The Painted Bridge follows the story of Anna Palmer, whose husband sends her away on the grounds of hysteria. She's sure, like many women were, that she isn't supposed to be there, but she's quite powerless to find a means of escape. While at Lake House, Anna forms various relationships with the other inmates, the maids, and the people who are keeping her there. Wallace's descriptions of the inmates, including Anna, are quite interesting, in that there's always questions of who is there and why, and who actually does belong there. Madness is a favourite theme of mine, and I enjoyed the ambivalent nature of the characters; inmates more sane than outsiders, and vice versa. Lucas St Clair is physician who, during the course of the novel, is aiming to use photography as a means of deciphering madness - can a person tell just by looking who is crazy and who isn't?
St Clair was a refreshing character, very different from the stuffy horribleness of the other males in the book, and he forms a sort of friendship with Anna: she's convinced that his photographs of her will be her key to leaving Lake House. There was an attraction between them, odd though it was, and it did begin to concern me. The Painted Bridge looked, at points, like it was going to go down some very predictable and inane routes. Fortunately, it saved itself, with little twists here and there.
In all, it was an interesting read. There was some intriguing movements of plot, and gentle reminders of Victorian sensiblities. There were a lot of characters, and not enough time to feel invested in all of them, even if they did all have their own little subplots. The Painted Bridge was the kind of book that you have to read quickly to be sure that Anna achieves the sense of peace and justice she deserves. A page-turner, and quite good fun.
I've been taking part in The Painted Bridge book blog tour. Check out this post to read about how Wendy Wallace created her characters.
