Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a superb historical novel with tragic themes. Phillipa Gregory demonstrates the she can craft such a great story that takes place in the past century. (This book was initially released in 1993. Due to Gregory’s popularity, it has been reissued.)
The story focuses on the dysfunctional marriage of Lily Valance and Captain Stephen Winters. Stephen was traumatized by his service during World War I. He is clearly suffering from PTSD and other issues. Yet he refuses treatment of any kind and is plagued by nightmares. Lily marries him and she is unaware of his condition until their honeymoon.
Before she met Stephen, Lily was an up and coming singer and chorus girl. Due to personal tragedy, Lily ends up marrying Stephen to survive. As she is from the working class and the Winters family is upper class, conflicts naturally occur. Compounded with Stephen’s psychological problems and misogynist attitudes and Lily’s inexperience, the marriage is immediately plagued by problems. There are continual themes of marital rape. While Gregory is not graphic in her depictions, it is still distressing material.
Gregory excels at describing Stephen’s remembrances of the war. She also gets into the head of all her characters. The reader understands what makes each character tick. Overall, this book is an indictment of the attitudes of the upper class. When Stephen is observing his wife while she changes their son’s diaper, the present day reader understand how warped his sensibilities have become.
“Stephen gazed at the two of them in a sort of horror: at his son’s innocent babyish maleness, and at Lily’s confident handle of him. As if she were some kind of red-handed nurse, as if she were not a lady at all. Stephen was appalled that Lily should lower herself to be so intimate with the child. It was worse than servitude, what she chose to do. It was disgraceful that she should do it and feel no shame at being watched.”
As Lily continues to assert herself, Stephen’s mental health and behavior declines. It is inevitable that this marriage will end in tragedy. Gregory keeps us guessing as to who will be harmed the most. The last few chapters kept the tension building beautifully. I highly recommend this book to historical fiction and Phillipa Gregory fans even though it is very dark material.
