The Enchanting Arcadia Falls

Immerse yourself in Arcadia Falls, a wonderfully woven fairy tale which combines a modern tale and a past mystery with an intertwining changeling story. At first this plot may remind you of The Forgotten Garden with which I encourage you to complete a comparison. For me, Arcadia Falls wins the comparison as it has the descriptive, elegant and engaging prose which truly enchants the reader.

 The story begins as Meg and Sally arrive at the small arts college of Arcadia in upstate New York where Meg has signed on to be the new English literature teacher. Recently widowed Meg is trying to establish a new life for herself and her teenage daughter, Sally. Meg is still reeling from the fact that her husband left them penniless which is why they had to sell their house and relocate.

 During the Great Depression, Lily and Vera founded the Arcadia Art colony, an artist escape in a time when women had to choose being either  an artist or a wife. Together Lily and Vera became famous for the fairy tales which they wrote and illustrated. Like a dark fairy tale, mystery and an untimely death happen when Lily falls to her death during a winter storm. While Vera was horrified at Lily’s death, she also felt betrayed as Arcadia soon learns that Lily was having an affair with a visiting artist…But Meg soon discovers that there is more to this tale than anyone suspected.

 During the First Night festival, Meg and Sally’s first night on the campus, a young and beautiful college student falls to her death just the way Lily did sixty plus years ago. This has to be an accident, but the coincidence is too unbelievable to dismiss. Meg, now living in Vera and Lily’s old cottage finds a secret compartment and in it discovers Lily’s diary, and soon the past begins to unravel into the present.

 Arcadia Falls was written by Carol Goodman and is available in trade paperback, 355 pages.