The Sea House by Esther Freud, reviewed by Lizzie Hammond

The architect Klaus Lehmann loves his wife, Elsa, with a passion that continues throughout their married life, despite long periods of separation. Almost half a century after Lehmann's death, a young woman, Lily, arrives to research his life and work. Pouring over Klaus's letters to Elsa, Lily assembles the story of their lives together and apart. And alone in her rented cottage by the sea, she begins to sense an absence in her own life that may not be filled by simply going home.

Set in the fictional village of Steerborough - a gentle reference perhaps both to Philip Wilson Steer's wonderful painting 'Figures on the Beach', and George Crabbe's masterpiece 'The Borough'- The Sea House is a lightly disguised reflection of Walberswick and its people and the omnipresent influence of the marshes and the seascape of the Suffolk coast on their lives.

With so much to draw on in this fascinating coastal village, Esther Freud has skilfully interwoven fact and fiction to recreate the dreamlike atmosphere which is the hallmark of the Suffolk coast and the inspiration for so many throughout history.

Vivid characterization is not necessarily Freud’s forte and in many ways nor is the story line; yet despite all this she has woven an intricate web of psychological states so utterly reflective of the village and its inhabitants. An excellent read.

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