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2000s: In a valley steeped in legend lies an abandoned house where Edens may be lost, found and remade…
The White Hare
What you need to know before your trail
The White Valley in the far west of Cornwall cuts deeply through bluebell woods down to the sea. The house above the beach has lain neglected since the war. It comes with a reputation, which is why Mila and her mother Magda acquire it so cheaply in the fateful summer of 1954.
Magda plans to restore the house to its former glory: the venue for glittering parties, where the rich and celebrated gathered for bracing walks by day and sumptuous cocktails by night. Mila’s ambitions, meanwhile, are much less grand; she dreams of creating a safe haven for herself, and a happy home for her little girl, Janey.
The White Valley comes with a long, eventful history, laced with tall tales. Locals say that a white hare may be seen running through the woods there; to some she’s an ill omen, to others a blessing. Feeling fragile and broken-hearted, Mila is in need of as many blessings as she can get. But will this place provide the fresh start she so desperately needs?
Travel Guide
Cornwall and the legend of the White Hare
The author states in her notes that:
Cornwall is full of White Hare legends, but most are variations on a theme of the revenant souls of women and girls, rejected and betrayed by lovers, who roam the clifftops, portending doom to any who see them. The sexual symbolism is there, but it has been submlimated and watered down into a more palatable form for the 18th and 19th century audience for folk tales.
Hares are portrayed as trickers and messengers, because of teir felltness and guile and as shape-shifters, changing from and colour as they marked the transition between winter and spring. Witches were often believed to adopt the form of hares when attempting to escape pursuers.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The White Hare
Destination/Location: Cornwall Author: Jane Johnson Departure: 2000s
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