A Cruel Twist of Fate
By H.F. Askwith
Penguin
ISBN: 978-0241629642
312pp.

These days, young adult (YA) fiction is dominated by a set of enterprising writers who have established themselves by writing several enticing and highly popular series of fantasy-based novels.

Big names in this segment of the literary market include Cassandra Clare and Rick Riordan, whose Shadowhunters and mythological books are read most avidly by those in their teens. Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood and Co. novels about ghost-hunting, as well asa his books about the wily and hilarious djinn Bartimaeus, are among the best of this genre.

Indeed, curious parents often find that they also get pulled into these fantasy worlds, which provide wonderful escapist literature. H.F. Askwith’s successful debut novel, A Dark Inheritance, appears to have spurred her on towards writing a gothic thriller for young adults set in 19th century Britain — A Cruel Twist of Fate.

The 18-year-old heroine, Helena Timber, lives with her mother in very impoverished London lodgings, but takes great pride and joy in their trade — the creation of confectionery. Working carefully with sugar (which when heated possesses the ability to burn the skin off a clumsy chef) she delights in making a staggeringly diverse variety of toffees and sweets.

A gothic YA novel is often predictable but also atmospheric and entertaining and would enhance a young person’s desire to develop an ongoing reading agenda

Unfortunately, her mother’s debts have led to her being one step away from debtor’s prison. Desperately using forged professional references in order to gain a post as a governess with a rich and reclusive family, Helena embarks on a journey to a mysterious manor house on the island of Sighfeyre. She is unable to prevent her mother’s creditors from carting her hapless parent off to debtor’s prison; however, the prospect of a good salary (which she hopes will enable her to free her mother) heartens Helena, as she establishes herself within Archfall Manor.

One would have expected the manor to be grim and forbidding, but while it isn’t precisely a cheerful haven, the best word to describe it would be “eccentric.” Helena’s employers, the Cauldwell family, are inventors who credit themselves with creating things that range from innovative though mundane (such as a variety of nifty cooking appliances) to archways on the roof that can enable one to time-travel!

The latter entice Helena, primarily because her late father had disappeared while working for the eldest son of the Cauldwell family, Edwin, who himself has been missing for several years. It would be cruel were I to give away the identity of Helena’s father, and so I will not. Suffice to say that it will become evident to most readers fairly early in the novel.

Edwin’s father is an unpleasant and tyrannical patriarch, and his dour and joyless brother Wilbur does little to make anyone’s life pleasant, including his own. Their sister Caroline (whose younger daughter Birdie receives her lessons from Helena) has been widowed thrice in tragic and mysterious circumstances.

Birdie’s older sister Nora, a capable and controlled young woman, does her best to befriend Helena. While Helena appreciates Nora’s overtures, her heart is given fairly early in the book to Jasper, the son of the cook and the handyman. Together, the adventurous pair figures out why every family member is in possession of his or her own mysterious chest, and why certain keys not only unlock such treasure-boxes but also help to unravel the plot on a metaphorical level.

Askwith pulls out all the stops in enhancing the atmosphere of the narrative by means of her writing. Walls seem to speak at night, the weather conspires to leave the family stranded for a number of days, the hazards of risking time-travel become increasingly apparent and, as if that weren’t enough, people start dying off one by one.

Murder after murder takes place, and those left living naturally start regarding each other with suspicion and mistrust. However, Helena not only discovers the identity of the killer, she also solves the mystery of what happened to her long-lost father.

Although much of the plot is rather predictable, Askwith writes with clarity, sincerity and finesse. Moreover, while the book is chilling in parts, it is never unpleasantly scary or gory, and even a precocious pre-teen would be able to enjoy it without feeling psychologically disturbed.

The book provides a good introduction to certain aspects of Victorian life, although many of its fantastical aspects are unique to its specific thematic content. The author is to be commended for establishing a clean and plausible romance between Helena and Jasper. They are the most fleshed-out characters; however, virtually all the others, except for Nora, are very sketchily depicted. I suppose Askwith can be forgiven for this, since her main aim appears to be furthering the plot of the narrative rather than underscoring social and emotional interactions between the inhabitants of the manor.

There was a time when my generation (who came of age in the late 1970s and early 1980s) were expected to read classics such as Treasure Island and Little Women. But that was a day and age when children relied far more on books for entertainment than they do now. The vocabulary and syntax of even relatively readable classics is something that young people today tend to run a mile from. Therefore, eminently accessible writing such as that of Askwith’s works can be regarded as a breath of fresh air in a teenage milieu.

A Cruel Twist of Fate is entertainment, not literature, but it is the type of book that can achieve the twin aims of providing pleasure and enhancing a young person’s desire to develop an ongoing reading agenda.

The reviewer is associate professor of social sciences and liberal arts at the Institute of Business Administration. She has authored two collections of short stories, Timeless College Tales and Perennial College Tales, and a play, The Political Chess King

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, April 6th, 2025