Diane Setterfield is a wonderful writer. I loved her book The Thirteenth Tale and was eagerly awaiting this book - and I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint. Her characters, her prose... it was just exquisite. Beginning when the body of a girl is brought into an Inn, it beautifully weaves many stories as the mystery unravels. Can't recommend it enough.

Diane Setterfield, author of the modern classic The Thirteenth Tale, is back on form with her third novel after her slightly disappointing (but good by anyone else’s standards) second book, Bellman and Black.

Once Upon a River is set in Oxfordshire in the late 19th century and is a tale of the Thames, the majestic river which stretches from the Cotswolds to London. The regulars of the Swan Inn are enjoying a drink and a rendition of the folk tales for which the hostelry is famous, when a mysterious and badly injured stranger staggers into the inn carrying the body of a young girl who he has pulled from the river. To all intents and purposes the child is dead, but when she appears to come back to life a short while later, so begins a richly magical and absorbing tale about the effect that this young girl has on all those with whom she comes into contact.

There’s the wealthy Vaughan family, in mourning following the disappearance of their own daughter two years earlier for whom the appearance of the girl (four years old but mute following her near death experience) awakens a desperate sense of hope. We also meet noble and honorable farmer Robert Armstrong, trying to do the best by the child who might or might not be the daughter of his errant step-son Robin, and midwife Rita Sunday who nursed the child and her rescuer back to health and forms a strong bond with the enigmatic stranger.

The mystery of the girl’s background provides the regulars of the Swan with a rich tapestry on which to weave a web of fanciful tales. Is she the Vaughan child mysteriously returned to her parents, and if so where has she been for two years or could she be Robin Armstrong’s daughter, whose distraught and unbalanced mother was last seen leading a child towards the river? Could she be the abandoned child of one of the river gypsies who travel up and down the Thames or the daughter of Quietly, the ghostly ferryman whose job it is to guide drowning sailors and swimmers on the final stage of their journey?

There’s a rich vein of magical realism running throughout this beautifully written, haunting and compelling story of hope and the power of myths and legends. I adored it.

This was such an unusual story, and I loved it. The writing was fresh and original, the imagery was superb. The author’s description of how the river Thames affected and impacted on the lives of the people who lived along its banks is sublime. The river becomes a living entity to the reader, which of course, it is. The tales of the people from a time long past were so varied, from the poorest to the wealthy farmers, but all were pawns in the power of the mighty river. The folklore which surrounds the river, and the strength of the community spirit amongst the dwellers was so strong, forming a major part of the lives described in the book. Exceptional. Highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy of this wonderful book.

I adored The Thirteenth Tale So was keen to read Diane Setterfield’s newest book, I faltered at my first start as the story seemed to start so left field but an afternoon in sunny Tenerife gave me the time to get absorbed and then I found myself carving out time to read, shunning a stroll and even sleep one night when I work at 4am just for the chance to read some more. My mistake in my firstvreading was thinking I knew what was coming. I didn’t, and once I let the book take its course, I was hooked.

A book about story telling, filled with wonderful stories told by many voices and perspectives all linked by a river wending it’s way from source to end. As each teller unfolds their view you know it will connect later and at times I just had to trust that would emerge and let go of the send it was a little left field. As each story emerged, each layer unfolded I enjoyed it more and more. The creative mind behind this novel is clever in just the right way, has mystery beautifully crafted and a keeps a golden thread - or in this case the course of a river - to navigate the reader through a captivating story,

So pick up this book, be prepared for the mystery of a girl who was dead, but then wasn’t, what it means to be a parent and also not, the risks people will take for others, what love means, and what it doesn’t. And through it all drawn into the story of people and the river which connects their lives.

I loved the story and how the author takes you back in time. The characters were beautifully described and stayed with you much after the story was over. A definite read.

-Once Upon a River is a mysterious tale of a young girl, returned seemingly from the dead in a stranger's arms, one dark night. A wonderfully woven tale, rich in detail, with something magical throughout.

In The Swan pub, on a dark winter's solstice eve, people gather to tell stories. Storytelling is seen as a serious business, with pubgoers learning their craft fuelled by alcohol, camaraderie, and the reactions of their peers to the stories they tell. The importance of story as a theme is intricately woven through the book - not least in the search for the identity of the little girl, who is claimed by more than one family as their own.

I absolutely loved this book - it is a captivating mix of folklore, suspense, magic and mystery. The story wasn't 'just a story'; there was always a sense of something other, something more, tantalisingly floating just out of reach. Each character was someone I wanted to know more about - from the storytellers in The Swan pub, by day gravel-diggers and boatmen, to the ghost of Quietly, who is said to appear to those in trouble on the river. Folklore and superstition are common throughout the book, and as a huge fan of the 'not-quite-explainable' I loved the effect this had on the story.

5 stars from me - Diane Setterfield writes beautifully and I'm off to consume as much of her work as I can find!

My book of the year so far! Once Upon A River is a beautifully written, lyrical tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was totally sold on the unique premise.
Margot runs a pub, full of storytellers, their normal evening is disturbed by the arrival of an injured man with a girl who appears to be dead–until she isn't! What follows, is a mixture of mystery, folklore and fairytale. The theme of storytelling runs throughout which is irresistible for us bookworms.
I can't recommend it highly enough.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Once upon a time, there was an author who wrote stories, really good stories. She loved stories so much that she wrote a novel about them – about the way in which stories mould our world, fashion our thoughts, shape our past and help us fathom our present; about the way in which, like a living being, tales change and grow at each retelling; about how each and every one carry stories in our hearts, whether we choose tell them or not...

Diane Setterfield’s third novel Once Upon a River is an ambitious and complex work, but one which wears its erudition lightly and hides its artifice well. At one level, in fact, it can be enjoyed as a well-crafted historical mystery. We are in the 19th Century, on the evening of a winter’s solstice. The door of The Swan, an inn at Radcot on the River Thames, opens to reveal a badly injured man carrying a little girl. She’s seemingly dead – Rita, the local nurse and midwife, can detect no breath or heartbeat. Yet, against all odds, the girl revives and wakes up, whether by magic, as a result of a miracle or through some natural wonder. This does not solve the enigma of the girl’s identity, which cannot be easily ascertained especially since she turns out to be mute. The girl could well be the daughter of the Vaughans, kidnapped two years previously finally returned by her captors. Or the illegitimate granddaughter of a local farmer, abandoned by her mother before she committed suicide on being forced into prostitution. Or, if one is to believe Lily, the parson’s housekeeper, she might be a revenant, the ghost of Lily’s long-dead sister.

This mystery lies at the heart of the novel and makes a page-turner out of it, particularly in the rather breathless final chapters. Setterfield houses her story in a well-researched historical context which is conjured through loving descriptions of the Thames and its communities, and through references to the new scientific worldview which was then challenging more conservative religious and supernatural views. The story is peopled by interesting characters, including farmer Robert Armstrong, the dark-skinned illegitimate son of an earl and a housemaid; strong-willed Rita, a self-taught scientist; and Henry Daunt, who is actually based on the real-life Henry Taunt, photographer and chronicler of the Thames. Setterfield also subtly evokes the period through references to the literature of the time – echoes of Dickens and, to my mind at least, Wilkie Collins, abound.

All this would have been enough to make of the novel a considerable achievement. But Once upon a River is also a post-modern piece of meta-fiction. An insightful review on the Opinionated Reader blog makes the valid point that the novel purposely includes familiar tropes of British Gothic literature, particularly the river and the inn. This is very true – the Thames, in particular, could be considered not just a setting but a central character in the book, whereas the Swan is the place where the novel starts and ends. But the novel is also rich with other references to legends and folklore. Key scenes occur on the winter and summer solstice and the Autumn equinox; there are mentions of dastardly highwaymen, water sprites, goblins, ghosts, changelings, clairvoyants. And even though most of the supernatural aspects of the tale can be (but are not necessarily) rationally explained (Ann Radcliffe-style), the otherworldly is never too far too seek. Setterfield also throws her net wider than the reaches of British folklore – the figure of Quietly, the ghostly ferryman, owes as much to Classical mythology as to the classic English ghost story, and the motlew crew at the Swan act as a more modest version of a Greek chorus.

