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The House at Riverton
An alternate cover edition can be found here.
The House at Riverton is a gorgeous debut novel set in England between the wars. Perfect for fans of "Downton Abbey," it's the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death, and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all.
The novel is full of secrets -- some revealed, others hidden forever, reminiscent of the romantic suspense of Daphne du Maurier. It's also a meditation on memory and the devastation of war and a beautifully rendered window into a fascinating time in history.
The House at Riverton is a gorgeous debut novel set in England between the wars. Perfect for fans of "Downton Abbey," it's the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death, and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all.
The novel is full of secrets -- some revealed, others hidden forever, reminiscent of the romantic suspense of Daphne du Maurier. It's also a meditation on memory and the devastation of war and a beautifully rendered window into a fascinating time in history.
484 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Kate Morton
31 books24k followersKATE MORTON is an award-winning, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author. Her seven novels - The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours, The Secret Keeper, The Lake House, The Clockmaker's Daughter, and Homecoming - are published in over 45 countries, in 38 languages, and have all been number one bestsellers around the world.
Kate Morton was born in South Australia, grew up in the mountains of south-east Queensland, and now lives with her family in London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature, and harboured dreams of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company until she realised that it was words she loved more than performing. Kate still feels a pang of longing each time she goes to the theatre and the house lights dim.
"I fell deeply in love with books as a child and believe that reading is freedom; that to read is to live a thousand lives in one; that fiction is a magical conversation between two people - you and me - in which our minds meet across time and space. I love books that conjure a world around me, bringing their characters and settings to life, so that the real world disappears and all that matters, from beginning to end, is turning one more page."
You can find more information about Kate Morton and her books at https://www.katemorton.com or connect on http://www.facebook.com/KateMortonAuthor or instagram.com/katemortonauthor/
To stay up-to-date on Kate's books and events, join her mailing list here: https://www.katemorton.com/mailing-list/
Kate Morton was born in South Australia, grew up in the mountains of south-east Queensland, and now lives with her family in London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature, and harboured dreams of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company until she realised that it was words she loved more than performing. Kate still feels a pang of longing each time she goes to the theatre and the house lights dim.
"I fell deeply in love with books as a child and believe that reading is freedom; that to read is to live a thousand lives in one; that fiction is a magical conversation between two people - you and me - in which our minds meet across time and space. I love books that conjure a world around me, bringing their characters and settings to life, so that the real world disappears and all that matters, from beginning to end, is turning one more page."
You can find more information about Kate Morton and her books at https://www.katemorton.com or connect on http://www.facebook.com/KateMortonAuthor or instagram.com/katemortonauthor/
To stay up-to-date on Kate's books and events, join her mailing list here: https://www.katemorton.com/mailing-list/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 9,222 reviews
May 22, 2011
I probably would have enjoyed Kate Morton's debut novel The House at Riverton more if I had not already experienced the greater expression of her writing talent in The Forgotten Garden. Riverton shares many of the themes of her later work, but with the narrator at a greater remove from the focus of the story, it tends to make her characterizations a bit flat. The story of the Hartford family, focused on the sisters Hannah and Emmeline is told by Grace, a servant to the family for many years. Her unequal social relationship to the sisters keeps her at a distance and their experiences are relayed through her limited perspective.
While I appreciate the detail taken to illuminate the differences in the lives of the social classes, it seemed to take the novel a long time to build up tension around the incident at the heart of the book's mystery. The last quarter of the book moved along well, but by that time many of the hints throughout the book had answered most of the questions, just the details remained to be filled in. The use of foreshadowing became a bit repetitive, giving the book the feel of a serial at times.
When I reached the end of the book, I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like if Morton had used the ending as a jumping off point for a story about Grace’s later life. The book tantalizes us with interesting details about choices she made as a woman that seemed much more interesting to me. How did she transform from a Victorian lady's maid into an independent career-minded woman, exploring the world as an archeologist? What happened in her relationship with her daughter Ruth over the years? How did she and Alfred find each other after over half a lifetime and how had their relationship changed? Unfortunately we didn't get to experience Grace's character growth within the story itself.
While I appreciate the detail taken to illuminate the differences in the lives of the social classes, it seemed to take the novel a long time to build up tension around the incident at the heart of the book's mystery. The last quarter of the book moved along well, but by that time many of the hints throughout the book had answered most of the questions, just the details remained to be filled in. The use of foreshadowing became a bit repetitive, giving the book the feel of a serial at times.
When I reached the end of the book, I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like if Morton had used the ending as a jumping off point for a story about Grace’s later life. The book tantalizes us with interesting details about choices she made as a woman that seemed much more interesting to me. How did she transform from a Victorian lady's maid into an independent career-minded woman, exploring the world as an archeologist? What happened in her relationship with her daughter Ruth over the years? How did she and Alfred find each other after over half a lifetime and how had their relationship changed? Unfortunately we didn't get to experience Grace's character growth within the story itself.
January 4, 2018
"Whooshing like a wind through a tunnel, an angry wind that drags behind it a summer storm, rushing towards me, faster and faster. It is my past, and it is coming for me. It is everywhere; in my ears, behind my eyes, pushing my ribs…"
Grace is 98 years old and living in a nursing facility when a visit from a young film producer compels her to relive her past; a past that is full of secrets that she has kept to herself for the last seventy years. Her story begins pre-World War I in England, when at the age of fourteen Grace secures a position as housemaid at Riverton House. It was a time of prosperity and vitality for the inhabitants of Riverton, and Grace relishes her new position. She quickly becomes fascinated by Hannah and Emmeline, granddaughters to her employer Lady Violet and daughters to Master Frederick Hartford. When she discovers ‘The Game’ the sisters share with their brother David, Grace learns that secrets are a pleasurable diversion for the trio. "For The Game was more than its name suggested. It was a complex fantasy, an alternate world into which they escaped. There were no costumes, no swords, no feathered headdresses. Nothing that would have marked it as a game. For that was its nature. It was secret." But at what point do secrets go too far?
As expected, with the onset of World War I life as the Riverton household understands it will inescapably alter. Two young girls grow into womanhood and the desire for independence will affect both Hannah and Emmeline in different yet significant ways. Grace will pine for a young man sent to war and will continue in her dedication to the family and to Hannah in particular, with whom she feels a special affinity. Choices will be made, a tragic young poet will enter the scene, and more secrets will be cultivated. As the reader learns the story as told by the elderly Grace in a series of flashbacks, secrets are slowly revealed and some are still kept close. The tension mounts throughout, but not at a mad pace. You can sense a build-up to a shocking conclusion, only parts of which have been disclosed from the start. An astonishing twist made the gradual unraveling only that much more gratifying by book’s end.
I found this to be very entertaining, with a satisfying gothic-like feel to the story. The distinction in the social classes during the first half of twentieth century England, as well as the roles and interactions of the servants in an aristocratic home were interesting elements and, I thought, authentically portrayed. The characters were well-drawn, despite the fact I didn’t develop any special connection to any of them. I also enjoyed contemplating the effect that the passage of time plays on a person’s memory. "True history, the past… It isn’t flat or linear. It has no outline. It is slippery, like liquid; infinite and unknowable, like space. And it is changeable: just when you think you see a pattern, perspective shifts, an alternative version is proffered, a long-forgotten memory resurfaces."
I liked this more than my first Kate Morton novel, The Forgotten Garden, and now feel compelled to read more of her work in the future. Recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction and a slower-paced but suspenseful plot.
"It is a universal truth that no matter how well one knows a scene, to observe it from above is something of a revelation."
Grace is 98 years old and living in a nursing facility when a visit from a young film producer compels her to relive her past; a past that is full of secrets that she has kept to herself for the last seventy years. Her story begins pre-World War I in England, when at the age of fourteen Grace secures a position as housemaid at Riverton House. It was a time of prosperity and vitality for the inhabitants of Riverton, and Grace relishes her new position. She quickly becomes fascinated by Hannah and Emmeline, granddaughters to her employer Lady Violet and daughters to Master Frederick Hartford. When she discovers ‘The Game’ the sisters share with their brother David, Grace learns that secrets are a pleasurable diversion for the trio. "For The Game was more than its name suggested. It was a complex fantasy, an alternate world into which they escaped. There were no costumes, no swords, no feathered headdresses. Nothing that would have marked it as a game. For that was its nature. It was secret." But at what point do secrets go too far?
As expected, with the onset of World War I life as the Riverton household understands it will inescapably alter. Two young girls grow into womanhood and the desire for independence will affect both Hannah and Emmeline in different yet significant ways. Grace will pine for a young man sent to war and will continue in her dedication to the family and to Hannah in particular, with whom she feels a special affinity. Choices will be made, a tragic young poet will enter the scene, and more secrets will be cultivated. As the reader learns the story as told by the elderly Grace in a series of flashbacks, secrets are slowly revealed and some are still kept close. The tension mounts throughout, but not at a mad pace. You can sense a build-up to a shocking conclusion, only parts of which have been disclosed from the start. An astonishing twist made the gradual unraveling only that much more gratifying by book’s end.
I found this to be very entertaining, with a satisfying gothic-like feel to the story. The distinction in the social classes during the first half of twentieth century England, as well as the roles and interactions of the servants in an aristocratic home were interesting elements and, I thought, authentically portrayed. The characters were well-drawn, despite the fact I didn’t develop any special connection to any of them. I also enjoyed contemplating the effect that the passage of time plays on a person’s memory. "True history, the past… It isn’t flat or linear. It has no outline. It is slippery, like liquid; infinite and unknowable, like space. And it is changeable: just when you think you see a pattern, perspective shifts, an alternative version is proffered, a long-forgotten memory resurfaces."
I liked this more than my first Kate Morton novel, The Forgotten Garden, and now feel compelled to read more of her work in the future. Recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction and a slower-paced but suspenseful plot.
"It is a universal truth that no matter how well one knows a scene, to observe it from above is something of a revelation."
December 15, 2008
An enjoyable story and a beautiful historical setting marred by clumsy story telling, overbearing foreshadowing, and an emotional disconnect with characters.
September 13, 2018
This is My guilty pleasure and my go to novel when I am in need of a little tender reading care. Something historical, set in a rambling period property on a country Estate, preferably in the middle of the English countryside, throw in a little mystery and intrigue and a few family hidden secrets and I am putty in the authors hands
Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.
–Mason Cooley
I began my fascination with Grand English Country Houses and Estates when I watched Upstairs Downstairs as a young girl with my mother and I still hold that fascination. No matter what country I visit I always manage to find a country Estate or period property where ghosts of people and the past stirs my imagination and my interest.
The House at Riverton tells the story of Grace Reeves who for decades has kept secret the truth of a poet's violent death by the lake at Riverton House in Oxfordshire. Now at the end of her life, 98 year-old Grace's memory is taken back and she remembers something from her past, a shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could.
Kate Morton creates intriguing characters and weaves a powerful spell slowly and beautifully in this novel and I found the read both entertaining and satisfying.
A case of a little of what you fancy does you good. This is my second reading of this novel having read it the first time around in 2009 and happy to report I enjoyed it every bit as much on my second reading.
I think readers who enjoy authors such as Kristin Hannah or Diane Chamberlain may well enjoy Kate Morton novels.
Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.
–Mason Cooley
I began my fascination with Grand English Country Houses and Estates when I watched Upstairs Downstairs as a young girl with my mother and I still hold that fascination. No matter what country I visit I always manage to find a country Estate or period property where ghosts of people and the past stirs my imagination and my interest.
The House at Riverton tells the story of Grace Reeves who for decades has kept secret the truth of a poet's violent death by the lake at Riverton House in Oxfordshire. Now at the end of her life, 98 year-old Grace's memory is taken back and she remembers something from her past, a shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could.
Kate Morton creates intriguing characters and weaves a powerful spell slowly and beautifully in this novel and I found the read both entertaining and satisfying.
A case of a little of what you fancy does you good. This is my second reading of this novel having read it the first time around in 2009 and happy to report I enjoyed it every bit as much on my second reading.
I think readers who enjoy authors such as Kristin Hannah or Diane Chamberlain may well enjoy Kate Morton novels.
May 23, 2018
This was such a delight to read! I absolutely loved every single second I spent in this universe, and I could have gone on reading forever...
The book includes many characters. I tend to get confused by that, but thankfully all of them were well developed in this case. They had different personalities and character traits, so I was able to easily tell them apart and picture them in my head.
The Relationships between each of them were all kept on a realistic level. None of them were too close or too distant. Especially the amount of contact/closeness between the house residents and the working staff at Riverton Manor seemed believable to me and never over the top.
The writing style was very nice and "comfortable" to read. It was perfect for the time period the story plays in, and I felt like I was a part of this world.
The transitions between the past and the present were done very well and it all fit together (better than I would have expected).
I also liked how some script pages, letters, E-Mails and articles were added into the story. This helped to explain some of the background stories in an easy way. I can't stand it when characters have conversations in which they provide huge amounts of information to each other (including every single little detail)! It's always so awkward and unnatural. By providing these little extra snippets, the author prevented those stiff interactions in a simple, but smart way.
I found the romances that took place believable as well, and also rather "tender". I can't explain exactly what I mean by that; I was just touched by it in some way. It made me feel things - which does mean a lot, since I'm normally not too overly excited about the romance aspects in a book.
These developing relationships had an appropriate speed (especially for the time period) and was kept at a convincing level.
There are also two portrayals of the aftereffects of the First World War. Those weren't done unnecessarily dramatic or over the top, either. They were kept at bay (to a believable point), and I really liked and appreciated that.
The only little thing I have to complain about is the lack of mention of the characters ages. I sometimes wasn't sure how old I should picture them. I would have liked a clearer distinction of the age differences between each of them and between the years that passed.
This is such a tiny little thing, though. It didn't really intervene with my reading experience.
I truly developed a big love for everyone involved at Riverton Manor, and I absolutely just need a movie or TV-Show based on this fantastic book!
The book includes many characters. I tend to get confused by that, but thankfully all of them were well developed in this case. They had different personalities and character traits, so I was able to easily tell them apart and picture them in my head.
The Relationships between each of them were all kept on a realistic level. None of them were too close or too distant. Especially the amount of contact/closeness between the house residents and the working staff at Riverton Manor seemed believable to me and never over the top.
The writing style was very nice and "comfortable" to read. It was perfect for the time period the story plays in, and I felt like I was a part of this world.
The transitions between the past and the present were done very well and it all fit together (better than I would have expected).
I also liked how some script pages, letters, E-Mails and articles were added into the story. This helped to explain some of the background stories in an easy way. I can't stand it when characters have conversations in which they provide huge amounts of information to each other (including every single little detail)! It's always so awkward and unnatural. By providing these little extra snippets, the author prevented those stiff interactions in a simple, but smart way.
I found the romances that took place believable as well, and also rather "tender". I can't explain exactly what I mean by that; I was just touched by it in some way. It made me feel things - which does mean a lot, since I'm normally not too overly excited about the romance aspects in a book.
These developing relationships had an appropriate speed (especially for the time period) and was kept at a convincing level.
There are also two portrayals of the aftereffects of the First World War. Those weren't done unnecessarily dramatic or over the top, either. They were kept at bay (to a believable point), and I really liked and appreciated that.
The only little thing I have to complain about is the lack of mention of the characters ages. I sometimes wasn't sure how old I should picture them. I would have liked a clearer distinction of the age differences between each of them and between the years that passed.
This is such a tiny little thing, though. It didn't really intervene with my reading experience.
I truly developed a big love for everyone involved at Riverton Manor, and I absolutely just need a movie or TV-Show based on this fantastic book!
December 14, 2018
Kate Morton came into my life just under 3 years ago. I don't remember how, but I picked up one of her books and absolutely fell in love with her writing style, characters, and multi-dimensional storytelling abilities. After almost 3 years, I've finished reading all 6 of her books; it's a tad amusing that the last one I read is actually the first book she wrote -- The House at Riverton, or The Shifting Fog, as it was previously known. For me, she's the queen of historical fiction when the focus is on 'ordinary' families in a world from ~ a century ago. The House at Riverton is no exception, and while not my favorite of her tomes, is quite a splendid novel very reminiscent of Downtown Abbey.
In this book, Grace is ~100 years old and dying very soon. She has a story and a secret about the past to tell her wayward grandson who's gone missing after his wife died of an aneurysm. Through flashbacks and other POVs, we learn about Grace's time as a maid and ladies maid in the Hartford family household. We witness conversations in the current period between Grace and Ursula, a film director telling the story of what happened when a family friend and renowned poet committed suicide in the 1920s at the Hartford estate. We find out who actually loved whom, and which family members shouldn't have been trusted. All set against the gorgeous backdrop of the English countryside, it's a powerful and emotional tale about fighting your desires and knowing when it's time to give in.
One of the things that made this book so appealing is how similar it was to Downton Abbey. There's a family torn apart by war. Girls cannot inherit their father's estate. Love between classes is forbidden. Estates cost too much. A daughter must marry into a wealthy family to survive. But then it goes off on its own path with a murder, an affair, and a past indiscretion connecting two people who never knew until it was too late. Morton can weave the most elaborate stories to warm the heart. I feel such passion and connection with her words and imagery. I can think of no other author who evokes such lyrical enthusiasm and despair in a scene on multiple levels that overwhelm you and excite you at the same time.
While a majority of this book is amazing, there were a few areas that I struggled with... hence 4 stars. The beginning is a bit too slow; it takes time to develop characters, but Morton uses a few different techniques to foreshadow what's to come in the future almost crossing that invisible line with audience. For example, there's a paragraph ending a chapter that actually speaks to readers saying, "You think she should have done this, but no, instead, she does this... and this is why what happens to her later was so painful." I paraphrased to not give away any spoilers, but you get the basics. Another concern I had was how certain storylines were left too open-ended for my taste. We know two characters re-connect 40 years later, but how / why. We know there was a blood relationship between two characters, but was it ever acknowledged? We know one character leaves a letter to another, but what happened with the gift she also left behind? Who was Lady Clementine and how did she fit into this family?
Some of those were loosely explained, but with a powerhouse like Morton, I expect everything to be properly tied together. I'm okay with vague, but there needs to be some clarity on what the 'options' are as opposed to just making a statement and never exploring the follow-thru aspects. That said, this doesn't happen in her later books, so I think these were debut author style changes... and definitely ones I'm glad she eventually made. All said, it's a must read. The book is slower than others, with less of a major climax, but fully immersive and extravagant in other ways. I am sad that it'll be at least another year before her next one...
In this book, Grace is ~100 years old and dying very soon. She has a story and a secret about the past to tell her wayward grandson who's gone missing after his wife died of an aneurysm. Through flashbacks and other POVs, we learn about Grace's time as a maid and ladies maid in the Hartford family household. We witness conversations in the current period between Grace and Ursula, a film director telling the story of what happened when a family friend and renowned poet committed suicide in the 1920s at the Hartford estate. We find out who actually loved whom, and which family members shouldn't have been trusted. All set against the gorgeous backdrop of the English countryside, it's a powerful and emotional tale about fighting your desires and knowing when it's time to give in.
One of the things that made this book so appealing is how similar it was to Downton Abbey. There's a family torn apart by war. Girls cannot inherit their father's estate. Love between classes is forbidden. Estates cost too much. A daughter must marry into a wealthy family to survive. But then it goes off on its own path with a murder, an affair, and a past indiscretion connecting two people who never knew until it was too late. Morton can weave the most elaborate stories to warm the heart. I feel such passion and connection with her words and imagery. I can think of no other author who evokes such lyrical enthusiasm and despair in a scene on multiple levels that overwhelm you and excite you at the same time.
While a majority of this book is amazing, there were a few areas that I struggled with... hence 4 stars. The beginning is a bit too slow; it takes time to develop characters, but Morton uses a few different techniques to foreshadow what's to come in the future almost crossing that invisible line with audience. For example, there's a paragraph ending a chapter that actually speaks to readers saying, "You think she should have done this, but no, instead, she does this... and this is why what happens to her later was so painful." I paraphrased to not give away any spoilers, but you get the basics. Another concern I had was how certain storylines were left too open-ended for my taste. We know two characters re-connect 40 years later, but how / why. We know there was a blood relationship between two characters, but was it ever acknowledged? We know one character leaves a letter to another, but what happened with the gift she also left behind? Who was Lady Clementine and how did she fit into this family?
Some of those were loosely explained, but with a powerhouse like Morton, I expect everything to be properly tied together. I'm okay with vague, but there needs to be some clarity on what the 'options' are as opposed to just making a statement and never exploring the follow-thru aspects. That said, this doesn't happen in her later books, so I think these were debut author style changes... and definitely ones I'm glad she eventually made. All said, it's a must read. The book is slower than others, with less of a major climax, but fully immersive and extravagant in other ways. I am sad that it'll be at least another year before her next one...
November 11, 2022
Kurz vor dem Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkrieges kommt die 14-jährige Grace als Dienstmädchen nach Riverton Manor. Dort lernt sie die Geschwister David, Hannah und Emmeline kennen, die ihre Ferien auf dem alten Herrensitz ihrer Großeltern verbringen. Aus der Ferne beobachtet Grace die Geschwister, doch mit den Jahren werden ihre Leben immer mehr miteinander verknüpft werden...
*
Mein Leseeindruck:
Ich habe dieses Buch 2008 schon einmal gelesen und hatte nun Lust, mich erneut in die Geschichte fallenzulassen. Ich mag Familiengeheimnisse und alte englische Herrenhäuser, somit ist dieses Buch natürlich die ideale Lektüre.
Die Geschichte spielt sowohl in der Vergangenheit (1914 bis 1924) als auch in der Gegenwart, wobei der überwiegende Teil doch in der Vergangenheit spielt.
Mir hat es sehr gefallen, wie hier das Leben des früheren Dienstmädchens Grace erzählt wird. Dabei erzählt uns Grace ihre Geschichte selbst; das Buch ist in der Ich-Erzählform geschrieben.
Obwohl das Buch fast 700 Seiten hat, kam keine Langeweile auf. Die Geschichte ist sehr mitreißend, spannend und packend erzählt. Ich konnte mich gut in die Figuren hineinfühlen.
Von mir bekommt das Buch vier sehr gute Sterne; ich habe mich wunderbar unterhalten gefühlt mit der Lektüre.
*
Mein Leseeindruck:
Ich habe dieses Buch 2008 schon einmal gelesen und hatte nun Lust, mich erneut in die Geschichte fallenzulassen. Ich mag Familiengeheimnisse und alte englische Herrenhäuser, somit ist dieses Buch natürlich die ideale Lektüre.
Die Geschichte spielt sowohl in der Vergangenheit (1914 bis 1924) als auch in der Gegenwart, wobei der überwiegende Teil doch in der Vergangenheit spielt.
Mir hat es sehr gefallen, wie hier das Leben des früheren Dienstmädchens Grace erzählt wird. Dabei erzählt uns Grace ihre Geschichte selbst; das Buch ist in der Ich-Erzählform geschrieben.
Obwohl das Buch fast 700 Seiten hat, kam keine Langeweile auf. Die Geschichte ist sehr mitreißend, spannend und packend erzählt. Ich konnte mich gut in die Figuren hineinfühlen.
Von mir bekommt das Buch vier sehr gute Sterne; ich habe mich wunderbar unterhalten gefühlt mit der Lektüre.
July 19, 2007
The House at Riverton tells the story of a Manor House in Essex during WW1 and the beginning of the 1920s, told from the perspective of a housemaid, now 98 and living in an old people's home in 1999. When she finds out that a film is being made of a tragic event at the house - the suicide of a young poet who fought in the war - she recounts her memories leading up to that night, and the part she played in it.
Of course, the story is not as simple as that, and many secrets have been kept for almost 100 years.
This book stayed with me for ages after i'd finished it. I found it quite haunting, and a lovely study of loyalty, family and the 'butterfly' effect that our decisions can have on other people's lives.
Of course, the story is not as simple as that, and many secrets have been kept for almost 100 years.
This book stayed with me for ages after i'd finished it. I found it quite haunting, and a lovely study of loyalty, family and the 'butterfly' effect that our decisions can have on other people's lives.
April 16, 2023
EXCERPT: Last November I had a nightmare.
It was 1924 and I was at Riverton again. All the doors hung wide open, silk billowing in the summer breeze. An orchestra perched high on the hill beneath the ancient maple, violins lilting lazily in the warmth. The air rang with pealing laughter and crystal, and the sky was the kind of blue we'd all thought the war had destroyed forever. One of the footman, smart in black and white, poured champagne into the top of a tower of glass flutes and everyone clapped, delighting in the splendid wastage.
I saw myself, the way one does in dreams, moving amongst the guests. Moving slowly, much more slowly than one can in life, the others a blur of satin and sequins.
