A masterful piece of historical fiction, “The Square of Sevens” is set in Georgian England in the first half of the 1700s, as we visit Cornwall, Bath, and even London. Author Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s narrative is both descriptive and flowery. In prose that at times brings to mind Daphne du Maurier’s descriptions of the barren Cornwall coast, we read about a young girl, Red, as she and her father make their way from town to town, telling fortunes and trying to survive.

The novel begins when Red is only seven, and her father dies. She is taken in by a fellow traveler who is staying at the inn where Red’s father has passed away. Mr. Antrobus of Bath takes Red under his guardianship. She is renamed Rachel Antrobus and raised as a lady. It’s what her father claimed was proper as her mother had been a lady before her untimely death. Before he died, her father also told Mr. Antrobus that Red’s life would be in danger if her mother’s family knew of her existence.

So we learn, in Red’s (or Rachel’s) first person narrative, about her subsequent childhood in Bath, doted on by not only Robert Antrobus, but also by his housekeeper and the other members of his staff. One of the documents that Red treasures is the Square of Sevens, a document which she explains has been in her father’s family for generations, which tells how to read the cards for a person to answer important questions about that individual’s future. Red has become adept at telling fortunes in this manner.

When her guardian passes away unexpectedly, Red decides she must try to find out who her mother is and learn about her family. In the meantime, she must avoid the machinations of Mr. Antrobus’s cousin and heir, Henry Antrobus, an avaricious man whose unsavory intentions are clear from the start. From reading fortunes for the working class at a London fair to taking tea in the mansions of the most wealthy families of England, Red schemes and uses her many skills as she endeavors to discover whence she comes.

While most of the story is Red’s first person narrative, there is also, interspersed, the story of Lazarus Darke, a former confidant of Julius de Lacy, one of the scions of the aforementioned wealthy families. Darke is an important character, and this third person narrative serves to allow us to glean information that Red would have not known, and thus been unable to share, through her narrative.

This is not a simple novel with a straightforward plot. There are many, many characters, and the different plot lines and timelines might prove confusing, but we are helpfully provided with maps and dates and even a family tree which helps us keep track of the members of the de Lacy family.

We grow to like and admire Red for her grit and determination to get to the truth of her parentage, even while we also might be critical of how those who get in her way, or who are even her friends, may suffer from the encounters. But Shepherd-Robinson has tricks in store for us. Read the novel with a careful and cautious eye, because after you finish it, you will be tempted to go back and reread it. In fact, Red has left us clues aplenty regarding what the truth really is, but few readers will be astute enough to guess from her cryptic phrases what exactly is happening.

We don’t learn the actual truth until the perfectly conceived ending wherein all is revealed. Just as Red’s father, John Jory Jago almost appeared to be a magician for his ability to tell the future, Shepherd-Robinson has used a magician’s art of misdirection to finally surprise us at the end. It’s a beautiful, clever, heartwarming finale.

Please note: This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.