A family saga that runs from 1902 until well after World War I, this is a meaty and fascinating long novel about a brother and sister, Clarry and Peter, their cousin Rupert, and friends Vanessa and her brother Simon, always known as ‘the bony one’. Clarry is the main character, and it is through her eyes that we see most of the story. But it is Rupert, the exciting and unusual cousin who is beloved by all. Clarry believes that it was her birth that caused her mother’s death as she died only three days after, and it is only much later in the story that she discovers her mother had been ill before the birth and that therefore it was not her fault. There is quite a lot about Clarry’s concern over this. Brother Peter is difficult and not easy to love, but Clarry is a loving soul who needs him because their father is extremely distant. He wants to have as little to do with his two children as possible, and they both must move around him with great care. It is Rupert who is Clarry’s great love because they spend their summers with him and their grandparents in Cornwall, and this is where she is truly happy. As the years go by and the ‘great war’ begins, it is Rupert who signs on immediately, much to the horror of those who love him, including Simon, whose love is of a kind that ‘must not speak its name’. A tragic lad, it is Simon who dies in the trenches, just before the war ends, and Rupert, who has understood that Simon has enlisted in order to be near him, is wracked with guilt over this and is badly affected. He had not returned Simon’s feelings, not being LGBT himself, but he had loved his friend too and knew how the death would affect those at home. There is lots of detail about the war, and Rupert takes over telling us about it in graphic detail. Clarry and Vanessa at home are the ones left to mourn, although Vanessa nurses, and at one point Clarry goes to Europe to find Rupert who has been injured. When the war finishes, Rupert, who has been shattered by all his experiences, more or less disappears for some time, and we are told only scant details about where he is. Both Peter and Clarry end up at Oxford, and Peter and Vanessa marry. Some years later, we are not told how long, Rupert returns home and Clarry looks like having her happy ending. The details towards the end of the book are really just winding up the story, so the ‘meat’ of it is earlier. This is an excellent read, but will take some maturity to get the most from it.