I was looking for someone.
ABOUT 'THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON': Summer 1924: on the eve of a glittering Society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again.
Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time house-maid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could.
MY THOUGHTS: I love Kate Morton's atmospheric writing.
The House at Riverton was originally published as The Shifting Fog, the title taken from that of a poem by Robbie Hunter, the poet who commits suicide in this story. Or, does he?
Grace is a fascinating character. She has never known her father, only her mother who brought her up to enter service at Riverton.
Told over two timelines, the years of the first world war and after, and the current time. Grace's life is nearing its end, but when she is approached to offer her opinion on the sets for the period drama being made culminating in Robbie's death, she agrees. The film script, although being far from accurate stirs up memories of what actually happened.
Grace's story, along with those of sisters Hannah and Emmeline, indeed the fortunes of the whole Hartford family, is told in flashbacks, letters, and tapes Grace is recording for grandson Marcus.
This is the second time I have read this book, first as The Shifting Fog, and now as the audiobook The House at Riverton superbly narrated by Emilia Fox, and I have to say that I enjoyed my second read even more than the first.
Definitely recommended.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.3
#TheHouseatRiverton #NetGalley.
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T: #KateMortonAuthor @Bolindaaudio
#australianauthor #contemporaryfiction #crime #domesticdrama #familysaga #friendship #historicalfiction #mystery #romance
THE AUTHOR: Kate Morton was born in South Australia, grew up in the mountains of south-east Queensland, and now lives with her family in London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature, and harboured dreams of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company until she realised that it was words she loved more than performing. Kate still feels a pang of longing each time she goes to the theatre and the house lights dim.
"I fell deeply in love with books as a child and believe that reading is freedom; that to read is to live a thousand lives in one; that fiction is a magical conversation between two people - you and me - in which our minds meet across time and space. I love books that conjure a world around me, bringing their characters and settings to life, so that the real world disappears and all that matters, from beginning to end, is turning one more page."
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bolinda Audio via Netgalley for providing an audio ARC of The House at Riverton, written by Kate Morton and narrated by Emilia Fox, via Netgalley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
It was 1924 and I was at Riverton again. All the doors hung wide open, silk billowing in the summer breeze. An orchestra perched high on the hill beneath the ancient maple, violins lilting lazily in the warmth. The air rang with pealing laughter and crystal, and the sky was the kind of blue we'd all thought the war had destroyed forever. One of the footman, smart in black and white, poured champagne into the top of a tower of glass flutes and everyone clapped, delighting in the splendid wastage.
I saw myself, the way one does in dreams, moving amongst the guests. Moving slowly, much more slowly than one can in life, the others a blur of satin and sequins.
I was looking for someone.
ABOUT 'THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON': Summer 1924: on the eve of a glittering Society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again.
Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time house-maid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could.
MY THOUGHTS: I love Kate Morton's atmospheric writing.
The House at Riverton was originally published as The Shifting Fog, the title taken from that of a poem by Robbie Hunter, the poet who commits suicide in this story. Or, does he?
Grace is a fascinating character. She has never known her father, only her mother who brought her up to enter service at Riverton.
Told over two timelines, the years of the first world war and after, and the current time. Grace's life is nearing its end, but when she is approached to offer her opinion on the sets for the period drama being made culminating in Robbie's death, she agrees. The film script, although being far from accurate stirs up memories of what actually happened.
Grace's story, along with those of sisters Hannah and Emmeline, indeed the fortunes of the whole Hartford family, is told in flashbacks, letters, and tapes Grace is recording for grandson Marcus.
This is the second time I have read this book, first as The Shifting Fog, and now as the audiobook The House at Riverton superbly narrated by Emilia Fox, and I have to say that I enjoyed my second read even more than the first.
Definitely recommended.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.3
#TheHouseatRiverton #NetGalley.
I: @katemortonauthor @bolindaaudio
T: #KateMortonAuthor @Bolindaaudio
#australianauthor #contemporaryfiction #crime #domesticdrama #familysaga #friendship #historicalfiction #mystery #romance
THE AUTHOR: Kate Morton was born in South Australia, grew up in the mountains of south-east Queensland, and now lives with her family in London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature, and harboured dreams of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company until she realised that it was words she loved more than performing. Kate still feels a pang of longing each time she goes to the theatre and the house lights dim.
"I fell deeply in love with books as a child and believe that reading is freedom; that to read is to live a thousand lives in one; that fiction is a magical conversation between two people - you and me - in which our minds meet across time and space. I love books that conjure a world around me, bringing their characters and settings to life, so that the real world disappears and all that matters, from beginning to end, is turning one more page."
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bolinda Audio via Netgalley for providing an audio ARC of The House at Riverton, written by Kate Morton and narrated by Emilia Fox, via Netgalley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
December 18, 2008
I wanted to read this book because it looked as if it had a lot of elements I really enjoy: Gothic type mystery, haunted house, family secrets, World War I, the 1920s. The book concerns sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, aristocratic children who grow up over the course of the book. They chafe at the constraints of their class and find themselves floundering in the chaos of the 1920s. The other main character in the book is the narrator Grace, a housemaid at Riverton. She has her own unique connection to the Hartford sisters. Grace tells the story, practically from her deathbed as at 99, of the two sisters and how they witnessed a modernist poet commit suicide in 1924. Of course, things aren't really as they seem, and each of the characters plays a big part in the poet's death. So the premise was interesting, but I found the book to be kind of boring. It took too long for any of the secrets to be revealed and then when they were it was really underwhelming. I also wasn't a fan of the lack of denouement.
October 18, 2019
4.5
I have to say, spending a few grey, drizzly days* getting lost in this book was a lot of fun!
'The Shifting Fog' (also published as 'The House at Riverton') was an interesting mystery of sorts, as we know from the beginning that a young poet took his life at Riverton in the sumer of 1924, witnessed by sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, who never speak to each other again. In 1999, Grace Bradley is looking back on that time, and it quickly becomes clear that the public version of events is far from the full story.
We alternate between the past and present, and slowly, small details are revealed. However, more than a mystery, it is also something of an examination of what it was to dedicate your life to service. Grace was a young housemaid at Riverton Manor, and the way it consumed the lives of those who worked there was fascinating. At the beginning, we learn 14 year old Grace has snuck her Sherlock Holmes books with her and keeps them carefully hidden, in case they are taken from her:
'Mr Hamilton had been clear. The Holy Bible was acceptable, but any reading material beyond that was most likely injurious and must be presented for his approval or otherwise risk confiscation. I was not a rebel -- indeed, back then I had a fierce sense of duty-- but to live without Holmes and Watson was unthinkable.'
Not only did this instantly endear Grace to me, it was also a reminder of one of the many ways used to keep people in their place - something that never fails to make me bristle with anger. As the book progresses, I was rather delighted that perhaps one of the few brighter aspects of a war-shattered country was many people questioning this world view.
When it comes to the sisters, I adored Hannah, and felt a great deal of empathy towards her. Emmeline annoyed me quite a bit, especially as she got older, though I did sympathise with her at times -- but, more frequently I found her an irritant.
I got more caught up in this story than I had expected, and my hands were shaking slightly as I got to the end of the book, to finally confirm the truth I had suspected. This was the first book by Kate Morton that I have read, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of her work.
*After I wrote that, the sun came out!🌞
I have to say, spending a few grey, drizzly days* getting lost in this book was a lot of fun!
'The Shifting Fog' (also published as 'The House at Riverton') was an interesting mystery of sorts, as we know from the beginning that a young poet took his life at Riverton in the sumer of 1924, witnessed by sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, who never speak to each other again. In 1999, Grace Bradley is looking back on that time, and it quickly becomes clear that the public version of events is far from the full story.
We alternate between the past and present, and slowly, small details are revealed. However, more than a mystery, it is also something of an examination of what it was to dedicate your life to service. Grace was a young housemaid at Riverton Manor, and the way it consumed the lives of those who worked there was fascinating. At the beginning, we learn 14 year old Grace has snuck her Sherlock Holmes books with her and keeps them carefully hidden, in case they are taken from her:
'Mr Hamilton had been clear. The Holy Bible was acceptable, but any reading material beyond that was most likely injurious and must be presented for his approval or otherwise risk confiscation. I was not a rebel -- indeed, back then I had a fierce sense of duty-- but to live without Holmes and Watson was unthinkable.'
