Pandora plot summary
Pandora Blake is watching her uncle run her family’s antiquities shop into the ground. She’s desperate to find a way to independence, ideally through her jewellery designs. The delivery of a mysterious Greek vase seems exactly what Dora needs to design a necklace that will make a real mark. But her uncle is being very cagey about his latest acquisition. Dora enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar with ambitions of his own. The two team up, and at first their discoveries are exciting. But soon they start to uncover strange facts, and then strange becomes sinister. Soon, what Pandora learns will change how she looks at her home, her family and the very world around her.
Content warnings
- Sexual content
- Violence, including murder
- Injury description
- Child abuse
- Parent death
My thoughts on Pandora
Full disclosure: I bought Pandora (by Susan Stokes-Chapman) because of the cover. I saw a magpie, and pretty sprayed edges, and I added it to the Waterstones basket. And then (full discloser #2) I put off reading it, because I wasn’t in the mood for historical fiction. I thought it would be heavy and serious. I finally decided to bring it with me on a long train ride. And thank goodness. Two and a half hours on a train have never passed so quickly in my life.
Pandora lives with her uncle and his housekeeper, above the antiques shop that used to belong to her parents. Her parents died in an accident at a dig site, an accident that almost killed Pandora as well, so the store is her parents’ legacy. And, sadly, Dora is watching her uncle thoroughly destroy it. He sells forgeries and fakes, although he’s just obtained a rather interesting artifact. And herein lies the trouble.
Pandora tells the story from multiple perspectives
We seem to spend most of our time sitting on Dora’s shoulder, but we see chapters from other perspectives. Namely Edward’s and Hezekiah’s (the horrible uncle). This helps to keep things feel like they’re, since the plot isn’t particularly fast-paced.
I enjoyed each of the viewpoints we got on the story. Hezekiah was interesting, since the book makes very little effort to give him any redeeming characteristics. He’s lazy, entitled, impulsive and bitter. As a result, his chapters aren’t so much a chance to empathise with his side of the story. Instead, they serve to ratchet up the tension as you see him get increasingly angry and dangerous.
Edward’s chapters tend to be softer and sweeter. Although he’s using Pandora and her access to the vase for his own ends, he’s got a good heart. His interactions with best friend and benefactor Cornelius add some contrasting edge and snark.
Although you don’t get any chapters from his point of view, I can’t not mention Hermes. Pandora’s only true friend and ally as the novel kicks off is her beloved magpie friend. The animal sidekick is always a shoe-in for my favourite character, but with how much I love magpies I was particularly delighted to meet Hermes! Honourable mention also to Lottie, the housekeeper and Hezekiah’s lover. She starts off as unpleasant as the uncle, but we do get to see a little more to her as the story goes on.
The writing is atmospheric and lovely
I really enjoyed reading Pandora, not just from a story perspective but just page by page. I was expecting something much heavier than I found. The writing is atmospheric, but doesn’t get bogged down in description and scene-setting. While definitely not a comedy, there are light moments, and Dora as a character has a hopefulness about her that keeps things from feeling too grim. Even when the story takes some dark turns.
I can’t vouch for this historical accuracy of the book, or lack thereof. I’m not a historian, and I don’t… care that much? Not to cast aspersions on this history buffs among us! It’s just not a priority for me when I’m reading a book I’m enjoying.
Pandora has a Greek myth angle, but it doesn’t lean into it very hard
You probably won’t be surprised by this considering the title. The mysterious vase that Hezekiah has obtained comes with some strange side effects. Dark whispers. Injuries that don’t seem to heal. A lid that won’t come off, or not for him anyway. Like Pandora’s box (or vase) of legend, it seems to unlock a great many human evils.
The involvement of Greek myth is fairly limited, I was hoping for a little more if I’m honest. Most of the way it factors in comes from other characters discussing myth and how it might overlap with history. It would have been fun to see some more parallels, but I did enjoy what we got of it.
Most of the story is an inheritance mystery with a treasure hunt component and a sweet romantic subplot.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend it to others. It has some uncomfortable moments, and there’s some vivid danger and threat that emerges, particularly towards the end. But the main character is hopeful and vibrant, and the plot moves quickly enough that you don’t get stuck in the darker sections.
Have you read Pandora?
Let me know what you thought in the comments! Particularly whether you thought the balance of Greek myth involvement was right.
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