This is a beautiful book that will haunt you for long after you've finished the final page. If you're looking for an exploration of father/child dynamics in a way that will make you view the world differently when you're done, this incredible read will leave you feeling like you've gained new insights without even realising.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC without obligation.

This book was incredibly well written and I could see very clearly what the illustrations the book is centered round looked like. However, I found it very hard to get into this book and a slog to carry on reading. The description of the book doesn’t match the reality and it is an incredibly dark and twisted tale. When I finally finished I was left wondering what had happened and struggling to make sense of this bleak book about family relationships, grief, illness and loss.

THE ILLUSTRATED CHILD by Polly Crosby

This beautiful and original book hit me straight in the heart and I was reading the last few pages with a massive lump in my throat. Romilly Kemp lives in the run down Bräer House with her father Tobias, an artist who is both inventive and eccentric in equal measure. This situation reminded me of a classic favourite I Capture the Castle, but Romilly’s story is much more than a coming of age tale. Romilly and her father live alone and struggle for money, when Tobias has an idea for a children’s book based on his daughter. Featuring his original illustrations, the books follow Romilly and her Siamese cat Monty through a series of adventures at the circus, in a windmill and at Christmas. She is preserved forever as a 9 year old in her patchwork dress and her red hair flying behind her. Romilly loves looking for the tiny little additions to his main illustrations - a tiny mouse holding a forget-me- not, two miniature hares boxing, and sometimes Romilly herself being chased by a animal. The public fall in love with the books and the idea grows that there is some sort of treasure hunt contained in the pages leading to trespassers at Bräer and some horrible encounters with reporters and photographers.

Romilly can see secrets of a different kind in the pages her father has drawn, but she’s used to secrets. She hasn’t seen her mum for so long she’s largely forgotten her and they have no other family. Where does her friend Stacey go when she is missing for weeks? Who is the beautiful, pink costumed circus lady she meets who knows her father? She notices differences in the way she’s drawn in the book and also a very faintly painted lady in the background often with her head in her hands. Her dad gives her a puzzle box he’s made, which starts to tick when it’s her birthday releasing a memento or object that’s important to her - Monty’s silver bell, a pink feather. When her dad’s memory starts to fail, Romilly wonders if all these clues are for her, or are they triggers for her dad’s memory? More importantly, I was starting to wonder who would look after Romilly and what had torn this close family apart?

This was such a visually rich book that I really took my time to drink it all in. The descriptions of Tobias’s works were stunning and so detailed I could really see them. The idea of tiny little illustrations inside the bigger ones of the story really brought my childhood back to me, because my brother and I loved the What-a-Mess books by Frank Muir where whole worlds could happen between the grasses of the main illustration. Tobias was such a huge character with incredible creativity, one moment painting quietly in his shed while the next moment he was a whirlwind of activity creating giant metal mobiles in the field. However, beneath the wonder and wildness of Romilly’s childhood there was no certainty or parental boundaries. Romilly is meant to be home schooled, but has no real curriculum or structure. There are times when heat and food are scarce, and set mealtimes never seem to happen unless someone is visiting. As Tobias declines, Romilly is having to cope alone with no family to help. I wanted to swoop in and look after her and Monty. There’s no doubt that she’s independent, resourceful and intelligent, but is that innate or something she’s had to develop having been left to fend for herself so often? There’s a deep understanding of the psychology of a child in this position underlying Romilly’s story. Even her name means ‘strength’ and she has so much, using it to defend her tiny family and her home.

Underlying all of this is an understanding of trauma and how grief can tear apart the strongest families. In one part of the book Tobias explains to his daughter that people grieve in different ways and sometimes that means doing it apart. I know grief well, and at different stages in my journey I’ve done things differently, avoided certain places and people. At first I struggled to talk to anyone who was as shattered by my husband’s death as I was. I couldn’t deal with anyone else’s needs, only my own. I was very angry with people who turned out for the funeral claiming a relationship with my husband, who I had never met in the seven years we’d been married, the last four of I’d been caring for him 24/7. Later I wanted to seek out people who grieved as strongly as I did because we could reminisce and understand each other’s profound sadness. When reading the book I found myself both very angry with Romilly’s mother because I felt she was selfish, but I also sympathised and understood her decision that she shouldn’t be a parent. There were parts of the novel where I felt nobody understood or fully cared how much their decisions impacted on this little girl. I was so profoundly sad for her and at that point where she realised she needed help, she allowed herself to be vulnerable which must have been so difficult for her.