Not only did this instantly endear Grace to me, it was also a reminder of one of the many ways used to keep people in their place - something that never fails to make me bristle with anger. As the book progresses, I was rather delighted that perhaps one of the few brighter aspects of a war-shattered country was many people questioning this world view.
When it comes to the sisters, I adored Hannah, and felt a great deal of empathy towards her. Emmeline annoyed me quite a bit, especially as she got older, though I did sympathise with her at times -- but, more frequently I found her an irritant.
I got more caught up in this story than I had expected, and my hands were shaking slightly as I got to the end of the book, to finally confirm the truth I had suspected. This was the first book by Kate Morton that I have read, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of her work.
*After I wrote that, the sun came out!🌞
August 23, 2008
I wanted to like this. High drama and love triangles at the country estate of a rich family during the Edwardian era -- all ending in the famous suicide on the family estate of a post-war poet. What could go wrong? Well, as it turns out, it could feel like a cobbled-together collection of Upstairs-Downstairs stereotypes, played-out female character archetypes, and plot twists and sub-plots that, after lots of set-up, amount to very little. Also, the book is told in flashbacks, and there were structure and continuity problems that annoyed even me, and I think I'm usually pretty chill about that kind of thing.
I just went online and noticed that reviewers disagree with me. They call it "engrossing" and the characters "intriguing." Whatever. I stand by my story. It was lame.
I just went online and noticed that reviewers disagree with me. They call it "engrossing" and the characters "intriguing." Whatever. I stand by my story. It was lame.
November 11, 2008
This book is a must read for lovers of historical novels and enthralling, well-written, atmospheric mysteries, The House at Riverton is a literary feast for those who love writers like Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan or Daphne DuMaurier and books reminiscent of The Forsythe Saga, Upstairs,Downstairs and Water for Elephants.
In this page-turner of a novel, beautifully written and evocative of the era in England prior to and after World War 1, the author succeeds in weaving a complex tale of passion, jealousy and intrigue utilizing the past memories of 98 year old Grace Bradley and the secret she has jealously guarded for over 60 years.
This jigsaw puzzle of a tale cleverly takes the various, seemingly insignificant, strands of Graces life and plaits them with the lives of other members of the Riverton household to form a lusterous braid with a couple of astonishing twists at its end. There is literally not a hair out of place in this fascinating journey through an era of crumbling social barriers and evolving English social morals and traditions.
This book cries out to be made into a movie. As I read, I could visualize Kate Blanchett as Hannah, Judy Dench as old Grace, Kate Winslet as young grace, Gerard Butler as Alfred, Colin Firth as Frederick, Keira Knightly as Emmaline .....well you get the picture. (pun intended).
I look forward with great anticipation to Kate Mortons next literary offering. In the meantime let me offer the following: "if you read only one book this year, make it this one!"
In this page-turner of a novel, beautifully written and evocative of the era in England prior to and after World War 1, the author succeeds in weaving a complex tale of passion, jealousy and intrigue utilizing the past memories of 98 year old Grace Bradley and the secret she has jealously guarded for over 60 years.
This jigsaw puzzle of a tale cleverly takes the various, seemingly insignificant, strands of Graces life and plaits them with the lives of other members of the Riverton household to form a lusterous braid with a couple of astonishing twists at its end. There is literally not a hair out of place in this fascinating journey through an era of crumbling social barriers and evolving English social morals and traditions.
This book cries out to be made into a movie. As I read, I could visualize Kate Blanchett as Hannah, Judy Dench as old Grace, Kate Winslet as young grace, Gerard Butler as Alfred, Colin Firth as Frederick, Keira Knightly as Emmaline .....well you get the picture. (pun intended).
I look forward with great anticipation to Kate Mortons next literary offering. In the meantime let me offer the following: "if you read only one book this year, make it this one!"
April 16, 2024
Ah, well...
There are fake dramas that work so well, that you don't realise that they are fake, or even if you do, you don't mind.
Then there are those where you see them coming from the beginning (a good example for this is another book I read from this author, The Forgotten Garden) and dislike them at once.
This book was an in-between. It's fairly well written and in the beginning I did not realise anything was amiss. Despite the length, and sometimes being a bit bored, I read on quickly enough, because I wanted to get to the end of it. But when I did ... the fake drama came and slapped me in the face, which of course I did not like in the least and the whole experience got spoiled.
There are fake dramas that work so well, that you don't realise that they are fake, or even if you do, you don't mind.
Then there are those where you see them coming from the beginning (a good example for this is another book I read from this author, The Forgotten Garden) and dislike them at once.
This book was an in-between. It's fairly well written and in the beginning I did not realise anything was amiss. Despite the length, and sometimes being a bit bored, I read on quickly enough, because I wanted to get to the end of it. But when I did ... the fake drama came and slapped me in the face, which of course I did not like in the least and the whole experience got spoiled.
January 12, 2016
I really enjoyed this book and Wow! The ending was so shocking!! I was not expecting it! There were so many secrets in this book which made it very suspenseful! I just loved the characters, Hannah was very mysterious and Emmeline was very wild! Grace is a maid and she doesn't want to tell her story about The House at Riverton which is a film and they try to get information from her about her stay!
There was a lot of deaths in this book, but of course there is going to be when Grace who is 98 tells her story! I loved the secrets and thought they were thrilling and some very suspenseful. Its hard to write a review because I don't want to spoil anything! I did think the part when Emmeline went to the fortune teller and I thought this was really creepy and spooky!
This was my first Kate Morton and will be reading many more.
I was surprised that Hannah let her husband and his family control her! She was strong in the beginning and then became very weak! Of course with everything that happened I would be very weak also after finding out what she went through at the ending at how Emmeline had reacted!
There was a lot of deaths in this book, but of course there is going to be when Grace who is 98 tells her story! I loved the secrets and thought they were thrilling and some very suspenseful. Its hard to write a review because I don't want to spoil anything! I did think the part when Emmeline went to the fortune teller and I thought this was really creepy and spooky!
This was my first Kate Morton and will be reading many more.
I was surprised that Hannah let her husband and his family control her! She was strong in the beginning and then became very weak! Of course with everything that happened I would be very weak also after finding out what she went through at the ending at how Emmeline had reacted!
December 27, 2015
This was a good historical read, it has a double story going on for the main character. I liked the good ending.
April 21, 2021
This is not a fairy-tale, nor a romance.
The House at Riverton is the reminiscences of Grace, a housemaid who was working at Riverton for the Hartford family during and after the first World War.
As the story unravels we come to see events unfold through Grace's eyes and hear about her relationship with the Hartford sisters and find out what really happened the night a poet took his own life near the Riverton lake.
Sooner or later secrets have a way of making themselves known.
July 21, 2015
Me gustó muchísimo este libro. Amo el estilo de escritura de Kate Morton, y en este se lo puede apreciar al máximo.
Las fotografías nos obligan a contemplar a las personas antes de que su destino las abrume, antes de que conozcan su final.
La historia empieza un poco lenta; me costó engancharme. En algunas partes también se me hizo un poco pesado. Sin embargo, la prosa, el marco y los personajes me hicieron mantenerme sumergido en las páginas hasta altas horas de la madrugada.
A partir de la segunda mitad el ritmo se acrecienta. Olvídense de apartar el libro de sus ojos porque eso no va a ser posible.
Tiene un final tan... tan... No sé. Fuerte, impactante, te da ganas de romper todo y gritar. Es una de las conclusiones que más me explotaron la cabeza.
Una novela brillante.
Las fotografías nos obligan a contemplar a las personas antes de que su destino las abrume, antes de que conozcan su final.
La historia empieza un poco lenta; me costó engancharme. En algunas partes también se me hizo un poco pesado. Sin embargo, la prosa, el marco y los personajes me hicieron mantenerme sumergido en las páginas hasta altas horas de la madrugada.
A partir de la segunda mitad el ritmo se acrecienta. Olvídense de apartar el libro de sus ojos porque eso no va a ser posible.
Tiene un final tan... tan... No sé. Fuerte, impactante, te da ganas de romper todo y gritar. Es una de las conclusiones que más me explotaron la cabeza.
Una novela brillante.