What is impressive, at the end of the day, is that all these knowing references are presented in an intriguing and involving story worthy of the classic 19th century novelists. True, it’s a tall tale, and some of the loose ends are perhaps too conveniently tied up at the end. But, we don't really mind... Like the patrons of the Swan, we all love a great story, don’t we?

A very unusual, mystical story. Great characters, even the river takes on a personality of it's own. A mystery, thriller and ghost story all in one. Very well written and kept me wondering right to the end. This novel has a little of everything and is very readable.

Once Upon a River is a concoction of historical fiction and Victorian horror stories, and just the right amounts realistic and supernatural. The river Thames itself is the central driving force of the story and starts it by delivering an injured man and a drowned girl to The Swan, which is a pub dedicated to storytelling. After being declared dead, the 4-year-old girl, seemingly miraculously, comes back to life.

Three different families try to claim the resurrected girl as their own, and the dispute is further complicated by the fact that the girl won't speak. Because The Swan encourages people to spend their evenings telling stories, we get to hear various different versions and theories about who she is, told by bargemen and gravel-diggers. (I had my own favourite theory about who the girl is fairly early on, and I was really happy that that's where the story ended up going!)

While I found the story really enjoyable, by the end there are so many loose ends to tie together that the narrative starts to lose its momentum. It constantly halts to explain what different characters are doing in different locations, and there are so many of them that there is a lot to explain. On the other hand, however, this is part of the book's charm too, as this reflects how the regulars in The Swan tell stories and what they deem to be a satisfactory ending. ...I guess I can't quite make up my mind about this point. I can see why the author tied everything together this way, but it wasn't quite my thing and I was sad to see the sense of urgency melt away towards the end.

The book has a major black character, who has to spend a lot of time navigating his way around people's racist prejudices and does this with a sort of "killing them with kindness” approach by offering little gifts to children, alcohol to men, and impeccable manners to women. I liked that the book acknowledges the racism he has to deal with in Victorian society and that he has his own storylines unrelated to racism as well; he is not just there to be the token black character. However, it bothered me that there was little to no acknowledgement of what a constant mental strain it must put on him, having to deal with this hostility daily and having to justify his right to exist to everyone he meets. It's like he is never allowed to be angry or frustrated even inside his own head. (Maybe he has to filter his thoughts even when talking to the readers in order to appease us too and to justify why he deserves a place in the narrative.) He is a lovely, gentle character and a devoted father, but sometimes his gentleness goes so far that it seems like he's forbidden from expressing normal, negative human emotions.

Like many other historical fiction originated from the British Isles (such as in Emma Donoghue and Sarah Waters's work), this book also casually throws around a lot of racial stereotypes about "gypsies" (as well as calling them "gypsies“ like it's a completely neutral word), and never stops to critically examine or challenge these stereotypes by, for example, including an actual Romani character in the narrative. As I said, this is extremely common in Victorian historical fiction, and as much as I enjoy this genre, I hope this is something that improves in the future, or I'll be hesitant to continue to support these authors.

What a brilliant piece of storytelling this is-it had me hooked from the dramatic opener to the very last page.The strands of the complex plot are woven together so skilfully and cleverly and the way everything is explained and drawn together by the end is quite wonderful.It's full of great characters,some likeable and some extremely unpleasant,all linked by a child who disappeared and one who is miraculously saved from drowning in the river Thames,which it could be said is the book's main character.
The descriptions of the river in all its different moods are beautifully written and you can almost see the scenes described.Also fascinating are the parts dealing with early photography.
All in all it's a fabulous book which I can't recommend highly enough-just read it!

