The Clockmaker's Daughter

By: Kate Morton

Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt

Prepare to lose yourself in the enchanting new novel from Kate Morton.

'My father called me Birdie; he said I was his little bird. Others knew me as his child, the clockmaker’s daughter. Edward called me his muse, his destiny. I am remembered as a thief, an imposter, a girl who rose above her station, who was not chaste. My real name, no one remembers. The truth about that summer, no one else knows.'

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor in rural Oxfordshire. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.

Over 150 years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker's Daughter is a story of murder, mystery and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through it like a river is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker’s daughter.

©2018 Kate Morton (P)2018 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Joanne Froggatt, of 'Downton Abbey,' skillfully narrates this sweeping story of art, beauty, love, and murder.... Froggatt's precise diction makes listening a pleasure. She excels at inhabiting accents and personalities from each era in the layered narrative, both men and women from an array of backgrounds. Froggatt keeps the pace of this long novel moving and helps build suspense as the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together." (AudioFile)

I’m so confused

Wow what a story. So many characters so many people so many unfinished dangling stories with no conclusion I usually love Kate Morton’s book but this one was ok without being great.

A Lot of Characters

A good story when one can piece it all together. I listened to it twice, the second time I wrote down the names of characters in different groups. This might be helpful to do the first time. There seem to be six major story groups:
1) Elodie, her famous cellist mother, and Elodie's friends in present time 2) The clockmaker's daughter and all that happens to her and who she eventually becomes, 3) Ada Lovegrove's story at Lucy's Radcliff's boarding school,
4) Leonard Gilbert's research into Philanthropist/Reformer, James Stratton where he learns of a connection to Edward Radcliff, the artist, and his sister, Lucy 5) Juliet and her children, including Elodie's great uncle Tip as a small child in 1940
6) Elodie and Jack in the museum.

Believe it or not, all of these stories connect to one particular house, Birchwood Manor. The six stories weave in and out, and the transitions are often quick, so might be missed. It's OK to rewind, and it's worth it to finally know what happened to the clockmaker's daughter and all the other characters.

Fantastic story--read in the proper order

The first time I listened to this audio book I was so confused that I wasn't sure what to do, so I bought the hardback copy. It's much easier to understand (and enjoy) when you realize that the first half of the book is actually the second file in the download, so listen to that first, and then come back for the second half of the book--in the first part of the download. Audible should fix that because it almost ruined the book for me, but I love Kate Morton's novels so I persisted. Wonderful story with characters you want to sit down and talk to. Mysteries, twists and turns, romance. I loved the story and the writing is a pleasure. The narrator was terrific.

A Really Good Story

I'm not sure why so many people are having trouble following this book or saying it's out of order. It's not. It's simply telling multiple stories at the same time between the spirit and the rest of the people. It's definitely in the proper order and easy to tell when it switches perspectives. The Chapters are the other people. When it just says a number it's the spirit. Even though the timelines seem random, they are not and still very much in the right order.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is a bit historically inaccurate with spiritualism in Victorian England. The story partly taking place in the early 1860s when talking boards and table turning wasn't even remotely common place until the late 1880s. A minor thing, but very noticeable to the people interested in the time period.

It's about the house.

I was a bit confused at first with all the characters but when I realized it was about the inhabitants of Birchwood Manor throughout its history then I began to enjoy the story. It's a different book.