March 16, 2009
I had such high hopes! Our heroine, Grace, now a feisty but failing 98, spent her early life at Riverton House in the service of the Ashbury family...and then spent her adult life trying to forget about them. However, she's contacted by a filmmaker about the mysterious suicide of a World War I poet that occurred at the estate back in 1924. Is the set of the Riverton drawing room accurate? What was it like being a housemaid? Does Grace have any insight into the circumstances of the suicide? Why did the two Ashbury sisters never speak to each other again after the suicide? Grace may get sucked into remembering, but not necessarily into telling. For me this is the stuff of dreams...an English country manor, mysterious death, World War I...it should be a slam dunk! Alas, it’s more like a shot that rolls around the rim for a while before someone else taps it in.
Grace’s flashbacks are nicely interwoven with the present, and, as always, descriptions of life in service underscore how different society was a hundred years ago. But while much of the story of Grace’s interaction with the Ashbury family is compelling, it doesn’t always ring true. People just aren’t metaphysically “connected” to each other — and across class barriers! — to the extent Morton imagines them. And some of the minor characters are merely caricatures. Of course the Americans are crass, insensitive, and materialistic — and naturally, that means they must be Tories — because IS there any other type of American?
On the plus side, I liked the way Morton portrays the war’s impact. And, in spite of a few “revelations” that were so obvious I think they were probably intentionally obvious (but if so, why??), the twists at the end of the book really do pack a wallop. What bothered me, however, is the way the two adulterous affairs that caused most of the grief were glossed over, as though being “in love” excuses everything, and it’s just an unfair coincidence that destruction follows in the wake of bad choices. Still, this is only Morton’s first novel, and I liked it enough to be hopeful about her second.
Grace’s flashbacks are nicely interwoven with the present, and, as always, descriptions of life in service underscore how different society was a hundred years ago. But while much of the story of Grace’s interaction with the Ashbury family is compelling, it doesn’t always ring true. People just aren’t metaphysically “connected” to each other — and across class barriers! — to the extent Morton imagines them. And some of the minor characters are merely caricatures. Of course the Americans are crass, insensitive, and materialistic — and naturally, that means they must be Tories — because IS there any other type of American?
On the plus side, I liked the way Morton portrays the war’s impact. And, in spite of a few “revelations” that were so obvious I think they were probably intentionally obvious (but if so, why??), the twists at the end of the book really do pack a wallop. What bothered me, however, is the way the two adulterous affairs that caused most of the grief were glossed over, as though being “in love” excuses everything, and it’s just an unfair coincidence that destruction follows in the wake of bad choices. Still, this is only Morton’s first novel, and I liked it enough to be hopeful about her second.
December 8, 2010
I liked the idea of this book but thought it was sloppily thought out and executed. (Stop reading here if you haven't read this book yet as spoilers follow.) I mean, really, Hannah couldn't throw the gun in the lake rather than shooting her lover? Grace couldn't tell Hannah that she didn't know shorthand and got someone else to tell her what the first note said? And why did Hannah think Grace knew shorthand, anyway? She put a lot of work into learning it herself . . . I don't recall her ever teaching Grace. In fact, it seems likely that most employers would have assumed Grace couldn't read at all. Also, why did Frederick let Grace's mother live in utter misery and solitude, and have no interest in Grace, if they had such a big love affair? The timing of Grace's latter day career, of her relationship with Albert, of her marriage, and of the birth and ages of her children was also never terribly clear.
On the sloppy side, I think the minimal dates given for the duration of Grace's later relationship with Albert and the age of their son didn't match up. Much more irritating was the mention of Riverton Hall burning -- a whole wing plus blackening of the rest of the house -- followed by a visit by Grace and her (secret? why didn't she disclose the family tie?) great niece to an apparently completely intact house.
It just didn't all fit the way it should have.
On the sloppy side, I think the minimal dates given for the duration of Grace's later relationship with Albert and the age of their son didn't match up. Much more irritating was the mention of Riverton Hall burning -- a whole wing plus blackening of the rest of the house -- followed by a visit by Grace and her (secret? why didn't she disclose the family tie?) great niece to an apparently completely intact house.
It just didn't all fit the way it should have.
June 7, 2022
Kate Morton é uma das minhas autoras contemporâneas favoritas, sem qualquer tipo de dúvida, porque, dos 6 livros que já publicou, 5 deram-me leituras compulsivas e às quais dei a pontuação máxima.
Meti na cabeça que, começando este mês, iria reler um dos seus livros, por ordem cronológica, todos os meses de março.
Acabei há minutos de reler a sua primeira obra e, apesar de lembrar-me de vários momentos, desfrutei da releitura tanto como desfrutei da leitura inicial!
A fórmula usada pela autora é sempre a mesma, mas, caramba, agarra-me sempre e deixa-me atordoada e órfã. Vai custar-me desprender-me deste segredo e, sobretudo, das suas personagens...
NOTA - 10/10
Vídeo de opinião no cantinho do costume:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prsBQ...
Meti na cabeça que, começando este mês, iria reler um dos seus livros, por ordem cronológica, todos os meses de março.
Acabei há minutos de reler a sua primeira obra e, apesar de lembrar-me de vários momentos, desfrutei da releitura tanto como desfrutei da leitura inicial!
A fórmula usada pela autora é sempre a mesma, mas, caramba, agarra-me sempre e deixa-me atordoada e órfã. Vai custar-me desprender-me deste segredo e, sobretudo, das suas personagens...
NOTA - 10/10
Vídeo de opinião no cantinho do costume:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prsBQ...
February 10, 2017
¡Me ha encantado!, es de esos libros que te dejan un buen sabor de boca y que ha merecido la pena leer. No cuesta leerlo pero sí engancharse. Al principio trata de contar como empezó todo para entender la historia y eso quizás sea más lento, pero enseguida te enganchas a la trama y ahí ya no puedes parar.
August 1, 2019
4.5 stars. This is an absolutely terrific period piece. It felt very much to me like watching Downton Abbey, mixed with a side of The Blind Assassin, which is one of my favorite books and is listed in the Author's Note, along with other works of fiction and a list of nonfiction books Morton consulted while researching this time period.
She did an absolutely stunning job with this as this is a 500-600 page book, depending on whether you read The Shifting Fog or the shorter American version The House at Riverton, and I never felt the disconnect that often comes in historical fiction when the author misses a step in diction or description. This predates Downton but if you have been missing that show, you absolutely cannot go wrong with this book.
Our main character, Grace, a fatherless 14 yo girl, starts out as a maid at Riverton. She was told to seek work there by her mother, who had retired from the same house. There is a lot of family drama, mostly after WWI ends and the young women living upstairs become adults. I'm being careful not to give anything away but there are secrets, mysteries, love affairs both upstairs and down, etc., and great characters you will fall for. The writing is completely immersive and the book is very hard to put down, right from the beginning.
If you live in the US, I highly recommend that you get your hands on the uncut version of the book, which is The Shifting Fog. I always alternate between paper and audiobook when I can get copies of both. I move through books faster this way. Unbeknownst to me, I had the long version on audio and the short version in the paper book (both library editions).
Because the long and short versions begin differently, I knew from the start that there was something amiss. Quickly realized the long version actually has 100 pp more than the short - which was quite a surprise, as often the British version has a different title or cover but I believe it's atypical for the content to be so different. Comparing them, I found that so much good stuff is cut from the American version. It is a *completely* different reading experience than the long one, as various newspaper clippings, letters, etc as well as much of the narrative itself are not present in the Riverton book.
These characters became so real for me. One of the upstairs characters was imo quite unlikable and she gets into some situations that had me docking half a star but I start to wonder if that is actually fair to the exquisite performance Morton turned in with this book. I was also a little offended, if I'm honest, that so much good meat was cut from the American version. I think the rest of the world looks at America as being a bit dim, and I'm sure the 2016 election did nothing to dispel this.
But the Riverton book, imo should be labeled as an abridged work, to be fair to anyone picking it up. I love audiobooks, but I don't waste time with abridged ones. Had I known up front of the huge disparity between US and UK versions, I would have ordered TSF from Book Depository, but I was hooked pretty hard off the go and didn't want to wait for the book to come from overseas, so I decided to listen to the long version instead. For the most part. There were times when I just had to know what happened, and switched to the paper book instead. I'm sure I missed a few things reading this way.