Once Upon a River was an amazing read and I am positive Setterfield is now going to become one of my favourite authors - she really is a wonderfully talented writer. She evoked the late 1800's and Victorian life along the upper reaches of the Thames in Oxfordshire so well - the always moving and changing river, the mists, and the wet marshes adding to the mystery and slightly menacing atmosphere that at times permeated through the pages.

It's certainly a different book that will make you feel many emotions, full of hidden truths, surprises, kindness and sadness. The magical, mystical and supernatural are interwoven with the everyday world, creating a mesmerising masterpiece.

"Along the borders of this world lie others. There are places you can cross. This is one such place".

The writing is fluid and descriptive, the plot is woven cleverly and keeps you gripped and the large cast of characters built up and developed incredibly. Diane Setterfield is a master at building and creating characters, which is shown within the book. The protagonists are diverse, interesting, full of heart and soul, and at times eccentric, and the vile villains brilliantly developed.

Definitely a must read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a touch of magical realism. It is a smorgasbord of gothic, mystery, and local folklore. A little bit weird, but also wonderful, at times heartwarming and others sad, yet throughout beautifully written.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House U.K, Transworld Publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Thank You Netgalley & Publishers For Granting My Request To Review This Book.

Where Can I Start?! This Book Fascinated Me. I Love How The Author Made The Swann Inn The Scene For All The Characters To Meet. I Felt Like When They Departed, They Spread Out Like a Spiders Web With The Swann Being At The Center, Linking Everything.

At First, I Was Slightly Overwhelmed With The Amount Of Characters But Every One Of Them Had A Story To Tell Which Enhanced The Book.

A Different Kind Of Historical Fiction Than Id Usually Pick Up But The Synopsis Really Drew Me In. A Great Book For People When Like Mystery & Suspense

Beautifully written, wonderfully crafted but never boring. A weird proviso to add but when I read the words beautifully written etc, etc I think, does that mean there’s no story? Once Upon a River is not that book, yes, it is beautifully written, wonderfully crafted and it meanders like the constancy of the river threading through the story but it’s never boring.

It’s actually quite tricky to get a handle on because it’s partly based firmly in reality- Henry Daunt, one of the lead characters is drawn from a real photographer of the time named Henry Taunt and at the heart of the book there is a mystery to solve. But then we have folklore, a ghost story and supernatural elements weaving and twisting the story towards a fairytale and that’s where the magic happens.

I would term this a cosy book, it’s a real snuggle up, get yourself comfy in your favourite chair (maybe with a hot chocolate) and surrender to the machinations of Diane Setterfield - wonderful.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully written rich tapestry of a stories interwoven into a central mystery.
I really felt for the characters and thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

Once Upon a River is uniquely crafted mystery story set by the river Thames. Story starts and ends during the winter solstice in the Swan, an inn known for storytelling by the husband of innkeeper and its guests. Wide range of characters are brought together when a mysterious man comes to the inn with a gush on his face and a life like doll in his hands. The doll turns out to be a four year old girl that was dead but during examination by a local nurse miraculously comes back to life.

The folklore and mystery of the night the girl appeared carry out the whole book, and give readers reason to keep reading. I appreciated those aspects, as well as the beautiful writing style of the author, but I didn't end up loving the story. This seems to be an unusual opinion among dozens of raving reviews. The characters although interesting, never came to life. Reader is kept at distance, and remains an onlooker, not a participant in the story. I never felt rush of emotions, I didn't cheer some characters or vigorously disapprove of other's actions. The characters left me indifferent, which doesn't make a story that will hold my heart. I might be too immersed in the modern world and contemporary of futuristic literature to appreciate the 19th century Britain and it people, with the common sense marriages and unemotional romances. 

Honestly, there isn't much I can write about this book, it was interesting read, that had its moment but at the end left me wanting more. I never felt connected to the characters, or even immersed in the story. It definitely is an unique book with a mysterious and picturesque plot, but it's not something I will ever love.

