This is a beautiful debut novel. The plots follows a dual timeline: 1938 India and 1953 Portsmouth. The story had me gripped from the first page. The book is written so well.

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

This was a compelling, interesting and informative read as Florence, a young English woman, navigates life in India through the 1930s and 1940s to Portsmouth, England of the early 1950s. It is a time of great upheaval - a desire to break free from the constrictions of traditional life and the status quo. The story highlights the fight for freedoms and equality, whether it be via race, gender or nationality. Florence struggles to live the life others envision for her. But, can she truly live unless she discovers the woman she was destined to be?

Author Justine Bothwick has delivered a beautifully rendered story. The writing is fluid and the settings exquisitely described. Her historical research embedded in the book's pages is spot on and vividly illustrated. The breadth of emotions is vast and thoughtfully delivered. I highly recommend this book to historical fiction fans.

I am grateful to author Justine Bothwick and her publisher, Agora Books, for having provided a complimentary uncorrected proof of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

This book is a bit different from what I normally read, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The writing is beautiful and the whole setting in India as well. Something that I really liked was the two timelines (1938 and 1953). It was done so well!

I have to admit this book had me at its cover. The cover is so beautiful. This is Florence Hunt, is living a care free life in India. She rides her horses and lives right near the Taj Mahal.. where peacocks literally run wild. She is privileged but smart and seems to think love will never find her. Her father works with the railroad and she wants to learn everything she can about the business. But being a young lady during this time, means she will not be encouraged to. She meets an engineer though and he sweeps her off her feet and her world starts to change. Fast forward and Florence finds herself in Portsmouth, England with a baby. She is all alone.. things are so bleak and she desperately wants to find her old self. She seems to think she won’t be able to improve her life.. but someone from her past shows up and things seem to start to improve. I loved this book and the characters. Justine Bothwick is a wonderful writer. I honestly had no idea what to expect but I am so glad of how it turned out. I will most definitely read other books by this author. Thank you to Netgalley & Justine Bothwick for my copy for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review. This was a five star read for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

REVIEW
In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced by Justine Bothwick
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agra, India, 1938.
Florence Hunt lives in India with her father in a beautiful villa in Agra. From the outside, she has a wonderful life: the Taj Mahal is a majestic backdrop, she has an abundance of exotic wildlife roaming around her and the smell of spices fill the air. However, behind this glittering fascade, Florence is unhappy. Her father wants her to pursue "ladylike hobbies" but Florence wants to work in the fascinating world of engineering and mathematics, a field of work restricted to men. In a world where men are superior, Florence struggles to find her identity. That is, until a handsome engineer comes into her life.

Portsmouth, England, 1953.
Fifteen years later, Florence is struggling to find identity and happiness in a post-war England. It is cold and drab and boring and couldn't be further from her previous sun-kissed existence in India. When a visitor from her past turns up on her doorstep, Florence decides she needs to forge her own path to happiness.

What a book. The scenes in India were so vividly captured - the descriptions of the animals, the street markets and the way of life were exquisitely drawn. I liked the characters - Florence was such a strong and dynamic character. Whilst life did get her down at times, she always came out fighting and was determined to make her own happiness. I liked the fact that the book didn't have a typical "happy ending" with everything wrapped in a bow: there are still things to work on but the book ends with the idealogy that we are very much masters of our own destiny and happiness. And can you think of a better, happier ending than that?

Thank you to @netgalley, @agorabooksldn and @justinebothwick for allowing me to read a copy of this as an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

It is 1938 and Florence Hunt has grown up in Agra in "British India", her father works for the railroad. Even though his job is not as glorified as some, it has allowed her to grow up in a fairly luxurious manner, riding horses and attending parties. Florence's mother died when she was young, and she has been mostly raised by Sita, her ayah, as her father is distant and uninvolved. Florence has an interest in the workings of the railroad, but her father discourages this, preferring that she entertain their guests with a song or a dance.

Abruptly we are in Portsmouth, England, 1953. Fifteen years later Florence's life has changed dramatically. She is now a mother to Robert, and living hand to mouth and on the good graces of her aunt. Her life consists of drudgery and dead in jobs. How did her life take on such a dramatic change?