Anyway, I digress. I absolutely loved Grace. I kept seeing Anna from Downton. Hannah reminded me of Mary. I was wondering throughout if Julian Fellowes read this book prior to conceiving Downton and I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's exactly what happened. We go back and forward in time, and Grace as an old lady was my favorite character. Oh I loved her so much. Thinking about her and about her grandson and daughter.......honestly, these characters are begging for a sequel. There is so much more I want to know about all three of them. I found them way more interesting than the two upstairs women on which this plot primarily focused.
For fans of historical fiction who enjoy the pre- and post-WWI periods, you truly can't go wrong with the long version of this book. I will almost definitely be reading this again. And I really need to work my way through Kate Morton's backlist. A brilliant book.
EDIT: I've already changed my mind. This book deserves a five-star rating. Highly recommended.
She did an absolutely stunning job with this as this is a 500-600 page book, depending on whether you read The Shifting Fog or the shorter American version The House at Riverton, and I never felt the disconnect that often comes in historical fiction when the author misses a step in diction or description. This predates Downton but if you have been missing that show, you absolutely cannot go wrong with this book.
Our main character, Grace, a fatherless 14 yo girl, starts out as a maid at Riverton. She was told to seek work there by her mother, who had retired from the same house. There is a lot of family drama, mostly after WWI ends and the young women living upstairs become adults. I'm being careful not to give anything away but there are secrets, mysteries, love affairs both upstairs and down, etc., and great characters you will fall for. The writing is completely immersive and the book is very hard to put down, right from the beginning.
If you live in the US, I highly recommend that you get your hands on the uncut version of the book, which is The Shifting Fog. I always alternate between paper and audiobook when I can get copies of both. I move through books faster this way. Unbeknownst to me, I had the long version on audio and the short version in the paper book (both library editions).
Because the long and short versions begin differently, I knew from the start that there was something amiss. Quickly realized the long version actually has 100 pp more than the short - which was quite a surprise, as often the British version has a different title or cover but I believe it's atypical for the content to be so different. Comparing them, I found that so much good stuff is cut from the American version. It is a *completely* different reading experience than the long one, as various newspaper clippings, letters, etc as well as much of the narrative itself are not present in the Riverton book.
These characters became so real for me. One of the upstairs characters was imo quite unlikable and she gets into some situations that had me docking half a star but I start to wonder if that is actually fair to the exquisite performance Morton turned in with this book. I was also a little offended, if I'm honest, that so much good meat was cut from the American version. I think the rest of the world looks at America as being a bit dim, and I'm sure the 2016 election did nothing to dispel this.
But the Riverton book, imo should be labeled as an abridged work, to be fair to anyone picking it up. I love audiobooks, but I don't waste time with abridged ones. Had I known up front of the huge disparity between US and UK versions, I would have ordered TSF from Book Depository, but I was hooked pretty hard off the go and didn't want to wait for the book to come from overseas, so I decided to listen to the long version instead. For the most part. There were times when I just had to know what happened, and switched to the paper book instead. I'm sure I missed a few things reading this way.
Anyway, I digress. I absolutely loved Grace. I kept seeing Anna from Downton. Hannah reminded me of Mary. I was wondering throughout if Julian Fellowes read this book prior to conceiving Downton and I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's exactly what happened. We go back and forward in time, and Grace as an old lady was my favorite character. Oh I loved her so much. Thinking about her and about her grandson and daughter.......honestly, these characters are begging for a sequel. There is so much more I want to know about all three of them. I found them way more interesting than the two upstairs women on which this plot primarily focused.
For fans of historical fiction who enjoy the pre- and post-WWI periods, you truly can't go wrong with the long version of this book. I will almost definitely be reading this again. And I really need to work my way through Kate Morton's backlist. A brilliant book.
EDIT: I've already changed my mind. This book deserves a five-star rating. Highly recommended.
September 12, 2019
I had lots of hope for this book when I took it for reading. I expected it to be a gothic novel reminiscent of books like The Thirteenth Tale, Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre. Though the setting of the novel is similar, the writing is pathetic and the plot almost absent and the characters totally unlikeable.
I wanted to stop reading it a long time back. There were too many unwanted passages. Then the one factor I found very irritating was when the time shifted in between the past and the present. It was tiresome. It happened at odd times when there was absolutely no need for it.
A book with around 600 pages, the novel becomes a little bit interesting only once we reach around 350 pages. The mystery and secrets are so predictable the book needed probably half the number of pages to fill it. And it would have been an ok read then. But to read 600 pages when everything is so evident initially itself is truly a waste of time. My patience was tested often. I was like oh please reveal the already guessed mystery so that I can put this book to rest. But the author takes even more time adding pages and pages, passages until I just dont want to read anymore.
I heard good reviews about Kate Morton. Maybe I chose a bad book to start with. I will definitely give her another chance. I would like to admit that it's not a bad book. It just didn't meet my expectations.
I wanted to stop reading it a long time back. There were too many unwanted passages. Then the one factor I found very irritating was when the time shifted in between the past and the present. It was tiresome. It happened at odd times when there was absolutely no need for it.
A book with around 600 pages, the novel becomes a little bit interesting only once we reach around 350 pages. The mystery and secrets are so predictable the book needed probably half the number of pages to fill it. And it would have been an ok read then. But to read 600 pages when everything is so evident initially itself is truly a waste of time. My patience was tested often. I was like oh please reveal the already guessed mystery so that I can put this book to rest. But the author takes even more time adding pages and pages, passages until I just dont want to read anymore.
I heard good reviews about Kate Morton. Maybe I chose a bad book to start with. I will definitely give her another chance. I would like to admit that it's not a bad book. It just didn't meet my expectations.
January 7, 2023
It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the consequences of war, Shell Shock, psychological distress, violence, financial insecurity, substance abuse, suicide, grief, & others.
There is something magical in voyaging through time via the story held in a book. When I first came across Morton’s writing it was by chance. Having wandered into a local bookshop one afternoon after work, I found myself drawn to “The Clockmaker’s Daughter” (2018). I have since read this very book twice & am making my way through all of Morton’s published work in anticipation of her April release. Because of fate—a stroke of luck—the tendency for my heart to be drawn to the promise of a marvellous story, I was lucky enough to find myself a lifetime love in everything that Morton has put on to the page.
When Grace Reeves was fourteen (14) she began working in service for the family who dawned the halls of the house on the hill; Riverton. Life for Grace was not easy as she maneuvered her way into a home full of inhabitants who were familiar with her mother, her life, & who felt no need to welcome her presence with kindness. The time she spent waging war against dust mites & saturated floorboards left her intimately acquainted with a lifestyle that was never to be her own. The period of time in which these parts transport the story is but one of two moments in which the reader becomes familiar with Grace.
During her recollections, Grace is seated sturdy in a chair, watched over by Sylvie, her caretaker. The days that once saw Grace roam on foot & attend to the needs of others have long since given way to the final grains of sand in the hourglass of her life; hardly able to escape if she tried. What makes Grace such a charming narrator & main character is her ability to welcome herself as she is into the truth that she knew. Never does Grace try & pretend that she is someone she is not. During her moments of remembered ignorance, poor choices, sadness, & anger, she transports the reader back in earnest for she feels no need to shade us from a sun that rises habitually.
Though this is my second time reading this book I find myself once again far too eager to simmer on the plot; rather disenchanted from the prospect of writing a review. This is always a peculiar feeling for me as I have always loved discussing what I have read. Yet, when I find myself at the end of a Morton-written story I find myself faced with the weight of realization. Therefore, before beginning my jaunt down a lane littered with rose petals & blooming dandelions, allow me a moment of pure praise for the author.
It is not easy to write a good story. Many cultures of people place different values on storytelling, my own people view the tradition as essential; delicate in its virtue & sublime in its vitality. Even knowing this, there are few people within the human species who have the knack required to transport the mind of the bipartisan. Certainly, one can swoop another person on a whim down a laneway riddled with dramatic twists & bludgeoning goons but, to allow a listener—a reader—to walk down a path on their own, guided solely by the words whispered through shadows…that is a skill unmatched. Morton has repeatedly showcased her ability to weave a tale bolder than the mountainside.
In every plot that Morton incites, she welcomes the reader to go through it alone; believing that every reader is equipped with enough courage, intellect, & heart to walk the road that will journey them through time, the lives of the unseen, & expose them to the treachery that exists in their communities snuggly between people like you & me. I appreciate this very much. I cannot say enough positive things about an author who works their skill. It is one thing to be insatiably talented, another ordeal entirely to know one’s own talent so well as to recognize how to shape it into a masterpiece. I hope all readers have the chance to come across books written by authors who care so very much about the work they are producing.
