The Butterfly Cabinet- Book Review

Disclosure: In any review for a product or service, products or compensation may have been provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” and "Terms of Use" tabs for more information.

I absolutely adored The Butterfly Cabinet– it was a real page-turner, and I could not put it down!  Set in Ireland about 100 years ago, this book is loosely based on real facts and a true crime that was committed. 
A mother kills her child- but was it an act of cold blood, or a mother trying her best to raise her child?  This is
abuse in the eyes of today- but in a different time…it’s so hard not to be judgmental!  Not being from that age or culture, it is impossible to see it with any eyes but my own- but I can try.  I empathize most with the maid and nanny (later on), whose views are most like my own, and whom I feel kindred with.

The book alternates between the mother of the child, and the maid who is telling the story.  One begins to understand the mother a bit more, about her life, as we read from her journal.  The maid is an enchanting character, one I was happy to hear from and get to know.  Haunting, sad- yet hopeful for the future- it broke my heart, and made me want to hug my own kids.  I loved the storytelling, the historical details of Ireland and the setting.  Fans of history, or lovers of all things Irish will say this is a “must read“.

I would buy this book in a heartbeat.  Well written, from the heart, and full of history drama, and suspense- even a happy ending, though tinged with sadness.  It is all we can ask for from a book, really. 

“Vivid, mysterious and unforgettable, The Butterfly Cabinet is Bernie McGill‘s engrossing portrayal of the dark history that intertwines two lives. Inspired by a true story of the death of the daughter of an aristocratic Irish family at the end of the nineteenth century, McGill powerfully tells this tale of two women whose lives will become upended by a newly told secret.”