Words leave imprints in your mind like footprints in the sand...
Destination: Donegal Departure Time: 2000s
A reverse Downton Abbey where by those upstairs become those downstairs when their fortunes change and their wealth is no more. The beautiful Donegal countryside however is the star of the show
A debut novel about a family losing grip of its legacy: a majestic house on the cliffs of Ireland.
For generations, the Campbells have lived happily at Dulough, an idyllic, rambling estate on the windswept coast of Ireland.
But the house is expensive to upkeep and the family have run out of money
Joh Campbell does not want to sell of course and so makes the difficult decision to open it up as a tourist attraction, and the family move in to a small, cold cottage on the house grounds. simmering resentment makes itself at home too.
But then a tragedy occurs and past secrets are brought to the fore. What happens when family secrets all come out to play?
Black Lake explores family, loss and loneliness. The wild landscape is as much a character as each family member –
Dulough faced the Atlantic in the west and backed onto the Poison Glen in the east. It lived by the winds. In the dark, Philip could hear them straining at the windowpanes, trying to force their way in.
The lake, another character is then introduced – we know this is going to be important from the title of the book but it is revealed to us early on –
A deep lake bordered the avenue that ran for two miles from the main road, branching off first at the servants’ entrance and ending at the front door of the big house.
“..the lake from which the house took its name – Dulough meant ‘ black lake’ in Irish”
As well as the lake, the mountains are like silent men – watching, waiting and trapping the family within their grasp –
He could see the mountains now, The one with a summit like a boiled egg with the top lopped off was Mount Errigal, the highest mountain in Donegal, behind it was Muckish or Dooish , he wasn’t sure.
