Illusion

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 3 JAN 2000

British writer Robertson's latest novel (her first to be published in the U.S.) takes a complex look at families, parents and priorities against an upper-middle-class U.K. backdrop. When Rachel Trewhitt arrives at her parents' home in Yorkshire for her sister's wedding, she learns that her father, a retired military man, has once again been unfaithful to her mother. This revelation triggers a series of recriminations and explanations, through which Rachel discovers that while she is Philip Trewhitt's daughter, her mother is not the woman she has always called Mummy, but an army corporal named Freda, who gave birth to Rachel in 1969. To complicate matters further, Rachel herself is pregnant. Her partner, Leigh Barnes, is an ambitious TV reporter who claims to want children someday, but emphatically does not want a baby now. If Rachel doesn't have an abortion, Leigh will probably leave her; if she does, she'll get to keep Leigh (who is so unpleasant he hardly seems to warrant much consideration) and a promising career in TV production. Unable to talk to Leigh or her family about her pregnancy, Rachel turns to an old flame, Dr. Tom Lattemore, for advice. But she realizes that before she can make the decision about her baby, she must find Freda and learn more about her own past. As she searches for her missing mother, more revelations are in store. Robertson offers no platitudes or moralizing as Rachel faces the all-too-common choice between a lover, a child and a career. The suspenseful dilemma is a familiar one, but Robertson's even-handed approach makes the story satisfying and thought provoking.