Once Upon a River

　　黛安賽‧特菲爾德(Diane Setterfield)，《第十三個故事》的作者又一新作。泰晤士河岸旁的故事，圍繞一名身世詭譎難測的小女孩。
 
　　一個冬日的深夜，古老的天鵝旅社(Swan inn)就坐落在泰晤士河旁。正當裡面的人熱烈地分享故事時，一聲巨響，打斷對話。門倏地打開，眾人上前，發現一個身受重傷陌生人，倒地不起，手肘間夾著一個濕漉漉的小孩遺體。
 
　　數個小時後，這小孩居然有了生氣。是奇蹟還是魔法？有任何科學根據可以解釋嗎？古老的鄉村故事，燃起眾人的好奇心。達爾文時代的英國，迷信與科學交織，哪個才是事實的真相？
 
　　事件一再困惑著人們。
　　英國的霧都，再次進入深夜。
　　噓，小心周遭的一切。
 
　　旅館管家的兒子發現那個巨大的洋娃娃，居然是個女孩。而被叫來的護士麗塔(Rita)，對這四歲大的小女孩充滿興趣。她驚訝小女孩的死而復生，伴隨而來的疑惑不勝枚數。
 
　　隔日早晨，有三組人馬前來，搶著說這女孩是他們的親人。
 
　　莉莉(Lily White)，一位牧師的管家，說女孩是她的手足安娜(Ann)，就算年齡兜不上。又有一位羅伯(Robert Armstrong)，搶著說她是兒子羅賓(Robin)婚外情生下的孩子。更有一對凡格夫婦(Mr.and Mrs. Vaughan)說這是他們兩年前被綁票的女兒阿美莉亞(Amelia)。
 
　　小女孩的身世，到底是甚麼？她不可能同時是這三組人馬失散的親人，而每一個家族都各自隱藏著秘密─不到最後，你永遠不會知道。還有千萬別隨便相信任何人。
 
　　噓，小心一切，不要忘了。
 
　　結合歷史、奇幻傳說與懸疑氛圍，在姿態各異的角色裡，面對─失去、家庭、人與人之間的聯繫─人性光明與黑暗，曲折如河，卻直入人心的動人故事。
 

　　“One of the most pleasurable and satisfying new books I’ve read in a long time. Setterfield is a master storyteller...swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful.” —Madeline Miller, internationally bestselling author of Circe and The Song of Achilles
 
　　“A beguiling tale, full of twists and turns like the river at its heart, and just as rich and intriguing.” —M.L. Stedman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans
 
　　“This is magical, bewitching storytelling...High prose expressed with rare clarity, story for the unashamed sake of story, a kind of moral dreaminess…well, the list continues to grow.”—Jim Crace, National Book Critics Circle winner and author of Being Dead and Harvest
 
　　From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “eerie and fascinating” (USA TODAY) The Thirteenth Tale comes a richly imagined, powerful new novel about how we explain the world to ourselves, ourselves to others, and the meaning of our lives in a universe that remains impenetrably mysterious.
 
　　On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.
　　 
　　Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.
 
　　Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their son’s secret liaison, stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parson’s housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyone’s. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girl’s identity can be known.
 
　　Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, the beginning of this novel will sweep you away on a powerful current of storytelling, transporting you through worlds both real and imagined, to the triumphant conclusion whose depths will continue to give up their treasures long after the last page is turned.
 
Review
 
　　“I was completely spellbound by this book. Numerous strands of the same story are skillfully woven into a magical web from which I, as a reader, had no desire to escape. Setterfield’s prose is beautiful, dark and eerily atmospheric, and her rich cast of characters convincingly illustrate the best and worst of humanity. Utterly brilliant!”  (Ruth Hogan, internationally bestselling author of THE KEEPER OF LOST THINGS and THE WISDOM OF SALLY RED SHOES)
 
　　“Once Upon a River is a delight, just marvelous. I devoured it in gulps.” (Jo Baker, internationally bestselling author of LONGBOURN)
 
　　“Once Upon A River succeeds in doing what you hope every book will do - pull you in from the first page, hold you captive in the middle, then leave you satisfied and thoughtful at the end. I loved it.” (Renee Knight, critically-acclaimed author of DISCLAIMER)
 
　　"Diane Setterfield has created a true reading experience. Once Upon a River is the story of three missing girls and three desperate families all set against the Thames and woven together with magic, mystery, and mayhem. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and altogether wondrous. Simply put, it is a joy to read." (Ariel Lawhon, author of I WAS ANASTASIA)
 
　　“Setterfield fills this richly layered plot with a fascinating cast of memorable characters who weave in and out of each other’s lives.” (Booklist)
 
　　"The heart of the story are the relationships that twist and turn, as if they also follow the river." (Publishers Weekly (starred review))
 
　　"Setterfield masterfully assembles an ensemble of wounded, vulnerable characters who, nevertheless, live by the slimmest margins of hope--hope that springs from family, from the search for meaning, from people’s decency to strangers, from the belief that truth heals and sets one free . . . Celebrates the timeless secrets of life, death and imagination--and the enduring power of words. Fans, rejoice!" (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))