Estella by Kathy George

‘I am not aware of how old I was when I was taken from my mother.’

Have you ever wondered, reader of ‘Great Expectations’, about Estella’s story? About where she came from and what happened to her? In ‘Estella’ Ms George retells ‘Great Expectations’ from Estella’s perspective. Imagine: a child formed into womanhood by a vengeful Miss Havisham, shaped to capture the hearts of men, and to break them. Pip is provided by Miss Havisham as playmate and test. After being schooled in France, Estella returns to London where she meets Pip again. But Pip is not part of Miss Havisham’s life plan for Estella. While Estella seems to have little choice but to follow Miss Havisham’s wishes, she does make some friends of her own. But encouraged by Ms Havisham, she shuns Pip and then makes a disastrous marriage which further isolates her. Can Estella break free from Miss Havisham’s control and conditioning to find her own place in life?

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, revisiting some of the characters from one of my favourite Charles Dickens novels. I can imagine Estella, now, much as Ms George portrays her: a woman of contradictions. Estella is both caring and cold. She is enigmatic, feisty and guarded. Highly recommended.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith