Author: Maggie O'Farrell



Publisher: Headline Book Publishing Ltd



Title: The Marriage Portrait (Based on the description, though the exact title may vary; it fits the themes of family secrets and historical mystery)



Overview:



A sweeping historical novel set between the 1930s and the present day.

The story centers on Esme, a woman who was erased from her family's history, and the secrets that emerge when, sixty years later, she is released from care.

A young woman named Iris discovers she has a great aunt she never knew—Esme—and begins to uncover her story.

The narrative unfolds as a mystery revealing the heartbreaking lives of two sisters living in colonial India and 1930s Edinburgh. It explores their loneliness, rivalries, and a shocking betrayal that shapes their destinies.

Esme is portrayed as fiercely intelligent and unconventional, paying a terrible price for her family's unhappiness and societal expectations.