“I had a new home, and it looked a lonely and broken-down place for me to site my own personal archive of experiences and feelings. But it would have to do.”
The Legacy Of Gabriel Thorne
Archivist Anna Kerr has a job in hand – with the archive of the Victorian Applefields Asylum, in an attempt to encourage public engagement with the abandoned Glasgow site. At a crossroads in her personal life, when she inherits an old terraced house nearby it makes sense to accept.
Her friend Nel and mother Molly have their own views, of course, but Anna’s more inclined to listen to her new lawyer Markus Hemming – although he’s keen she should sell up and relocate. As she battles friendly advice and a crumbling home in need of repairs, she little knows the impact Applefields’ history will have on her life.
In 1912, newly arrived at Applefields, Dr Gabriel Thorne is escaping a romantic entanglement in London. Vain and ambitious, he fancies himself an expert on Freud and wants to make his mark at the Glasgow asylum. His boss James Stevenson encourages him, and when a new patient is admitted, gives Gabriel sole charge. Charlotte Mackie has been brought to Applefields by her politician husband Rosslyn, whose motives are questionable. Gabriel forms a close bond with Charlotte, treating her with compassion and becoming a better doctor in the process. Months later, Charlotte is released and he knows he should forget her. When she returns to ask for his help, the decision he makes changes lives and casts long shadows. It’ll be years before the legacy of Gabriel Thorne is truly understood.
The Legacy of Gabriel Thorne is a dual-timeline novel about archive and family history, and the residual pain which sometimes threads through generations. A book-group read with engaging characters both historical and present-day, Gillean McDougall’s debut novel was inspired by her research in the archives of a local abandoned asylum in Glasgow. It will go out on submission to publishers in 2024. Gillean is represented by Jenny Brown at https://jennybrownassociates.com/
“I had a new home, and it looked a lonely and broken-down place for me to site my own personal archive of experiences and feelings. But it would have to do.”
The Legacy Of Gabriel Thorne
Archivist Anna Kerr has a job in hand – with the archive of the Victorian Applefields Asylum, in an attempt to encourage public engagement with the abandoned Glasgow site. At a crossroads in her personal life, when she inherits an old terraced house nearby it makes sense to accept.
Her friend Nel and mother Molly have their own views, of course, but Anna’s more inclined to listen to her new lawyer Markus Hemming – although he’s keen she should sell up and relocate. As she battles friendly advice and a crumbling home in need of repairs, she little knows the impact Applefields’ history will have on her life.
In 1912, newly arrived at Applefields, Dr Gabriel Thorne is escaping a romantic entanglement in London. Vain and ambitious, he fancies himself an expert on Freud and wants to make his mark at the Glasgow asylum. His boss James Stevenson encourages him, and when a new patient is admitted, gives Gabriel sole charge. Charlotte Mackie has been brought to Applefields by her politician husband Rosslyn, whose motives are questionable. Gabriel forms a close bond with Charlotte, treating her with compassion and becoming a better doctor in the process. Months later, Charlotte is released and he knows he should forget her. When she returns to ask for his help, the decision he makes changes lives and casts long shadows. It’ll be years before the legacy of Gabriel Thorne is truly understood.
The Legacy of Gabriel Thorne is a dual-timeline novel about archive and family history, and the residual pain which sometimes threads through generations. A book-group read with engaging characters both historical and present-day, Gillean McDougall’s debut novel was inspired by her research in the archives of a local abandoned asylum in Glasgow. It will go out on submission to publishers in 2024. Gillean is represented by Jenny Brown at https://jennybrownassociates.com/