We switch back and forth between Florence's life in Agra, then to her present day circumstances in England. More time is given to her time in India, which I was glad of as I enjoyed it more. Florence has some unconventional romances in Agra, where she is exposed to the cruel differences in the lives of the Indians, whose country they live in, and the life of the English, the occupiers.

What I enjoyed about the book was, for starters, the writing. It is polished and sure, and propels you through the story in an enjoyable manner. And as others have mentioned, the book cover is gorgeous, if you are influenced by such things! There were a couple of things I did not enjoy as much. I found Florence kept making bad choices, especially in men. One mistake is understandable, two just makes you dumb in my mind! She very passively drifts into a marriage, which I found hard to understand. I also found the whole thing about the circus weird. Although the author uses it to prove a point at the end of the story, which did make me appreciate it more, I still found the whole scenario of Florence getting involved in a circus extremely unlikely. These are personal quibbles, and other reviewers disagree with me, so don't let that discourage you!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Justine Bothwick, and Agora Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. My enjoyment of the story rates a 3.5, but I'm rounding up to 4 for such good writing.

In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced is a brilliant piece of historical fiction set in two timelines. We follow Florence in 1950’s Portsmouth as a trapped housewife and mother and Florence’s past life in Agra where she grew up devoted to the railways and eternally disappointing her critical father. When someone from her past life arrives on her doorstep in Portsmouth, can they help her find that courage to break free of society’s expectations of women in the 1950’s?
This book is incredible, Florence is a confident character who loses her way after the freedom which the war effort of World War II presented to her, she bends to the will of her father and society, ending up stuck in rut and utterly unhappy. Justine Bothwick has written a wonderful cast of characters and has brought each of them to life so believably. I enjoyed the dual timeline, skipping between her past and present, each section revealing a little more of her experiences and how she ended up where she did. This story spans World War II and the Independence of India, all of which provide a glimpse into the turbulence of the times for India and its people, along with those British citizens who lived and worked there during the last years India was under British rule.
Overall, this book has been well researched and written, it provides insight into a part of history which I don’t feel is commonly represented and I will be looking to find other work set during early part of the 20th century. This is a wonderful debut, and I am so looking forward to reading more by Justine Bothwick in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and Agora Books for a digital copy for review.

This book was fine but it didn't quite grab me so I ended up skimming to the end.

The book takes place in several time tracks. The main character is Florence. She grew up in India with her rail engineer father but ended up back in England (where her family is from) as a divorced mother of a small boy. How exactly this all came to pass is detailed in the back-and-forth chapters.

I had a bit of a hard time attaching to Florence. On the one hand, she had a fascinating story. On the other, she seemed pretty naive and made quite a few bad decisions. Florence likes numbers and organization, but her father makes her take dance and voice lessons and shows her off by doing duets with her at parties. Florence thinks that this is the worst sort of coercion and feels utterly trapped. However, later, she ends up in a circus! As I read the early parts of Florence's life, she seemed like a spoiled person who didn't know how good she had it. Yes, she could not do exactly as she liked, but her father did love her and tried to provide her with opportunities.

In her later days, Florence lives with her aunt and learns what true drudgery is- she must do washing, scrub silverware, clean floors as her aunt has a strict cleaning regimen that must be followed every week. Eventually Florence finds a job but events conspire to bring her home again. Florence gets married to basically the first guy that asks because she's desperate to have her own home, but that doesn't work out either due to another poor choice.

The peacock story is about a bird who loves its looks so much that in the end it is weighed down by its heavy, beautiful tail and can't escape to where it wants to go. This did feel a bit like Florence to me. That's a hard character to attach to. The historical details were interesting, but throwing in a circus, several romances and many life changes kept the book from feeling as realistic as I like historical fiction to feel. It's a well-written book and if I had a bit more patience I might have sunk into it, but I'm having a problem doing that with books lately and this book didn't rise to the occasion.

Let's just say I was insanely jealous of Florence's childhood growing up: spectacular wildlife and environment galore. The nature writing within this one was off the charts. I loved it! Such a beautiful setting created. Not only that, the novel is just brimming with emotion. You become incredibly connected to this young girl through out her journey and feel such strong feelings during her struggles. A great debut, it has a beautiful combination of historical fiction mixed with feminism and racial injustice.

