Kate Gilbert is the teenage daughter of a lighthouse keeper, living on a wild and isolated cape in 1887. A bookish and curious free spirit, Kate dreams of travelling to faraway places. She spends most of her time adventuring with her best friend Harriet. Two years older, and infinitely more sensible, Harriet is naturally cautious, but can be roused to acts of reckless bravery at Kate’s insistence.
Skylarking is the story of their friendship and how that changes as they grow from girls to young women, innocently discovering their sexuality at a time in history when such things were shrouded in secrecy.
When a handsome fisherman called McPhail moves into the area, both girls are drawn to him, and their fascination with this strong and distant character puts a fissure in their friendship.
From this point, there is an ominous sense that something terrible is going to happen. This catastrophic event is hinted at throughout the book, but I did not see it coming.
Based on a true story, this novella is simply and stunningly told, and beautifully atmospheric. It will take you to another place and time and impressed on me just how vulnerable young women were in an isolated place like this, at a time in history when they had few options available to them and knew little of the outside world.
