follow the traditional tropes of a love story far more than her historical ones do. Her meticulous dedication to historical accuracy means that her historical couples have the more muted, less passionate style of courtship of the eras in which their stories take place. The second reason I felt this story suffered due to not having a present-day storyline is that Ms. Kearsley’s often uses that timeline to inform us about – and explain the significance of – the history via conversations between her contemporary characters. I strongly prefer that to what happened in this tale, where we are immersed in the characters’ impressions of what, for them, are contemporary events. Lily and Adam themselves are not engaged in the silent civil war taking place but they are pawns for those who are, which has them carefully maneuvering through the minefield of Scottish statecraft. A great deal is implied and inferred as a result, rather than spelled out as it is in the author’s other novels. While it was interesting to see the very real effects playing politics had on ordinary folk, I’ll admit I found it quite tedious to wade through a lot of what felt like irrelevant history. Because the story takes place in an age and among a people not my own, I found it far too easy to lose track of the incidental-to-our-tale-but-important- to-the-times players and how and why they affected the story. Additionally, the politics detract from what is most interesting about Lily’s narrative – the vulnerable, often difficult existence of young women of her generation.

And Lily is a character whose life is well worth reading about. She goes through so much in her youth and shines in each new spot in which fate lands her. I especially loved her in her early years – she’s a vibrant, astute child who sees so much so clearly. I adored how clever and hardworking and resilient she is. She grows up to be rather reserved and surprisingly, less wise as an adult – as though all the hard times life put her through made her less rather than more. Part of the reason I felt that way might be due to whom she falls in love with.

Our first hero, Jamie, is easily the most interesting and lovable of Lily’s romantic partners. It’s clear Ms. Kearsley has a strong affection for the Graeme family and Jamie is written with the same warmth, charisma, bravado and chivalry as the other men of that clan. But Lily attracts the attention of others as well – during the middle of the tale there is a foster brother named Matthew who also vies for Lily’s affection, and I liked him far less. He’s restless, combative and insecure due to how he’s grown up and while I found him sympathetic, I never cared for him as a love interest. Finally, there is Sgt. Williamson, a man who proves to be intelligent, honorable, prudent and kind. Their pairing is, of course, in peril because we are unsure whether Lily is telling him the truth and if not, why she would be lying.

The Vanished Days has loose ties to The Winter Sea, but you don’t need to have read that book to enjoy this one. Fans of Ms. Kearsley’s work and those who enjoy long, heroine- centric historical novels will find plenty to love here and I can recommend it to that audience.

I didn't know this is the 3rd in the series when I requested it. I got excited when I saw that Susanna Kearsley had a new one coming out so I requested before I double checked everything. I will come back & put up my review after I finish the previous two so I'm better informed when reading this one

I love reading stories set in Scotland and this one was rich in history and intrigue. This is quite a long tale, so readers should be prepared to settle in and be immersed in the history of Scottish politics, social mores and a complicated mystery.

The story centers around a young widow who makes a claim on her deceased husband’s wages, only to have it contested. Adam Williamson and a man named Gilroy are sent to investigate her claim in order to see if she is the true heir and if the marriage was valid.

Adam narrates the story, but can readers be sure he is objective? Gilroy accuses him of being attracted to the widow in question and Adam has a difficult time denying that attraction.

In the end, there was a big twist that I certainly did not anticipate, which makes me want to read this book all over again. Susanna Kearsley did a wonderful job with this book. I have The Winter Sea on my shelves, so now I can’t wait to read it and revisit some of these characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebook Landmark for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.

Unfortunately this book was a miss for me. It started very slow and I was not engaged in the story line. The format and moving back and forth between speakers and timeline was confusing for me and I could not get into the story.

Set in 1700s Scotland , The Vanished Days captures the turmoil of the Jacobite revolution. A young widow needs to prove that she was married to collect her husband's pension and a soldier is recruited to find the truth. After I finished this carefully crafted mystery, I wanted it to start reading it again from the beginning to see what I missed.

A stunning historical fiction with elements of mystery, romance, and magical realism. Atmospheric and beautifully written, it was engrossing and difficult to put down. This novel will appeal to a broad audience. Overall a solid read

I love Susanna Kearsley's books and this one is no exception. I was a little disappinted though as I expected there to be a magical time-meld component is there is in many of her other books. Putting that aside, this book was another clever weaving of personal stories into a mystery that slowly unravels and reveals hidden secrets in Queen Anne's Scotland. Throughly engrossing and recommended to her fans of her other book and of Outlander!

