The Glass Lake
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| Author | Maeve Binchy |
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| Language | English |
| Genre | Romance novel |
| Publisher | Orion Publishing |
Publication date | 2 September 1994 |
| Publication place | Eire |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 608 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 1-85797-950-8 (first edition, hardback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
The Glass Lake is a novel by Maeve Binchy. Similar to other Binchy novels, this book is set in a rural Irish village. The story focuses on Kit McMahon and her relationship with her mother.
Plot summary
When the beautiful and glamorous Helen is deserted by her lover, she marries the kindly Martin McMahon and moves to the small village of Lough Glass. Although Martin and Helen have two children, Helen still pines for Louis, the man that broke her heart. Helen seems restless and unhappy living in Lough Glass. Then one day, Helen disappears, leaving behind only a note for Martin. Kit, Helen and Martin's 13-year old daughter, finds this letter, and burns it without opening it. Kit knows that her mother was unhappy and assumes that her mother has committed suicide. A suicide note would mean that her mother could not be buried in 'consecrated' ground according to Catholic tradition. However, Helen hasn't committed suicide. Rather, she decided to run away to England with her former lover.
Kit McMahon struggles to grow up without her mother and with the stigma of her mother's death. While Kit has many friends and mentors to help her grow, she forges a close relationship via letters with Lena Gray. Lena Gray claims to be a close friend of Helen. However, Lena Gray is really Helen herself. The story then traces the fallout of Kit finding out that her mother isn't dead and is Lena Gray.
Characters
Important characters in the story are:
Kit McMahon: The main character of the story. She is the daughter of Helen and Martin McMahon. At the start of the book, Kit is 13. By the end of the book, Kit is a Hotel Management student working to build her career. Kit grows up to be a strong woman that take no nonense from anyone. She has inherited her mother's striking looks.
Helen McMahon/Lena Gray: Kit's mother and Martin's wife. She is beautiful and is unhappy and restless living in Lough Glass. She runs aways with Louis Gray to live in London and assumes the name Lena Gray. Lena works at an employment agency and is very successful in her career in England.
Martin McMahon: Kit's father and the town chemist. He loves living in Lough Glass, and playing golf with his best friend. He is a kind man that makes an effort to raise his children with high regard for their mother.
Emmet McMahon: Kit's younger brother. He doesn't have much of a role in story till later. His obsessive love for Anna Kelly mirrors his mother's obsessive love for Louis Gray.
Clio Kelly: Clio is Kit's best friend. Clio and Kit have a contentious relationship. However, they fight with each other almost as much as they support each other. Clio is smart and beautiful. Her main purpose for attending university is to land a rich husband.
Louis Gray: Lena's feckless lover. He is very handsome and has numerous affairs while posing as Lena's husband.
Stevie Sullivan: Kit's eventual boyfriend. He is a very handsome and has numerous affairs with the women of Lough Glass. Kit tries to hook Stevie as a favor to her brother - who doesn't want to lose his girlfriend to Stevie's attentions. However, much to everyone's surprise, Kit and Stevie end up falling in love. Lena worries about Kit's relationship with Stevie because she thinks her daughter maybe following in her mother's foot steps by being with a handsome man with a history of infidelity.