The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart
THE IVY TREE
MARY STEWART
An English June in the Roman Wall countryside; the ruin of a beautiful old house standing cheek-by-jowl with the solid, sunlit prosperity of the manor farm – a lovely place, and a rich inheritance for one of the two remaining Winslow heirs.
There had been a third, but Annabel Winslow had died four years ago – so when a young woman calling herself Annabel Winslow comes ‘home’ to Whitescar, Con Winslow and his half-sister Lisa must find out whether she really is who she says she is.
review
The Ivy Tree was the sixth novel written by Mary Stewart and it was first published in the UK in 1961. The plot centres around the arrival of Mary Grey who was raised in Canada but has come to England to visit the land of her forebears. While walking along Hadrian’s Wall, Mary is angrily accosted by Connor Winslow who mistakes her for his cousin Annabel who disappeared eight years ago. Once Mary has convinced him she is not Annabel, they part ways but Mary is astounded when Connor’s sister, Lisa, turns up at the cafe where she is working to see her for herself. Mary is then offered a great deal of money to impersonate Annabel Winslow at Whitescar, the family estate, to which Annabel remains heir. After Mary is finally convinced, Connor and Lisa set about teaching Mary the knowledge she will need to be able to convince the rest of the family that she is indeed Annabel.
When Mary arrives at Whitescar, her ailing grandfather is ecstatic to have her back and no one on the estate has any doubts that Annabel has come home. However, Mary is so convincing in her portrayal that Connor becomes increasingly suspicious of her motives, especially when it becomes obvious Mary knows things about Annabel that Connor himself did not know. The stakes get higher when Mary meets Adam Forrest who had a secret adulterous relationship with Annabel just before she disappeared and is eager to renew their relationship now that his wife is deceased. Adam isn’t fooled by Mary’s impersonation but is attracted to her nevertheless so she manages to persuade him to keep silent as she has no intention of hurting anyone.
In an ironic twist, Adam realises he has been mistaken all along as he watches Mary calm a dangerous horse and realises she is in fact Annabel. Mary had previously claimed to Connor and Lisa that she was afraid of horses as part of her ruse to make them believe she was not Annabel and to throw a complication into their plan to have her impersonate Annabel. As Adam professes his love for Annabel and wonders why she left so abruptly, she realises he never got her final letter and it is later found in the old ivy tree where they uses to hide their love letters.
Disaster soon strikes when a massive storm hits and Adam is trapped when an old cellar caves in. With the roads all blocked, the only way to reach help is for Annabel to ride the horse she becalmed which means revealing her true identity to Connor. When the storm is over and Adam rescues, Annabel realises her ordeal is far from over as she is soon in grave danger when she is confronted by a furious Connor.
The Ivy Tree has a great deal of twists and turn in its plot but the reader is made privy to the fact Mary is Annabel long before it is revealed to the other characters. There are times where the plot seems increasingly far-fetched and convoluted but Stewart untangles everything in a satisfying way by the end. It’s not as captivating as some of Stewart’s other books but a decent read.
