Tregaron's Daughter, Madeleine Brent (1971)

Contrary to what usually happens after reading a book after many years, this one certainly didn't disappoint, quite the opposite, actually, it has definitely stood the test of time!

Peter O'Donnell, aka Madeleine Brent

Before launching into the story, I'd like to talk a bit about the author, Madeleine Brent, who's real name was actually Peter O'Donnell.  The first time I discovered this, shortly after finding Tregaron's Daughter after so many years, I had wanted to read a little more about the writer since oftentimes one can understand their books after knowing a bit about their lives, and to my surprise, the 'she' was actually a 'he!' 

According to wikipedia, Peter O'Donnell was actually a lot more known for his Modesty Blaise series and not his gothic romantic novels.  My first question when I found about his identity was:  

Why did he decide to change his name to that of a woman?  

It is usually the opposite, right? The Brontes come to mind, as does George Elliot.  They obviously suffered from publishing issues due to being women in a repressed society, thus choosing to use pseudonyms, which brought on my next questions:

Was it so that he would be taken more seriously within the genre, as it is most definitely female dominated? 

It must have been a bit difficult for him with his colleagues during the 70's, particularly the male ones, when he launched this series at the urging of his publisher.  Let's face it, the romance genre in general isn't very respected as most people consider it chick-lit or some such demeaning categorization, and that's when women write it... I would imagine it was more difficult for men who demonstrated interest in this area, which leads me to the last question of all: 

Why did he allow his true identity to surface only after he finished his last novel, Golden Urchin?  I don't know, but it seems to me that the author's life was every bit as mysterious as that of his heroines, which ALWAYS seemed to have some undisclosed incident in their lives.

Back to the story:

Tregaron's Daughter is about a fisherman's daughter from Cornwall, Cadi Tregaron, whose life abruptly changes after her father passed away in an accident after trying to help some visitors to the area who were in danger. She is then rescued by some friends, the Mortons who she had helped rescue some time before.  Amongst them were Lucien and Richard, cousins and personality opposites, though both extremely odd.  More on them later.

Cadi is taken into a new world, that of Victorian high society, where she finds happiness and family stability until the discovery of her real identity through the locket she had always had from her Italian grandmother.  This discovery led her to contact some family members who lived in Venice, who had urged her to visit them there and take her rightful place among them.

Once in Venice, Cadi's life is in danger and she becomes surrounded by people who aren't what they seem, making it very difficult for her to trust anyone.  This is where the Gothic elements are specially pronounced as Cadi lives with her Italian family in an old mansion, full of secrets, dark alleys, with a general feeling of menace.  At this time, the protagonist reminds me somewhat of Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey, with the difference being that Cadi is not imagining the situation, although the people who surround her tell her she does.  Brent continuously has her facing difficult situations which she must overcome, often running through the Venetian canals, sending secret notes, shooting, and finally a rescue mission to boot.   

Nevertheless, the masterfully used Gothic elements were not heavy-handed but quite quite believable within this context, keeping the reader's interest at all times, which just shows what a great storyteller Brent was.

Cadi herself develops from being a young, naive girl, into a strong woman ready to take her life into her own hands, refusing to give up, no matter the circumstances.  The message given was as adequate for girls from the 1970's, as it is to those from the 21st century today.

Brent, as was his trademark, made it very difficult for the reader to figure out who the 'right one' for the protagonist was: Was it young Richard who seemed very warm and trustworthy, yet suffered from strange, unexplainable episodes? Or was it Lucien, dark, moody, and seemingly a threat? Who manges to win over Cadi's heart? 

Tregaron's Daughter
Reviewed by Romina on Mar 12 2013
Rating: 4