Publishers Weekly
Inspired by Jane Eyre, Livesey (The House on Fortune Street) offers vibrant prose and a feisty heroine in her fascinating sixth novel, set in Scotland in the early 1960s. After 10-year-old Gemma Hardy’s parents die, she is taken in by a kind uncle, much to his wife’s dismay. When her uncle dies, the novel takes on shades of Cinderella as Gemma (who had been accepted by her cousins) is made into a scullery maid. Though her aunt attempts to break her down, Gemma works hard in school, earning a scholarship place at the Claypool boarding school. Again little more than a slave, Gemma learns how to survive among the working girls. When the school closes, Gemma takes a position in the Orkneys, where she will live at the estate of the mysterious Sinclair and look after his wild niece, Nell. She and Sinclair fall in love, but Sinclair has a secret that drives Gemma to change, as well as inspiring her to trace her Icelandic roots. Although guardian angels and kind strangers turn up like an army of deus ex machinas, these plot missteps don’t detract from Gemma’s self-possessed determination. Captivating and moving, this book is a wonderful addition to Livesey’s body of work. (Jan.)
Liza Nelson
A cunning adaptation.
Kristin Ohlson
Marvelous....Gemma Hardy is one of those page turners in which you occasionally have to wrest yourself away from the plot to admire the language.
David Wroblewski
The portrait of a delicate, iron-willed girl, an orphan and a heroine in the grand tradition…. Here as in all of Livesey’s novels, the real treasure is her gift for exploring the unreduced human psyche with all its radiant contradictions, mercurial insights, and desperate generosities.
People
Livesey delivers a suspenseful, curl-up-by-the-fire romance with a willfully determined protagonist who’s worthy of her literary role model.
Meredith Maran
Livesey has pulled off the near-impossible task that the homage begs an author to do: create an original, fresh work that shines in its own light, while bringing an established, esteemed work to the attention of new readers, and showing off previously unseen facets to its fans….
Sam Sacks
Absorbing….Ms. Livesey writes lovely, understated prose…[her] treks through the novel’s pleasing natural landscapes…are almost as engaging as her navigation of Gemma’s restless psyche.
Lisa Shea
A brilliantly paced contemporary adventure about a headstrong orphan’s struggle to claim a place for her generous heart in a secret-laden, sometimes loveless world.
Atlantic Monthly
Livesey follows Brontë‘s form, but so convincingly does she create her own character’s life and surroundings that the original soon recedes, its story a beloved, familiar body dressed in an entirely new and vibrant wardrobe.
Marie Claire
In this modern day retelling of Jane Eyre - trade horses for private jets - novelist Margot Livesey pays homage to Brontë‘s literary classic.
Connie Ogle
Jane Eyre gets a terrific modern makeover….Livesey works some sort of magic in The Flight of Gemma Hardy, which is too entertaining to be superfluous, too wise in its understanding of human nature to be a mere retread.
Sarah Towers
A delight....Livesey is a lovely, fluid writer.
Library Journal
Any novelist attempting to reconstruct a classic faces a monumental challenge, and basing a book on Jane Eyre is no exception. Livesey (The House on Fortune Street) rises to that challenge by creating an original tale set in mid-20th-century Scotland and Iceland that follows the life of Gemma Hardy, a determined orphan seeking answers to questions about her past. Like Jane, Gemma is both proud and principled, but there is a definite modern twist to her character. While romance plays a prominent role in this story, Livesey's tale centers largely on Gemma's internal journey and her physical trek. Within the classic framework, Livesey molds a thoroughly modern character who learns to expect the best of herself and to forgive the missteps of others. The author has a gift for creating atmosphere, most clearly demonstrated in her descriptions of the scenery during Gemma's travels. VERDICT This original slant on a classic story line captures the reader's interest and sustains it to the end. Fans of modern interpretations of the classics will particularly enjoy. [See Prepub Alert, 8/22/11.]—Catherine Tingelstad, Pitt Community Coll., Greenville, NC
