Beneath the Inconstant Moon is a novel
set in 1840s Baltimore. It primarily tells the story of one young woman,
Genevieve Cawley, and how she struggles to overcome the insurmountable loss of
her true love, Spencer. More than a romance story, “Moon” provides a look into the psyche of a woman who is teetering
on the edge of madness and those who care enough about her to pull her back out
of the abyss. It also reveals the darker side of Victorian era treatment for
insanity and hysteria and takes the reader on a heart-wrenching journey through
the world of medical treatment options of the past.
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When
we first meet Genevieve, she is so broken she isn’t even certain of her own
name. She is confused by the people
around her, where she is, and what she is doing. All she knows for sure is that
she is waiting for the return of her true love, Spencer.
“But
you see,” she began, sitting up a bit, “you always call me that—Mrs.
Edwards--and that’s not my name either.”
We get a glimpse back into
Genevieve’s memories when the story goes back from 1846 to 1844, and we can
instantly see how dependent she has become on Spencer to keep her anchored to
the world around here.
Here
she was now melting into the moonbeams, forgetting herself entirely, Spencer
filling her universe and causing her to lose track of anything and everything
else.
But we also learn that Genevieve is
a fighter, and when her parents urge her to forget about Spencer and move on,
she refuses. It is only when she finds out she is carrying Spencer’s child and
that her father may lose his business if she does not sacrifice herself by
marrying Isaac Edwards that Genevieve accepts that sometimes our choices are
really not our own.
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| Ginny is devastated when Spencer is lost at sea. |
“Mr. Edwards is a good man. Give him the
opportunity to woo you, Genevieve. You’ll see. He may not be your first choice,
but he is likely the best—perhaps your only—remaining choice.”
—Clara
Cawley, Genevieve’s mother
Even
though everyone else believes Spencer will never return from his trip to the
Caribbean, Genevieve never gives up hope. As she sits by the window, day after
day, watching for his ship to come in, she remembers how they first met one day
while walking on the beach.
“I felt that he had
come into my life for a reason, and while he was passing next to us, it was as
if the universe was in full alignment, but as he drew behind me, and I walked
out of his proximity, everything came crumbling apart.”
As the years go by, Genevieve never
gives up hope that Spencer will return to her, though her grip on reality has
began to wane.
“Our love story began beneath the moonbeams,
and he promised to return to me from this very voyage sitting alone beneath the
same silvery light. I have no reason to doubt that Spencer will make his way
home one day—soon. I can only assume that the reason for his delay is because
of that same shining orb, that it isn’t Spencer who has been dishonest, but it
is the moon who should hold blame. And so, even as I feel the glow above me,
even as it illuminates your pretty face, my friend, I know that it is not to be
trusted, that the moon is a fraud, and I expect my husband to return to me soon
not because of the waning moon, but in spite of it.”
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| How can she trust the moon when it has betrayed her? |
Genevieve,
whose friends throughout the novel refer to her as Ginny (those who do not
cannot be trusted!) was a complex character to write. Not only did I have to
make her likable despite her misgivings, I had to make her authentic. She could not be sensationalized or comical
or else she would be difficult to empathize with. It is her sweet nature and kind spirit that
first draws in the reader, and one cannot help but begin to sympathize with her
plight. Though she is not as physically strong
as many of the other female characters I have written about, she does not break
easily, and she certainly reaches heroine status by the end of the novel.
She
is not completely reliable, however. That was the essential element of Ginny
Cawley that this story relied upon. As a reader, you mustn’t believe much of
what Ms. Cawley says, or does, or even thinks. It is this driving feature of “Moon” that compels the reader to keep
moving forward. What is really happening? Who are these people? Where are they?
And perhaps most importantly of all, will we ever really know the true Ginny
Cawley?
If
you like suspense novels with unreliable main characters, such as The Girl on the Train, then you will
certainly like Beneath the Inconstant Moon.
Visit my Kindle Scout page here and nominate “Moon.” If my book is chosen for publication by Kindle Press, you
will get a free copy. If not, you will be notified once it is available for
purchase. You can also read the first 5000 words on Kindle Scout.
