Kearsley’s Firebird flies by too fast
Genre writer deserves more acclaim
Reading Canadian novelist Susanna Kearsley’s new book The Firebird has left me puzzled. Not the work itself, which touches down on the captivating period of Peter the Great’s Russia while weaving through a modern-day tale involving the paranormal. Kearsley has written a compelling and intricate character-driven story that’s definitely not lacking in clarity.
Rather the confusion lies in wondering how a New York Times and U.S.A. Today bestselling author, who has been published for almost two decades with eight titles to her credit, is seemingly unknown in her own country — at least in the informal survey conducted among colleagues and friends.
The only probable explanation offered is genre: romantic suspense with an interwoven historical plot line. Or as Kearsley describes it on her Twitter account: “modern gothic novels that mix contemporary suspense and romance with historical adventure.”
Yet summing her work up with a mere genre description doesn’t reflect her lyrical literary style and talent for storytelling.
Kearsley’s career as a published novelist was launched in 1993 when she won the Catherine Cookson award for her novel Mariana, landing her a British agent and publisher. Since then she’s built a loyal following across the pond and in the U.S.
The Firebird, released in April, begins in present-day England with the central character, who works for a dealer of Russian art, making a dramatic change in her life. Having concealed her paranormal abilities for most of her life, Nicola decides to use her secret gift to help a woman determine the provenance of a wood carving that her employer decides is worthless — news that appears to devastate the woman.
Nicola, through holding the carving, senses that the firebird could be genuine — a gift from the Empress Catherine, as the woman believes — and sets out to find tangible proof.
She enlists the help of a fellow psychic and former love, Rob McMorran, who possesses a more refined paranormal ability to see into the past. Together they trace the path of Anna, the woman’s young ancestor, from Scotland to Russia, trying to determine if the bird was truly a royal gift.
Along the way, Kearsley delves into the complicated emotions that link Nicola and Rob while they attempt to untangle the historical mystery surrounding young Anna’s journey to Russia and hopeful return to the U.K., all the while trying to find the connection to the firebird.
Kearsley creates a taut suspenseful plot stemming from the political intrigue of the Jacobite English expats and their attempts to reposition a Stuart on the English throne. Her historical research has enough depth to support the storyline without allowing the history to supersede it.
As a writer, she cares as much about the authenticity of the food her characters eat as she does about notable dates, details that give layered texture and colour to the novel. She achieves this through sumptuous descriptive language that envelops the reader into the story.
The Firebird, though almost 500 pages, flew by far too quickly.