The Vanished Days
By Susanna Kearsley

I am a huge historical fiction reader and love nothing more than reading varied time frames in this particular genre. So when I read the synopsis that this was set in the 18th century and the setting of the Scottish highlands, and prequel to her much loved novel, The Winter Sea I knew I wanted to read this.

The beginning of the novel explores detailed and well researched information about Scottish history and introduction of characters set in two timelines. This engaging story that had a bit of mystery, romance and even some magical realism made this story every bit as riveting and deeply compelling. I enjoyed every bit of it.

This is perfect for fans of the Outlander series and The Crown.

This story has me obsessed with Scottish historical fiction! I need more now! This was a beautifully written book with characters that were complex and interesting and a plot that was filled with secrets and mysteries!

The main character, Lily, is struggling to prove that her marriage is real after trying to collect her husband’s wages and being challenged about the validity of the marriage. This was a story that truly swept me away. I didn’t want to put it down. I did find that this is actually a prequel to The Winter Sea which I haven’t read, so now I’m excited to pick that one up!

I would highly recommend this to readers that enjoy historical fiction with romance and mystery!

Five stars for this impecabbly researched sweeping saga historical romance.

The story, set in Scotland, takes place in 1700 when Scotland, and England have just been unified under a Protestant King and Queen. It's a time of intrigue and danger for the Scots, known as the Jacobites, who are trying to restore to the throne the Catholic Stewarts who have been living exiled in France.

The main character, Lilly, is the daughter of a poor widower. She grows up in the Scottish countryside under the care of her grandmother alongside the aristocratic Jacobite Graemes, including her best friend Jamie. After her father remarries, Lilly moves to the city where she suffers one loss after another, each of which she barely manages to survive.

As the story opens, Lilly, as his widow, is seeking the wages of Jaimie Graeme who died at sea, claiming she married him in secret. Sergeant Williamson is investigating Lilly's claims; he is also the book's narrator. It's through his eyes, as he seeks to determine the validity of Lilly's claims by meeting with all the people who came in contact with her, that the story unfolds.

The book is well-written book and impecabbly researched. The historical details add a depth and authenticity to the story. Lilly, as well as many of the secondary characters, are well-rounded and interesting. I loved the ending; the unexpected plot twist finally gives Lilly her well-deserved HEA.

The Vanished Days is a historical novel following the life of a young Scots woman from 1683 to 1707. A deeply turbulent era politically, this time period saw the ordinary lives of everyday citizens upended as everyone was affected by the machinations of the great men who were desperately vying for power.

Queen Anne's commissioners have been paying the back wages of those who participated in Scotland’s disastrous Darien expedition eight years earlier. A scheme to set up a colony in what is now Panama and establish an overland route to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean trades, the endeavor failed due to stratagems and hostility from the English and Spanish which all but bankrupted Scotland. The belated payments to the families are a panacea which the Crown hopes will encourage peace among the restless and dissatisfied Scottish citizenry.

However, some have seen the commission’s payments as an opportunity, and submitted fraudulent petitions. Lily Graeme née Aitcheson might just be one such person. She has proffered a marriage certificate showing she’d wed Jamie Graeme just before he took part in and died as a result of the expedition, but the marriage was irregular. It did not take place in a church. There were no guests. Both witnesses are dead. Sergeant Adam Williamson is assigned to discover whether the marriage was legitimate or whether Mrs. Graeme is attempting to deceive the commissioners.

When Adam asks Lily to tell him the story of her courtship with Jamie, she goes back to the very start when they were just children, playing in the woods surrounding Inchbrakie, the great estate of the Graeme family. Over the next few weeks, as Adam meets the people who have known Lily through the years, and pieces together her life during the past quarter century, uncovering her trials and triumphs, her friends and enemies – he realizes there are puppetmasters behind the scenes, directing his steps. But why, exactly, would Lily, the poor widow of a simple sailor, be of interest to anyone? That question haunts Adam, who is growing increasingly attached to the beautiful young woman, and he determines to see her come safely out of whatever mess she has inadvertently landed in.

But is it inadvertent? Or has Lily played him false?

Ms. Kearsley’s writing is - as always - beautiful, evocative, and lyrical. Her prose calls forth a perfect sense of a chilling, atmospheric world in which we are never sure of our footing and lends the perfect air of menace to the mystery of this tale. Fans of her novels often rave about the meticulously detailed and immersive history and that, too, is in full evidence here.