This is a beautiful book: it’s invocation of childhood and play; the magical atmosphere of Bräer and it’s surroundings; the work stunning artworks done by Tobias and the complex history he’s trying to convey. I loved how the author showed objects sparking memories, for Romilly, but also for Tobias who recognises his daughter through Monty’s silver bell. I hadn’t unravelled the mystery so I could enjoy it as it played out and when the truth was finally revealed everything made sense, even if I did think Tobias could have handled it so differently. I have a particular affinity with hares, so his drawing under the book’s dust jacket of the two hares was particularly moving. What I loved most was the way the author showed a difficult childhood still being magical and full of memories. I think we can probably all look back and remember times that feel golden to us, but might be very different from our parent’s perspective. Romilly’s freedom, her ability to invent and imagine, to follow her own interests when mixed in with the magical circus, the panther stalking the area round the village and buried treasure seem magical. How much of this would she be willing to trade for security, routine and someone to care for her? This book will stay with me for a long time and is a definite candidate for my ‘forever shelves’.

What a great book! Not the sort of story / genre I would normally read at all but I found this really atmospheric and almost haunting. It tells the tale of Romilly and her father, who live in a large, ramshackle old house. They have a wonderful relationship, although this does start to change when he writes / paints the wonderful story books which are based around Romilly and her cat, Monty.

There were some twists I didn’t see coming and I was almost sad to finish this book in the end. Highly recommended - I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

This is a great debut book by Polly Crosby. Romilly lives in a ramshackle house with her eccentric artist father and her cat, Monty. She knows little about her past – but she knows that she is loved.
When her father finds fame with a series of children’s books starring her as the main character, everything changes: exotic foods appear on the table, her father appears on TV, and strangers appear at their door, convinced the books contain a treasure hunt leading to a glittering prize.

This novel pulls at readers heart strings but can be confusing at times. It can be very dark at times but sweeps the reader up with the tangled mysteries within the book.
Thanks to #Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this title. #TheIllustratedChild

When I realised where this book was going I gave up reading it. Not a subject for fictionalisation in my opinion.

What a fascinating debut. Haunting in the best way, this book studies relationships with those we know and love and those we don’t know. I would recommend. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an egalley.

This novel is one that took a while to draw me in but once it did I just didn’t want to stop reading. It follows Romilly, a young child who is living with her father in a ramshackle home. They live quite an isolated existence that Romilly loves, her father makes things magical and encourages Romilly’s imagination. One day he writes a children’s book featuring Romilly and their life and suddenly there is a lot more attention on them and their home. As time goes by and Romilly gets older there starts to be more neglect and clearly there is something going on with her dad but it’s not apparent what for quite a while. The novel does become something different than I was expecting it to but there is something so moving and beautiful in the way this book is written that I just didn’t want to put it down. I recommend it!

CW: child neglect, child abuse, death of a child, dementia.

I had a bad feeling upon starting this book and so decided to look up content warnings (above). I don't want to read about child abuse so I DNF'd it after finding out that's what the big "truth" is. I literally hate that the child abuse reveal is becoming a trope in fiction and wish more publishers were cognisant of the fact that many people do not want to read about this topic, and so were open in sharing content warnings with readers.

From the description, I was half expecting to read a darker take on I Capture the Castle (one of my fave books in the world!) so I was really looking forward to reading this. I ended up being a bit disappointed - while the plot and writing are both good, it never really worked for me. Nothing made me believe in the story, and the "twist" was obvious from the first pages.

