Emily Howes
The Painter’s Daughters by Emily Howes explores the family history and strong bond between Thomas Gainsborough’s two daughters, Molly and Peggy. The story unfolds in two seemingly disparate threads that develop separately. The primary thread tells the story of Molly and Peggy. Peggy, the younger of the two daughters, narrates the thread. The secondary thread involves Meg, an innkeeper’s daughter. The connection between the two threads does not become apparent until the end of the novel. Thomas Gainsborough hovers in the background of the first thread, occasionally emerging from his studio where he paints society portraits. He loves his daughters but has little time for them, much to Peggy’s disappointment.
Although younger than her sister, Peggy takes on the role of caretaker for her older sister when Molly begins to exhibit signs of mental illness. Molly behaves erratically, freezes, expresses random thoughts, hallucinates, and is non-responsive. Peggy controls her sister’s behavior through violence, by locking her in the bedroom, and tying a lock of her hair to the bedpost so she can’t escape at night. She is determined to keep her sister’s episodes of mental illness a secret even from their parents. She has heard of Bedlam, the lunatic asylum, and is fiercely determined to protect Molly from being carted off there. Their parents overlook Molly’s affliction and blame Peggy whenever a problem arises. But there comes a time when the parents can no longer deny the problem. The family hides Molly’s mental illness, living in constant terror of exposure.
This thread is periodically interrupted with the story of Meg, the innkeeper’s daughter, who becomes pregnant by the young prince Frederick of England. Meg runs away to London to seek economic support from Frederick. He agrees to provide for her and her baby through his friend. The two threads, which connect at the end of the novel, not only explain Meg’s relationship to the Gainsborough daughters, they also explain the cause of Molly’s madness.
Howes convincingly captures Peggy’s interiority. Her life becomes so intertwined with that of her sister’s, it is as if they have merged into one person. Underneath the seemingly normal veneer of laughter and childish pranks, Peggy carries a burden of anxiety, always on the lookout and ready to shelter her sister at the first sign of a mental relapse. She is torn between seeking her own happiness and sacrificing her happiness to be her sister’s protector. Her anxiety eventually leads to bouts with bulimia.
The novel is rich in detail of life in 18th century Bath with its sights, sounds, smells, and behaviors of the upper classes. Howes conducted extensive research on Thomas Gainsborough, his family, and his portraits. She weaves Gainsborough’s haunting portraits of his daughters seamlessly into the story line. Her narrative is engaging, convincing, and captures the extent to which sisterly and maternal love will go to protect a loved one.