The White Hare by Jane Johnson

 In a valley in the far west of Cornwall lies an old house, once grand and imposing, now neglected for many years. Here, in 1954 Magda, her daughter Mila, and granddaughter Janey arrive, running away from their troubled London lives.

The valley too has a mysterious past. Locals tell legends of war, and rivers running with blood, and of the mysterious disappearance of the pre-war owners, but also of a spirit, often seen in the form of a white hare, which protects those considered its own.

This, the first novel I've read by Jane Johnson, is an atmospheric tale of two women looking for new beginnings in an old house, woven through with just a hint of magic. The valley is immediately recognised (by the reader at least) as somewhere 'other'; a place where old traditions hold sway, from herbal lore to a sort of Earth Mother worship. Magda, an out and out 'townie', doesn't appear to feel anything strange, but Mila, raised in the country by her grandmother, senses foreboding in the air, especially when 5 year old Janey begins to behave strangely as if influenced by her surroundings. The three also respond in different ways to Jack, the stranger found in their barn - Magda treats as she might any other man, as someone to be of use to her; Mila approaches him with caution, while Janey immediately and enthusiastically 'adopts' him as a father figure.

I really liked the characters here, the change in the relationship between mother and daughter, and the gradual peeling back of layers to reveal their past lives. Here they can at last find a way to communicate with each other, maybe not quite as mother and daughter, but at least woman to woman.