The story will be loved by fans of The Wonder by Emma Donoghue which I liked at the time, but now I have different feelings towards this book.

This was a very unexpected pleasure. Not that I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, but the way the story was told was not what I expected and all the better for it. Beautiful storytelling.

A magical tale, beautifully written, which kept me spellbound from the first page. A community centred around the local waterside inn is shocked when an injured man arrives on the winter solstice, carrying what is thought to be a puppet. When it is realised that it is in fact the body of an unknown little girl in his arms, the lives of numerous people in the village are changed for ever.
Diane Setterfield draws a rich cast of interesting and varied characters, places them in a beguiling setting and plots an intricate tale which, for me, matches some of the old classics.
Easily my favourite read for a long time and a book I would buy for friends.
Very many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to review a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

It is the longest night of the year and the men of Radcot, Oxfordshire, gather in The Swan, an ancient inn on the banks of the Thames, keeping to its winter room for warmth. There are no women among the regulars although each knows that the landlady, Margot, rules queen of this inn. The appeal of The Swan is that it is a place for telling stories. The landlord, Joe, a man who ails from damp in his lungs, is a master of storytelling and people gather to hear him and to tell their own. On this midwinter’s night they will each gain a new story, better than any. An injured stranger bursts through the door and collapses. In his arms is the body of a young girl, four-years-old at most. Rita Sunday, the local healer, is fetched but it is clear to everyone that the child is dead. But then, hours later, she wakes up.

The community of Radcot knows all about lost children. The Vaughans lost their daughter two years before, stolen by thieves. Little Amelia’s mother, Helena, a young woman who feels more at home on the river than she does on land, is bereft and her husband despairs. Might this child be Amelia? Robert Armstrong has cause to think that she might instead be the granddaughter he’s never met, a little girl feared drowned. And then there’s Lily White, a woman who is lost herself, who lives in little more than a hovel, who believes that the child can be none other than her sister, who she last saw so long ago. All of these people are as linked by their sorrow as they are by the river as it flows through their lives during the months between midwinter and midsummer and the winter once more. A time that will change them all.

Once Upon a River is a stunningly gorgeous and melancholic tale set along the Thames during the later Victorian years. This is beautiful writing. The flow of the river and its tributaries form the heart of the novel and they also weave their way through its prose and imagery. It’s a hypnotic book, albeit a very sad one in places, because this is a novel about lost children, the hope of a child found, and the folklore of a river that might be the centre of this village’s life but it is also a place of death, especially for those in despair, and superstition.

Diane Setterfield paints such exquisite portraits of the men and women who live in Radcot and its environs. We occasionally might meet dangerous predators but the majority of the people we come across are drawn with such tenderness and care. It’s impossible not to become involved in their stories. For me, the standout character, among many who stand out, is Robert Armstrong, a gentle giant if ever there was one, whose empathy for his fellow human beings, especially children, as well as for the creatures that he farms or comes across during his day is bewitching. He has something in his pocket for them all but he also gives them all his time and attention. His adoration for his pigs is something to behold. They are his friends. One, alas, like the little girl carried out of the river, is lost. I also loved the theme of photography that weaves through the novel – this is the dawn of a new age, the age of Darwin and science, which is now trickling down to those who live superstitious and relatively impoverished lives along the Thames.

We get to know these people intimately as they live their lives, suffer their griefs, enjoy their rare joys, and sometimes die, meeting the ferryman that they all believe haunts these waters. Diane Setterfield understands their motivations entirely and each of the stories we encounter here is perfectly formed. There is, though, such a sadness to parts of the novel which did at times make for painful reading but I was so hypnotised by it I could not put it down, staying up late into the night to read it. There is lightness to counteract the darkness. There is hope and there is also gentle humour as well as great kindness. A fairy tale of sorts, there are hints of something otherworldly just out of reach.

Once Upon a River is an immersive, beguiling novel from start to finish. It is also set in my part of the world and it made me feel closer to it, made me want to explore more of it. The beautiful cover hints at wonders within and they are there to discover and enjoy. I have no doubt that this marvellous book will be among my favourites of the year.

