Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan (book review).
There is a growing tendency to label books as ‘cosy’. Basically, this means that although characters may be placed in danger, they are unlikely to die and everything will probably work out in the end. Don’t expect any gore, but be prepared for some romance and a little potential scandal. Nothing bad will happen to the dog. Thistlemarsh is a cosy historical romance with faeries.
It is set in England in 1919, soon after the end of the First World War, when the effects of the conflict are still being felt. The opening is handled rather clumsily, in that all the background information we need is conveyed during a conversation on a train between two people who do not appear again in the novel.
We learn that Mouse Dunne worked as a nurse in France during the war, that her cousin Bertie died and that her brother Roger suffers from severe shell shock. We also learn that the Faeries disappeared from the world a hundred years earlier. On leaving the train, Mouse is met by John Martin, a childhood friend who is now the local vicar.
On arriving at Thistlemarsh Hall, where she lived as a child, she learns that, as the heir named in her uncle’s will, she will inherit the estate and the title of Lady Dewhurst on condition that she either restores the Hall or marries within a month. The Hall has become extremely dilapidated and restoration appears to be an impossible task. If she fails, the estate and title will pass to Anthony Carlyle, a distant cousin. Mouse despises Carlyle, so she is not prepared to give up without a fight.
There are a couple of things about this scenario that don’t sit quite right. The estate could be willed to anyone under English law unless it was entailed, and there does seem to be an element of that here. However, titles do not normally pass with an estate but go to the appropriate heir, who in this case would appear to be her brother, Roger. There is no indication that the past presence of Faeries changed what was recognised as the law of inheritance in 1919.
Scattered around the grounds and woods are stone statues. As children, Mouse, her brother and her cousin gave them names. One they called Dante is now overgrown and damaged, but it has writing in Faerie on it. When Mouse reads the words aloud, the statue transforms.
The former statue introduces himself as Thornwood. He is a Faerie who was enspelled centuries earlier after falling out with the Faerie King. He says he can help repair Thistlemarsh within the time limit, but for a price.
Having been brought up on tales of the Faerie, Mouse is very wary of his offer. It is the thought that failure will hand the estate to Carlyle, and that she will then be unable to pay for her brother’s care, that makes her consider it. The price of Thornwood’s help is her little finger.
Although she is unsure of Thornwood’s motives, Mouse is desperate enough to agree to the bargain, though she is rightly cautious about the wording of the deal. Thornwood uses his magic to restore the Hall, but finds that there is resistance and some of his work is partially undone at night.
Thistlemarsh Hall has always been regarded as Fairy-Blessed, so Thornwood suspects that other magic is working against him. Together, Mouse and Thornwood have to discover the source of that magic and neutralise it.
The action scenes are well handled and there is an assumption that Faerie magic is effectively limitless. There are some nice touches, such as the silk dragon glamouring itself as a dog, although several of the revelations feel inevitable.
Mr Hobb, the gardener, who seems to have been at the Hall forever, has a secret that the reader is likely to suspect. Similarly, a romance between Mouse and Thornwood seems inevitable. I would have liked to see more done with Carlyle, the human opposition to the apparently impossible project.
Although this novel has flaws, it is a debut, and it will be interesting to see how Corrigan develops as a writer.
Pauline Morgan
August 2026
(pub: Berkley/Penguin Random House, 2026. 415-page hardback. Price: $30.00 (US), $41.99 (CAN). ISBN: 978-0-593-81988-3)
Check out websites: www.penguinrandomhouse.com and www.MooreaCorrigan.com