I thought this was a great book which I enjoyed ithoroughly, not my usual cup of tea so was surprisingly pleased, defo recommend it to others 😊

Oh dear, I really do not know how to review this, for some it’s 5🌟for others 2🌟, I’m going to give it 3🌟

Crosby has put her heart and soul into this book. She is an excellent and creative author, imaginative and the way in which she writes is beautiful.

Description:

Romilly lives in a ramshackle house with her eccentric artist father and her cat, Monty. Her father finds fame with a series of children’s books starring her as the main character and everything changes. In her increasingly isolated world, Romilly turns to the secrets hidden in the books, realising there’s something far darker and more devastating locked within each page.

What is true and what isn’t true? What’s real and what isn’t real? Is there any treasure or isn’t there? Treasure isn’t always what people expect.

Romilly has some great adventures, like Alice, in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She spends most of her time alone as her father locks himself away to write and illustrate his books. As she is left to her own devices she runs wild and roams around free.

Occasionally she meets up with an undisciplined child called Stacey, who I’m not sure is a friend of foe? Real or not? Did Romilly escape her everyday life by tumbling into a fanciful world of madness and mockery in order to survive.

In parts this is harrowing, not easy or pleasant reading. It’s an imaginative story that is underpinned by love, loss, grief, suffering, deprivation, child neglect, abuse, dementia, mental illness, depression, animal cruelty and delusion. It is a really multi layered and complex story. A sad story. I couldn’t extract any joy from this, other than imagining how delightful it would be to have a cat like Monty!

Even though it’s a touching story, the end left me confused, with very mixed feelings. The question is did I enjoy it, no I didn’t it just wasn’t for me. However, others have given it 5🌟 so it’s up to you as to whether you want to read this very strong and quirky debut novel.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and HQ for this ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

This was another book that I sadly misjudged. The blurb and title seemed to promise a tale of an eccentric childhood in a 'ramshackle' house with a literary mystery alongside. Romilly's father is an illustrator and he makes her his main protagonist. As his series becomes a best-seller, it inspires a cult following with readers convinced that the books hold clues to a mysterious treasure hunt. Over time, Romilly becomes increasingly isolated from the world and her father ever more suspicious of those around them. Seeing rave reviews elsewhere, I was hoping for something akin to I Capture the Castle. Instead this seems to be one of that increasingly high stack of books which depict child abuse with a sprinkling of magical realism and expect the reader to find it beautiful. Alas, this reader did not.

The inspiration is apparently Kit Williams' 1979 book Masquerade which really did contain clues to a treasure hunt. Indeed, my main impression as I read the book was that I felt that I had seen it all before. The trope of the 'traumatised child of the children's author' has been done, done and then done again. AS Byatt's The Children's Book was inspired by the life of Edith Nesbit and her offspring, Claire Morrall's The Roundabout Man seemed a response to the life of Christopher Robin et al then there are other less focus examples such as  Charles Elton's Mr Toppitt. The point is that the list goes on.

So does the plot featuring the 'mystery locked in an author's story'. See The Thirteenth Tale, Possession and so very many more. Even the grand twist was borrowed from Behind the Scenes at the Museum with a side platter from the bumpy bit out of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. But the over-arching feel of nastiness dressed up as beauty was more akin to My Absolute Darling or The Doll Funeral. This book was incredibly derivative, borrowing from many pots and with nothing unique of its own.

Having recently read and loved Fierce Bad Rabbits, a non-fiction ode to the wonder of the picture book, I had hoped that The Illustrated Child would have some form of response to what it means to have one's childhood illustrated. To have moments that you perhaps barely remember set in aspic for all the world to see. To be recognised by strangers, to have people think that they know you, to have personal moments put out there to be pawed over by all the world. But instead Romilly retreats further and further away from the world, having the inverse experience. Rather than the nature of story-telling, instead we get survivalism.