However, some things are different this go-round. Ms. Kearsley typically writes dual timeline/time-slip novels which contain a modern era hero/heroine and a historical couple embroiled in some kind of clandestine behavior. That is not the case here. As mentioned earlier, the book is about Lily’s life, and we travel in time only through the thirty years or so of her days on earth. I missed the modern perspective for a couple of reasons. One is that Ms. Kearsley’s contemporary romances tend to follow the traditional tropes of a love story far more than her historical ones do. Her meticulous dedication to historical accuracy means that her historical couples have the more muted, less passionate style of courtship of the eras in which their stories take place.   The second reason I felt this story suffered due to not having a present-day storyline is that Ms. Kearsley’s often uses that timeline to inform us about – and explain the significance of – the history via conversations between her contemporary characters. I strongly prefer that to what happened in this tale, where we are immersed in the characters’  impressions of what, for them, are contemporary events. Lily and Adam themselves are not engaged in the silent civil war taking place but they are pawns for those who are, which has them carefully maneuvering through the minefield of Scottish statecraft.  A great deal is implied and inferred as a result, rather than spelled out as it is in the author’s other novels. While it was interesting to see the very real effects playing politics had on ordinary folk, I’ll admit I found it quite tedious to wade through a lot of what felt like irrelevant history. Because the story takes place in an age and among a people not my own, I found it far too easy to lose track of the incidental-to-our-tale-but-important- to-the-times players and how and why they affected the story. Additionally, the politics detract from what is most interesting about Lily’s narrative – the vulnerable, often difficult existence of young women of her generation.

And Lily is a character whose life is well worth reading about. She goes through so much in her youth and shines in each new spot in which fate lands her. I especially loved her in her early years – she’s a vibrant, astute child who sees so much so clearly. I adored how clever and hardworking and resilient she is. She grows up to be rather reserved and surprisingly, less wise as an adult - as though all the hard times life put her through made her less rather than more. Part of the reason I felt that way might be due to whom she falls in love with.

Our first hero, Jamie, is easily the most interesting and lovable of Lily’s romantic partners. It’s clear Ms. Kearsley has a strong affection for the Graeme family and Jamie is written with the same warmth, charisma, bravado and chivalry as the other men of that clan. But Lily attracts the attention of others as well – during the middle of the tale there is a foster brother named Matthew who also vies for Lily’s affection, and I liked him far less. He’s restless, combative and insecure due to how he’s grown up and while I found him sympathetic, I never cared for him as a love interest. Finally, there is Sgt. Williamson, a man who proves to be intelligent, honorable, prudent and kind. Their pairing is, of course, in peril because we are unsure whether Lily is telling him the truth and if not, why she would be lying.

The Vanished Days has loose ties to The Winter Sea, but you don’t need to have read that book to enjoy this one. Fans of Ms. Kearsley’s work and those who enjoy long, heroin- centric historical novels will find plenty to love here and I can recommend it to that audience.

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I've only read one title by Susanna Kearsley, The Deadly Hours, and I absolutely loved it! I started collecting her other books to read when I get the time. (I REALLY wish I could retire and read all the time!) I jumped at the chance to read The Vanished Days, which is a prequel and companion to her book The Winter Sea. Does this one stand alone? I'm going to say yes, as I haven't read The Winter Sea and wasn't lost. I think I've found a new author to add to my favorites list.

In 1707 in Scotland, enemy factions are joining together to protest the new Union with England. The French are plotting an invasion to bring back the young exiled Jacobite king to Scotland to reclaim the throne. To try to calm the situation, Queen Anne's commissioners are paying out funds to Scots who are due wages and losses for their part in the Darien expedition eight years ago. That failed expedition just about bankrupted Scotland. Young widow Lily Graeme comes forward to collect her husband's wages, but her claim is being challenged. Former soldier Adam Williamson is investigating Lily's claims to see if they are true. Is she telling the truth?

This was a phenomenal story once I got into the rhythm of going back and forth between Adam's narration of the events of 1707 and Lily's tale beginning in the 1680's. My only knowledge of Scottish history is basically limited to what I've learned from Outlander, so I was a bit overwhelmed with this more detailed description. I didn't know of the clashes between Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Catholics. I had never heard of the failed Darien expedition. Once I stopped worrying about keeping the history straight in my head, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I absolutely loved both Lily and Adam. Lily's life was filled with fun, horror, love and indescribable pain. She showed how strong women can be under incredible duress. She had a good heart and would do anything for those she loved. Adam was a great hero. He was intelligent, protective and was determined to help Lily. There were many great secondary characters such as Gilroy (who investigated Lily's claims with Adam), Maggie (Lily's "sister"), Captain Gordon (a Jacobite sea captain) and Jamie Graeme (Lily's childhood best friend). This story had a twist near the end that I was NOT expecting! I had to go back a chapter or two and re-read to make sure I read everything correctly! I have definitely got to start reading more work by this talented author.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.