Plot Overview
Part One:
Part one of this novel tells the story of a single day in the Tallis family estate in 1935 (in London, England). It focuses mainly on Briony Tallis, who is an aspiring writer. She wrote a play to be performed at dinner for the return of her brother, Leon, and put on by herself and three other cousins who are residing at the Tallis' residence because of a divorce between their parents. Before the play can be rehearsed, Briony witnesses a scene between her older sister, Cecilia and the son of their housekeeper Robbie Turner. Something very simple between the two is terribly misunderstood by the young imagination of Briony and this catalyzes a series of events that change lives forever.
After the fountain scene, Briony reads a letter from Robbie intended for Cecilia and reads it. She discovers what she sees as Robbie to be a sex-crazed maniac and sets out to protect her sister. Before she can actually protect her, she witnesses Robbie and Cecilia making love and misreads this as an attack on her sister, further allowing her to assume that Robbie is a "maniac."
During dinner, her twin cousins run away from home making the rest of the dinner guests go out into the night searching for them. Briony, who is looking for the boys alone, witnesses a rape of her cousin, Lola. Briony (led by her further misreadings) convinces everyone that the rapist was Robbie Turner and he was then taken to jail. Cecilia is the only one not convinced that Robbie was the rapist and in fact leaves the family never to return or speak to any of them again.
Part Two:
This part of the novel takes place 5 years after part one. It focuses on Robbie Turner (now known as Turner) as he retreats through France as a soldier during the war. The reader now knows that he has served three years in prison for his crime and is now able to exonerate himself by giving his time to the army. He and two other corporals march through the countryside to get to the evacuation town of Dunkirk. During this entire time, love notes are sent between him and Cecilia and this is his motivation to get through the war. During his march, Turner experiences what war really is like and has plenty of time to his thoughts. In his thoughts, he reviews his situation as a soldier, a criminal, and victim of Briony's false accusations. The reader also learns that Briony has become a nurse in attempt to get close to her sister. Eventually, the three men make it to Dunkirk (which is in complete chaos). Turner is severely wounded but has his motivation (Cecilia) to make it home.
Part Three:
This part of the novel focuses again on Briony who is now 18 years and has signed up to be a nurse in London. She hopes that this will act as a penance for her sins and the reader also learns that she is still writing. She submits a story, but then it's rejected, but they tell her that the story is good, it just needs more work. When the soldiers arrive from Dunkirk, she really gets a perception of what the war really is like. Towards the end of part three, Briony attends Paul Marshall (whom she knows to be Lola's rapist) and Lola's wedding. Briony does nothing to stop the marriage.
After the wedding, Briony visits Cecila and Robbie in their flat and refuse to forgive her. Yet, they do give her instructions on how to clear Robbie's name. Briony agrees to do it and the last we see of Robbie and Cecilia are on the tube station platform.
London, 1999
This final section of the novel is a letter from the author to the reader. In here it is revealed that Briony is in fact the author of the entire book. She explains how she was able to complete the book with the assistance of letters from the museum of archives and a pen-pal relationship with a corporal friend of Robbie's. Briony attends an event at her old home (the scene of the crime) and it is revealed that she is dying of dementia. in a final twist, Briony informs her readers that she has completely made up the part about visinting Cecilia and Robbie in London because both died in the war. The play was presented to Briony at the end of this section and Lola (ironically) was the lead role. This whole book, as it seems, is an act of final atonement for her crime.
- This covers most of the important events, but you'll just want to be more detailed when it comes to the multiple perspectives in Part 1 and the meeting between Cecilia and Robbie, as well as the stuff Briony has to deal with as a nurse, in Part 3.
- It was a great idea to divide it up by part.
Part one of this novel tells the story of a single day in the Tallis family estate in 1935 (in London, England). It focuses mainly on Briony Tallis, who is an aspiring writer. She wrote a play to be performed at dinner for the return of her brother, Leon, and put on by herself and three other cousins who are residing at the Tallis' residence because of a divorce between their parents. Before the play can be rehearsed, Briony witnesses a scene between her older sister, Cecilia and the son of their housekeeper Robbie Turner. Something very simple between the two is terribly misunderstood by the young imagination of Briony and this catalyzes a series of events that change lives forever.
After the fountain scene, Briony reads a letter from Robbie intended for Cecilia and reads it. She discovers what she sees as Robbie to be a sex-crazed maniac and sets out to protect her sister. Before she can actually protect her, she witnesses Robbie and Cecilia making love and misreads this as an attack on her sister, further allowing her to assume that Robbie is a "maniac."
During dinner, her twin cousins run away from home making the rest of the dinner guests go out into the night searching for them. Briony, who is looking for the boys alone, witnesses a rape of her cousin, Lola. Briony (led by her further misreadings) convinces everyone that the rapist was Robbie Turner and he was then taken to jail. Cecilia is the only one not convinced that Robbie was the rapist and in fact leaves the family never to return or speak to any of them again.
Part Two:
This part of the novel takes place 5 years after part one. It focuses on Robbie Turner (now known as Turner) as he retreats through France as a soldier during the war. The reader now knows that he has served three years in prison for his crime and is now able to exonerate himself by giving his time to the army. He and two other corporals march through the countryside to get to the evacuation town of Dunkirk. During this entire time, love notes are sent between him and Cecilia and this is his motivation to get through the war. During his march, Turner experiences what war really is like and has plenty of time to his thoughts. In his thoughts, he reviews his situation as a soldier, a criminal, and victim of Briony's false accusations. The reader also learns that Briony has become a nurse in attempt to get close to her sister. Eventually, the three men make it to Dunkirk (which is in complete chaos). Turner is severely wounded but has his motivation (Cecilia) to make it home.
Part Three:
This part of the novel focuses again on Briony who is now 18 years and has signed up to be a nurse in London. She hopes that this will act as a penance for her sins and the reader also learns that she is still writing. She submits a story, but then it's rejected, but they tell her that the story is good, it just needs more work. When the soldiers arrive from Dunkirk, she really gets a perception of what the war really is like. Towards the end of part three, Briony attends Paul Marshall (whom she knows to be Lola's rapist) and Lola's wedding. Briony does nothing to stop the marriage.
After the wedding, Briony visits Cecila and Robbie in their flat and refuse to forgive her. Yet, they do give her instructions on how to clear Robbie's name. Briony agrees to do it and the last we see of Robbie and Cecilia are on the tube station platform.
London, 1999
This final section of the novel is a letter from the author to the reader. In here it is revealed that Briony is in fact the author of the entire book. She explains how she was able to complete the book with the assistance of letters from the museum of archives and a pen-pal relationship with a corporal friend of Robbie's. Briony attends an event at her old home (the scene of the crime) and it is revealed that she is dying of dementia. in a final twist, Briony informs her readers that she has completely made up the part about visinting Cecilia and Robbie in London because both died in the war. The play was presented to Briony at the end of this section and Lola (ironically) was the lead role. This whole book, as it seems, is an act of final atonement for her crime.
- This covers most of the important events, but you'll just want to be more detailed when it comes to the multiple perspectives in Part 1 and the meeting between Cecilia and Robbie, as well as the stuff Briony has to deal with as a nurse, in Part 3.
- It was a great idea to divide it up by part.