But something went terribly wrong, and Hetta’s tongue never developed enough to allow her to speak. After having only sons, Anne wished for a daughter and apparently brought Hetta into the world through herbal witchcraft. The diary tells the story of Anne’s daughter, Hetta. Sarah discovers a diary of her ancestor, Anne Bainbridge, from the early 1600s. The silent companions give Elsie and Sarah the impression of being possessed. A quick Google search of “dummy board” will show you exactly how creepy they look. While staying at the Bridge, Elsie and Sarah discover a set of silent companions, i.e., cutout wooden boards with realistic paintings of people, also known as “dummy boards.” Silent companions were introduced as an artform in England in the 1600s.

She is expecting a baby and travels to her late husband’s family estate, the Bridge, where she stays with her younger brother, Jolyon, and her husband’s reticent cousin, Sarah. Elsie has been left widowed only a short time after her wedding.

The Silent Companions then flashes back to 1865, just before Elsie’s imprisonment. Inexplicably, she is also covered with terrible burns. She is suspected of murder and arson and has lost the ability to speak. The novel opens during an undisclosed year as the main character, Elsie Bainbridge, finds herself imprisoned in an asylum. The Silent Companions is Laura Purcell’s unnerving tale of Gothic horror that gradually reveals itself over multiple timeframes.

The silent companions review