Alden Patterson, the last living member of a once-wealthy Toronto family, is haunted by the legacy of her grandfather, William Patterson, whose suicide taints the family name. She lives in the decaying Patterson House with Constance, a foundling, and John Hunt, an injured war veteran and the family’s former gardener. When Alden is reduced to taking in boarders, she thinks she has found a way to survive until the crash of 1929 leaves her truly desperate and one particular boarder threatens to destroy everything she thinks she wants.
“Part sweeping historical novel, part ghost story, part coming of age tale and part feminist rally cry, Patterson House is a novel that manages to do so much at once. I loved the close examination of Toronto’s history and the reality of women’s limited options in the early 1900s. Alden Patterson is a fictional hero for our times, a woman trying hard to retain her independence in an era that doesn’t allow for it. Cawthorne’s writing is fluid and spare, allowing the novel’s twists and turns to guide the reader. This is a wonderful book.”
—Amy Stuart, author of Still Mine, Still Water, and Still Here
“One of the numerous delights of this first novel is the picture it presents of Toronto at the turn of the twentieth century and into the 1930s. But it is Toronto as lived in by women: the unwed mothers, the motherless girls, the women who have given up their rights when they marry only to discover how bad the bargain they have made is, and also, but certainly not the least, those brave ones who defy convention and refuse the life laid out for them. Salvation for women is hard to come by in this writerly world, but it sometimes does through dogged persistence, mutual support, simple courage, and once in a while, through plain dumb luck.
Jane Cawthorne’s Patterson House is a tightly-woven, warm and lively novel that builds in tension in such a way that nearing the end, the reader won’t be able to put the book down.”
—Sharon Butala
“The Patterson House saga is old-fashioned in all the right ways: a great broad canvas of time and event; multiple characters with deeply complicated desires and obstacles; and maybe best of all, writing that is both muscular and lyrical. PBS, are you reading??”
—Sandra Scofield, author of six novels, including Beyond Deserving, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.
“As Patterson House crumbles under the sins and ghosts of the past, readers are gifted with a vivid portrayal of the women behind its walls. Forced to live with the injustices of a man’s world, the remarkable heroines Alden and young Constance share their guilt and grief, resilience and bravery, love and loyalty. Jane Cawthorne’s deeply compelling debut novel—by turns gripping, tragic, and tenderly innocent—will both break and capture your heart.”
—Fran Kimmel, author of No Good Asking
Rob Lunney –
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were engaging and the author really brought the fictional house and the old City of Toronto to life for me.
Inanna Admin –
Patterson House by Jane Cawthorne
reviewed by The Minerva Reader – November 24, 2022
https://theminervareader.com/library-2022
Alden Patterson, the last living member of a once-wealthy Toronto family, is haunted by the legacy of her grandfather, William Patterson, whose suicide taints the family name. She lives in the decaying Patterson House with Constance, a foundling, and John Hunt, an injured war veteran and the family’s former gardener. When Alden is reduced to taking in boarders, she thinks she has found a way to survive until the crash of 1929 leaves her truly desperate and one particular boarder threatens to destroy everything she thinks she wants.
My Review: This masterfully crafted novel impressed on so many levels; the impeccable plotting, the depth of characterization and the vivid sense of time and place. A striking portrayal of what it was like to be a woman in the early twentieth century. PS I live in the area mentioned in the book and I, being a newbie of only having lived here for fifteen years, call it The Beaches!
Inanna Admin –
Patterson House by Jane Cawthorne
reviewed by Waheed Rabbani
Historical Novel Review, issue 103 – February 2023
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/patterson-house/
In 1873, Maudie, a young and pregnant maid at Patterson House, a sprawling mansion on the shores of Lake Ontario, Canada, struggles up the back stairs to her third-floor room. While shocked to see her master William Patterson’s body hanging by the rafters, she spits on it for his past abuses.
In 1916, young Alden Patterson, William’s granddaughter, sneaks out of the servant’s entrance of Patterson House to attend a march for the temperance movement. However, after finding a baby in a trash bin, she is compelled to return home since the authorities are busy controlling the parade. Alden’s stern father instructs her to take care of the baby and names her Constance. When her father succumbs to cholera and her brothers die in WWI, Alden is left with large debts. She takes in boarders, and moody Constance assists in the housekeeping. A former gardener, John, returns and takes over the maintenance of the crumbling mansion. But the crash of 1929 and the strange behavior of a tenant—Carling, Maudie’s son—threaten Alden’s survival.
As stated in the acknowledgements, award-winning author Jane Cawthorne writes about “women in moments of crises and transformation.” She does remarkably well in narrating the development of this novel’s two main characters, Alden and Constance. Cawthorne, a former resident of Toronto, provides interesting details in the settings and scenes around the city. While Patterson House is fictional, its vivid description likens it to any of the rambling mansions in The Beaches neighborhood. The norm for women to play a subservient role in that era are aptly demonstrated in the impediments faced by Alden and Constance in attempting to lead a respectable life. While Carling’s misogynistic behavior, in contrast to John, is somewhat exaggerated, it nevertheless highlights his deplorable character. Few readers would consider him excused by his unfortunate upbringing. The introduction of a ghost adds appeal to the novel—an informative read.