As a young girl esme lennox is taken from the family home and committed into a mental asylum 61 years later the hospital is shutting down and the now elderly woman is released the story is set between the 1930s and the present day and its so shocking that a person especially a female back then could be institutionalised so easily by a family member or spouse . The vanishing act of esme lennox maggie ofarrell takes readers on a journey to the darker places of the human heart where desires struggle with the imposition of social mores this haunting story explores the seedy past of victorian asylums the oppression of family secrets and the way truth can change everything. The vanishing act of esme lennox is an amazing read it is heart rending without being falsely emotional and raises ethical issues while maintaining a strong story line two sisters one seemingly meek and ready to embrace the feminine role with which she is familiar the other rebellious funny and threatening to that role are the main protagonists by demanding space in a controlling society . The the vanishing act of esme lennox community note includes chapter by chapter summary and analysis character list theme list historical context author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. For the vanishing act of esme lennox is another of the repeating threads in the pattern of recent english fiction inspired by the orphans of the british raj the children who for several hundred