Review of Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunmore

Our book choice for July was Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunmore. Published in 1993 this was Helen Dunmore’s first novel.  The story is set in the First World War in Zennor, a village in Cornwall, where D H Lawrence and his German wife Frieda are renting a cottage, hoping to escape the war and find some peace away from the controversy caused by his latest book ‘The Rainbow’. The locals view Frieda with suspicion, convinced the couple are sending signals to German U boats off the Cornish coast.

It is also the story of Claire Coyne, the only daughter of widowed Francis Coyne. Claire has spent much of her childhood with her mother’s family and becomes very close with her cousins Hannah, Peggy and John William. 

John William returns from fighting on the front, to attend an Officers’ training course. 

The story centres on the relationship between Claire, John William and Lawrence.

Dunmore captures the effect of war on a tiny part of Cornwall.

We all really enjoyed this book and gave it 10 out of 10. We would highly recommend it and have decided to include another Helen Dunbar novel on our reading list for next year.

Joan Mead (Reading Group)