This book and the descriptions of life in India, and India itself were fascinating. A story of a woman struggling in a man's world would recommend.

this was a wonderfully done historical novel, i enjoyed going through this book and getting to know the characters. The author has a great writing style and I look forward to reading more.

What a brilliant book. Absolutely stunning writing with vivid imagery and setting that transport you into a magical world. A very well written debut that I highly recommend.

This book contrasts Florence's early life in India just before and during World War 2 with her life as a divorcee with a child in England in the 1950s. It's that contrast that makes this book different from the shelves full of books about young British women in India in the first half of the 20th century and sets it apart (but not necessarily above) the works of Julia Gregson, Dinah Jeffries, Jane Coverdale and others.

I'm not entirely sure I was convinced by the privilege of her youth. In the hierarchy of privilege in India, her dad, a railway engineering manager, might well have been considered a bit above the 'boxwallahs' (business men, import-export etc) but a long way below the magistrates, collectors and civil service types. I felt the horse riding past Agra and going on elephant hunts at Christmas might have been a little bit over-egged although I loved the character of her father who kept forcing her to sing and dance at social events, very much against her will.

She has a romance that was utterly beyond the pale but seems little commented on and then marries a man of mixed-race from the entertainment trade, again with little censure. Both things felt rather too progressive for a girl of her class and character, as did the swift attainment of a divorce in the 1950s with one partner in the UK and the other in India. Surely it was harder than that, especially for the less well-off members of society. And then there's a weird sub-plot around circus artistes which just took this book away from 'just about believable' and put it into the realms of fantasy. I'm not saying it wasn't a pleasant fantasy, but I just wasn't buying Florence's involvement with the circus on either continent.

It's nice. If you like this kind of thing then you'll like this kind of book. Personally, I'm looking for a lot more historic rigour in novels set in India. I applaud the split location and its sense of "What happens after the happy ever after" which is always intriguing, but simply put, it felt a bit too fluffy. I also applaud the writer's decision not to sort everything out with a nice tidy romance which many writers of her genre would have found too tempting to include.

It's a nice book.

Thank you to the publishers and to Netgalley for my review copy.

This book is an unexpected gem set in dual timeline in India and England. It was very atmospheric with a great story line. If you're looking for books set in different places, this is a good one to pick up.

This book is making me want to visit India badly! I could just picture the sights, sounds, and smells, seems almost like magic!

This story was rich, beautiful, and moving. I felt so much emotion for the main character and found myself relating in so many ways. This is a modern book destined to be a classic someday. Beautiful!

A thoroughly brilliant read. Florence's life in India as a young woman and her adult-self in England, a fascinating contrast and very interesting to read. The story is engaging and sets out her early life in India and what led to her leaving for England.
A gorgeous cover but equally great story within.

The thing that drew me to this book was its cover. There is a complicated feel to it, and the dual timeline was not war based, making me doubly curious.
The dual timeline swings between 1938 and 1953 and between India and Britain. This provides us with the saga of Florence Hunt, from her eighteenth birthday to how she finds her feet almost two decades later and everything that happens in between. There are some hints about certain events, but they do not actually turn out the way one would expect them to (given the blurb).
I liked both sections individually but felt like having the two carrying equal significance took away from the reading experience. Florence experiences so much that it seems to happen too fast to fit into the time frame of the book. I mention this sometimes, and this is one of those times that a book would have worked better for me if it were published as two separate books instead of a dual timeline.
The secret that we imagine we are inching towards did not pan out the way I thought, so much so that I felt like the build-up was not really required and I would have enjoyed knowing Florence in Agra and then progressing to her life after she leaves India as the following segment.
The supporting cast is interesting, as is her complicated father, who is unlike any character I have ever encountered before in historical fiction. It is a different tale with unexpected scenarios and a surprising ending, and I would recommend it to readers of the historical fiction genre.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Growing up in India, Florence’s life is idyllic and sheltered. Her friendship with Jay, an Indian citizen, makes life much more interesting, but living with her son, Robert in Portsmouth, England, gives them a different life, making Florence realize what she had given up in India.