Publisher: 1st September 2022 by Avon Books UK
Pages: 400 pages
Genre: historical fiction
My Rating: 4 cups
Synopsis:
Can a map from the past reveal the path to the future?
A rediscovered map…
Present day: After a tragic event froze her life seven years ago, Robyn is now focused on helping her father’s map shop as she struggles to heal. But when she discovers an exquisite map from the Tudor period, mysteriously ringed with a splatter of blood and whose creator is unknown, Robyn finds herself caught in a centuries-old mystery. One that will send her halfway across the world to London and then Amsterdam in search of the truth. A truth that could hold the key to changing her life forever.
A lady cartographer…
1569: After being forced to flee her home, Frieda is determined to start over in London, England and keep her family safe by continuing the family trade of map drawing. Through her rare and skilled work, she catches the eye of the royal monarch Queen Elizabeth I who demands her and her sea captain husband’s help with the Crown’s battle against the Spanish King Philip. And so Freida embarks on a dangerous quest, one that will lead her to discover, the ultimate danger can happen even across the seas…
Two women, centuries apart. Can one mysterious treasure bring them together?
My Thoughts
The Mapmaker’s Daughter is such a unique and interesting tale. A dual timeline narrative told from two women’s points of view, alternating between 1569 and 2022. These two women share a connection not only through a mysterious map but also the men they marry and loved ones they lose.
‘She had placed a part of herself in it, something unique and distinctive that would always connect them together.’
I appreciated the extensive research undertaken for the book. In all honesty, the 1569 timeline was far more interesting with strong characters and an engaging storyline. The detail, inclusive of everything from religious persecution, to map making, to the Elizabethan Court was thorough and well told. The present day timeline, as is often the case, suffered because it was the medium through which the connections and discoveries were to be made. It lacked the same depth and attention to detail. The lead character’s story was not convincing and only became so when she ventured into finding the origin of the map.
The Mapmaker’s Daughter was a good story that came together for a satisfying conclusion. The historical aspect of the book was rich and inviting particularly the cartography detail on creating maps in the 1500s. Lovers of historical fiction are sure to find something inviting from this story.
‘The more she engraved, the more of her soul was being buried in the lines she cut. What had begun as a simple commission was becoming a part of her, every house or building, every street was important to her in some way. This was beginning to be a part of her, her life flowing down the blade of her tool and into the copperplate.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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