5★
“Drowning is easy. Every year the river helps herself to a few lives. One drink too many, one hasty step, one second’s lapse of attention is all it takes.”

Loved it! A wonderful story of people living along the banks of the Thames, and of mysterious disappearances, love, violence, and neighbours, all held together with stories. Storytelling is an art form that not all can master. Young Jonathan tries to learn how by listening to his father, Joe, and the other regulars at the Swan, Joe’s inn. They tell and retell and polish stories, many of them about drowning.

One dreadful night, a man stumbles in, dripping wet and bleeding from a badly gashed face and carrying the lifeless body of a little girl. Rita is the local nurse, and she does what she can to treat them both.

“Rita Sunday was not afraid of corpses. She was used to them from childhood, had even been born from one.”

But she is startled when suddenly, the child has a pulse. Speculation begins in the inn!

“The drinkers began to talk, finding words to turn the night’s events into a story.

‘When I saw him in the doorway there, I was astonished. No, astounded. That’s what I was. Astounded!’

‘I was stunned, I was.’

‘And me. I was stunned and astounded. What about you?’

They were collectors of words, the same way so many of the graveldiggers were collectors of fossils. They kept an ear constantly alert for them, the rare, the unusual, the unique.

‘I reckon I was dumbfounded.’

They tried it out for flavour, weighing it on their tongues. It was good. They gave their colleague admiring nods.”

This is too tricky for Jonathan. He is not only too young, he is also hampered by his Downs Syndrome, making it hard to remember the format and the words. His mother, Margot, runs the inn, now that Joe’s health is failing, and she is helped by the daughters, referred to collectively as the Little Margots. Jonathan is a much-loved member of the family and of the inn regulars.

Not all the families in this book are so caring. Nobody knows who these two rescued people are, but a little girl had disappeared, presumed kidnapped or drowned, two years ago, and this little one is about the right age and appearance. But she doesn’t speak. The couple who lost her are still distraught.

The author introduces us to a few families, including a charismatic pig (dear Maud), and reveals some other mysterious disappearances, kidnappings, and/or runaways. Over, under, and around these stories runs the river.

I don’t think you can read this book without being overwhelmed by the power of the river. I am going to include a long quotation here and let you find the book for yourselves to discover these wonderful people and their mysteries for yourself.

“. . . furlong by furlong, singleness of direction is not its most obvious feature. En route the river does not seem particularly intent on reaching its destination. Instead it winds its way in time-wasting loops and diversions.
. . .
It finds its way into wells and is drawn up to launder petticoats and be boiled for tea. It is absorbed into root membranes, travels up cell by cell to the surface, is held in the leaves of watercress that find themselves in the soup bowls and on the cheeseboards of the county’s diners. From teapot or soup dish, it passes into mouths, irrigates complex internal biological networks that are worlds in themselves, before returning eventually to the earth, via a chamber pot. Elsewhere the river water clings to the leaves of the willows that droop to touch its surface, and then when the sun comes up a droplet appears to vanish into the air, where it travels invisibly and might join a cloud, a vast floating lake, until it falls again as rain. This is the unmappable journey of the Thames.”

It brings life and death, and it brings Quietly, the ferryman, a long gaunt figure whom some people claim to have seen poling his punt at great speed and who has saved them from drowning. He is also said to ferry people to “the other side” when their time has come to not be rescued.

Reading this, you will be hard pressed to feel warm and dry, what with the rain and the winds and the mists and the winter dark during which some of this takes place. There is something about this book that reminds me of how much I loved Reservoir 13. The sense of people gathering together, the descriptions of the setting, and the communal loss felt when someone disappears.

And a last word about the reliability of stories.

“When they had remembered everything there was to remember, the alcohol encouraged them to recall things they only half remembered and even to invent things they did not remember at all.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Transworld Publishers for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.
#OnceUponAriver #NetGalley