There are so many books that send their protagonist (almost universally female) on these kind of torture quests. Again, there's The Marsh King's Daughter, Our Endless Numbered Days and so on. They play around with reality and sometimes add in supernatural forces but all comes back to the same thing. We watch a fictional female suffer and this is somehow justified as art. I'm just ... done with it. I never get on well with books populated by a cast of people who only ever seem to be nasty to each other. No matter what was going on with Romilly's father, he was down right unpleasant and emotionally abusive and neglectful. And her mother was worse. While the 'big reveal' might have been intended to offer an explanation or absolution, I felt only disdain. I wish poor Romilly peace and only feel sorry that her creator put her through this.

But more than anything, this book made me finally see the point of trigger warnings. I was looking for a 'cosy' type of read, about a little girl growing up with an artist father in an eccentric type of place. The book's alternative title was The Book of Hidden Wonder but rather than magic or awe, all Crosby provided was this bleak and joyless purgatory. Had the blurb and accompanying information been more forthcoming, I would not have read this book. I hope that this review will serve so that others can avoid my mistake.

A hauntingly beautifully written story with twists. I could not out this book down and at points was reduced to tears. I highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting and unique idea behind the story with plenty to get your teeth into. The writing was good and extremely compelling, making the reader unable to stop reading. The writing was over simplistic at times, contrasting sharply with the darker events in the story. The plot develops quickly, showing the rapid deterioration of the relationship.
Overall a good read.

I was unsure of this book from start to finish. I think the style of writing just didn’t suit me as a reader. I loved the premise of the book and I hope to pick it up again to read again but when o have more time.

I think the book is multi-layered and complex. At times it’s quite emotional and I found it hard to read not that it was bad but just that I felt the emotions coming through the pages.

Definitely a thought provoking read.

Amazing debut from Polly Crosby, this book is a masterpiece in writing. I'm desperate for more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Romilly lives with her father in a ramshackle house out in the countryside. Tobias Kemp, her father decides to illustrate & write a book about Romilly & her kitten. He is an artist & his pictures are a masterpiece of detail & hidden clues. The book is a runaway success & people come looking for clues to buries treasure. Romilly lives a very isolated life. She doesn't go to school & her only contact with other people is another wild child called Stacey. She has very few memories of her life before they came here & wants answers. As she grows older her father becomes more eccentric & admits he is suffering from Dementia. Romilly's life grows darker.

This was a hard book to review. It was beautifully written. The descriptions of the pictures in the books sound wonderful. However I found the way poor Romilly grew up to be heart-breaking. Whilst maybe not actually abused she was certainly neglected. I was kept reading this even though at times I was very confused! At times I wanted to give this book five stars & at others one so it evened out at three! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I'm not sure that the book I read was the book I was expecting as it was far darker than I imagined. That being said I found it a compelling read even after I guessed the twist in the plot. It was a very visual book (at times too much so perhaps) and I felt that Romilly's confusion was well written.
A book to generate a lot of discussion I feel but not one I would rush to recommend

Everyone knows Romilly Kemp – she’s the girl in the books written by her father, the ones with the beautiful illustrations of the 8 year old girl wearing the denim dress, red tights & having adventures with her kitten. However, is there more to the pictures/stories than at first glance? Is there a treasure hunt hidden within the book?
(For anyone who remembers “Masquerade”, the treasure hunt within a book that captivated the UK in 1979-1982, the concept will be familiar!)
As the “Romilly” books become ever more popular, fans seeking the “treasure” descend on the remote crumbling house where Romilly & her father live, changing their lives in unexpected ways. As Romilly grows older & her father starts to suffer from dementia, things change significantly and the secrets held within the book start to be revealed - it is not physical treasure, but a family secret for Romilly to unlock.
Romilly is an interesting character, her father is an eccentric artist and Monty the cat is adorable, but I didn’t like the character of Stacey, the friend, at all. The situation with the mother didn’t work for me – I understand why it was there but it lacked some authenticity. The descriptions were very vivid and detailed - I can only wish we’d had an illustration or two to really bring the book to life!
Overall, this was an odd book, and certainly not what I expected. It takes some time to get started and there are some slow sections in the middle. There are many aspects that are quite distressing & disturbing. It’s not an easy or pleasant read, but it is quite compelling.