Book Review: "The Painter's Daughters" by Emily Howes

Now, I had heard a little bit about Thomas Gainsborough's daughters and the fact that one of them was less in health than the other but I did not know much of the small details of the story such as the strictness of the mother or the way in which the father wanted them to live outside the city. This may be written like a fiction novel but it is based within the facts of some very real lives. Thomas Gainsborough was a famed English painter and yet, his daughters were central to his world. Producing many paintings of them, he seems to have spent a lot of time with the girls as they were growing up, possibly fuelling these wild imaginations that they had.

We learn about them as children and, as they grow up things start to occur to them about their relationship as sisters and what they mean to each other. From representations of what they want which include drawing their mother and father as being happy together all the way to mistaking an episode of a possible mental breakdown for a spot of revenge - Emily Howes explores the complex nature of these two girls which paints them front and centre of the story.

Peggy and Molly are sisters and though Molly might be slightly older than Peggy, she can easily be mistaken for the younger in terms of her behaviours. Growing up on a chicken farm in Ipswitch has its disadvantages though. The girls may love watching their father paint the landscapes and running around in the mud, but their mother definitely thinks there is somewhere more fitting to grow up for daughters of a well-renowned painter. They soon move to Bath and the journey is arduous and long. It brings the sisters closer together as now, they really do have nobody but each other.

When in Bath, Georgian high society closes in around them as Molly's fits become more prominent and Peggy knows she must save face - lashing out with violent outbursts seems to be the only way. Eventually, the sisters are almost drawn apart by a horrid situation - Peggy has fallen in love with one of her father's friends. The only problem is - he is married to Molly.

As Emily Howes builds the world of Georgian society around the sisters experiences from the countryside to the city, we see the dynamics of what needs to be done align with their special bond. For example: when in the countryside, Peggy finds it odd but not difficult to conceal her sister's condition from people as there aren't many people apart from their mother and father around. However, when she gets to the city, she is still compelled to hide it but must find a new way. There are too many people about and too many people talk. Less out of an absolute love for her sister and more out of not wanting her family to be subject to public ridicule for the sake of her father's reputation, both Peggy and Molly find sisterhood more and more difficult as they begin to lack authenticity. The same authenticity they enjoyed when running through the mud of the Ipswitch chicken farm.

This book is a wonderful representation of the true difficulties of reputation in a world that is actually built against you. As Emily Howes makes us feel some amounts of sympathy for Molly, she also creates this sympathy for Peggy who has dutied herself with not only caring for Molly, but creating a smokescreen around her condition. One that Peggy must hide more deftly as they grow up and go into society. Between that and their incredibly strict mother who is constantly disdained at her daughter's possible condition, Peggy is a character of volatility that we can understand. Violent outbursts, purges and starvation litter her life as she is pushed to the end of each of her tethers - but she won't let go, not just yet.

The twist that covers the final parts of the book is not something I'll go into too much detail about but it is not so much the twist itself but the way the author writes it in that makes it great. An interesting and subtle subplot which begins with a woman named Meg who works for her father at a pub, helping out the Prince of Wales at one point is what gets the ball rolling. This sooner or later, intertwines perfectly with the main narrative and makes for an incredibly immersive reading experience.