The Swan at Radcot was once one of several inns along the Thames. Each inn was known for something different; the Swan was known for storytelling. Any person, activity or memory could be the focus of a story which would be started, retold by many, embellished each time and remembered. One winter solstice night when an injured stranger holding a small girl burst through the door of The Swan startling the drinkers, a new story was born. Like the river, it has an origin and then the flow picks up adding tributaries to it as it goes along. This story tells us of the river, the man and girl, the people they meet at the Swan and others drawn into the flow. It has life and death, love and families, dear things lost and found, good and evil, beginnings and endings, magic and realism. Diane Setterfield is a master storyteller as she leads us through Once Upon A River. It’s not a fast paced book but intriguing and kept me reading to see where the stories lead. It’s a book you can settle into for a glimpse into the lives of the people at the Swan and along the river. Thanks to Goodreads for an early arc of the book.