As Grace becomes accustomed to her life in the big house, the number of inhabitants grows. David, Hannah, & Emmeline arrive to spend time with their grandparents & delve into a world of adventures across the property. The Game, as Grace calls it, takes up the majority of their time. Each of the children dream of a world where they can be free; a person all to their own liberated from the society that trapped them into titles & behaviours. Though this particular aspect of the story does not necessarily reveal itself in any obvious sense, it might appear to the reader as though the children spend the entirety of their short lives chasing an imaginary image of life. This becomes a sadder point on which to reflect given David’s wistful choice to enlist in WWI & subsequently die on the field of battle in France.
While reading this story I found myself eager to correct certain actions or behaviours of the characters. Why did no one think that the war would be gruesome? Certainly, many other battles took place up until this point in time, yet many young people were eager to make a name for themselves in bloodshed. Why didn’t Frederick respond to his son while he was alive? How could a parent watch their child walk off to war & ignore their correspondence, with the heavy heart of someone who recognized the dual mistakes played by their persons? It is so easy to watch as a bystander & make judgment calls; I have the benefit of the safety of my home while reading this, and I am not called to the front.
Some people retain the naivety that war is a game. Certainly, egos alter the perspective of death & destruction. Children are enlisted as soldiers, young people are pawns in a darkened arena without a choice. I wish someone along the line might have stepped in, & revealed that death is never so far away as it appears; is a stranger in the night via the creaking floorboards of our houses & sneaks into our rooms through whistling winds cold from their long journey. We would, however, not have a story if someone had done this. We might even have a different life outside of fiction if representatives had cautioned of the world's evils. We cannot alter the past.
Because of this fact, we watch Hannah & Emmeline drift apart from the bond that they once held. Each sister began to grow in a direction that was representative of a desire misunderstood by the other. I found the way that Morton wrote about their relationship to be very honest & appropriate for the time period. Though one might note that both characters could have easily been women in a multitude of moments in time, they fit snuggly in the years in which this story takes place. The relationship & behaviour they exhibit with regard to themselves, each other, & those around them revealed a far larger picture than that which Morton paints.
The plight for freedom, regardless of the cost, takes centre stage in this plot. Our young & incredibly ignorant narrator wanders through life seeking a breach from the constraints of her own life. She no longer wants to be alone but cannot tie herself to any person who would bring her the heartfelt warmth she so desires. I suppose that growing up in the earlier years of the century did not help her quest to find fulfillment. She did not have the liberty of asking for help, of telling a friend she wished they were closer; of spreading her love for Alfred in any way other than in secret. Each other character seeks their own validation in a world that has set the stage for a play in which they hold no substantive roles.
How are any of these women meant to survive in a world where they are not wanted, not needed? They spend their lives on the wrong side of a swinging door waiting to be admitted into the room. I found this to be very sad to read. The conclusion of this book had me reflecting on all the ways in which the characters failed but also, the ways in which they failed themselves. Maybe things might have been different if Hannah & Emmeline had spoken. Maybe if no secrets were kept nothing would need to be kept hidden. Maybe if the world had allowed for the young sisters to be themselves in childhood they would not have felt so different from each other.
There is no way to know for certain that things would have changed if by a single alteration. Hannah was always ignorant of life. She never questioned whether or not Grace actually knew shorthand, she assumed. She never gave way to rhetoric when speaking to Grace because she retained her taught beliefs; Grace was a servant to the house. Regardless of how much progress each of the characters made, they remained stiff in their ways of ignorance. I suppose this is not so different from the non-fictional world which is what makes this story all the more devastating.
If I could revisit this story for the first time, I would. I will read this book again in a couple of years because I find the flow of reality intermingled with the fantastical events, a flash of honesty in a world of hidden secrets. I came upon the final scene this time around wishing that things would be different. Why did anyone need to die? Why is death the final straw for conflict? I do not have the answer to that, nor with regard to this story or in real life. What I do know is that this book brings out a habitual cycle of reflection for me. I cannot escape the desire to read Morton’s books a thousand times over for the flow of the reveal; the deceit, the honest truth of our entities. Our inability to be ourselves in a world that has sectioned us off to be fictional characters in a twilight zone of our dreams.
There is something magical in voyaging through time via the story held in a book. When I first came across Morton’s writing it was by chance. Having wandered into a local bookshop one afternoon after work, I found myself drawn to “The Clockmaker’s Daughter” (2018). I have since read this very book twice & am making my way through all of Morton’s published work in anticipation of her April release. Because of fate—a stroke of luck—the tendency for my heart to be drawn to the promise of a marvellous story, I was lucky enough to find myself a lifetime love in everything that Morton has put on to the page.
When Grace Reeves was fourteen (14) she began working in service for the family who dawned the halls of the house on the hill; Riverton. Life for Grace was not easy as she maneuvered her way into a home full of inhabitants who were familiar with her mother, her life, & who felt no need to welcome her presence with kindness. The time she spent waging war against dust mites & saturated floorboards left her intimately acquainted with a lifestyle that was never to be her own. The period of time in which these parts transport the story is but one of two moments in which the reader becomes familiar with Grace.
During her recollections, Grace is seated sturdy in a chair, watched over by Sylvie, her caretaker. The days that once saw Grace roam on foot & attend to the needs of others have long since given way to the final grains of sand in the hourglass of her life; hardly able to escape if she tried. What makes Grace such a charming narrator & main character is her ability to welcome herself as she is into the truth that she knew. Never does Grace try & pretend that she is someone she is not. During her moments of remembered ignorance, poor choices, sadness, & anger, she transports the reader back in earnest for she feels no need to shade us from a sun that rises habitually.
Though this is my second time reading this book I find myself once again far too eager to simmer on the plot; rather disenchanted from the prospect of writing a review. This is always a peculiar feeling for me as I have always loved discussing what I have read. Yet, when I find myself at the end of a Morton-written story I find myself faced with the weight of realization. Therefore, before beginning my jaunt down a lane littered with rose petals & blooming dandelions, allow me a moment of pure praise for the author.
It is not easy to write a good story. Many cultures of people place different values on storytelling, my own people view the tradition as essential; delicate in its virtue & sublime in its vitality. Even knowing this, there are few people within the human species who have the knack required to transport the mind of the bipartisan. Certainly, one can swoop another person on a whim down a laneway riddled with dramatic twists & bludgeoning goons but, to allow a listener—a reader—to walk down a path on their own, guided solely by the words whispered through shadows…that is a skill unmatched. Morton has repeatedly showcased her ability to weave a tale bolder than the mountainside.
In every plot that Morton incites, she welcomes the reader to go through it alone; believing that every reader is equipped with enough courage, intellect, & heart to walk the road that will journey them through time, the lives of the unseen, & expose them to the treachery that exists in their communities snuggly between people like you & me. I appreciate this very much. I cannot say enough positive things about an author who works their skill. It is one thing to be insatiably talented, another ordeal entirely to know one’s own talent so well as to recognize how to shape it into a masterpiece. I hope all readers have the chance to come across books written by authors who care so very much about the work they are producing.
As Grace becomes accustomed to her life in the big house, the number of inhabitants grows. David, Hannah, & Emmeline arrive to spend time with their grandparents & delve into a world of adventures across the property. The Game, as Grace calls it, takes up the majority of their time. Each of the children dream of a world where they can be free; a person all to their own liberated from the society that trapped them into titles & behaviours. Though this particular aspect of the story does not necessarily reveal itself in any obvious sense, it might appear to the reader as though the children spend the entirety of their short lives chasing an imaginary image of life. This becomes a sadder point on which to reflect given David’s wistful choice to enlist in WWI & subsequently die on the field of battle in France.
While reading this story I found myself eager to correct certain actions or behaviours of the characters. Why did no one think that the war would be gruesome? Certainly, many other battles took place up until this point in time, yet many young people were eager to make a name for themselves in bloodshed. Why didn’t Frederick respond to his son while he was alive? How could a parent watch their child walk off to war & ignore their correspondence, with the heavy heart of someone who recognized the dual mistakes played by their persons? It is so easy to watch as a bystander & make judgment calls; I have the benefit of the safety of my home while reading this, and I am not called to the front.
Some people retain the naivety that war is a game. Certainly, egos alter the perspective of death & destruction. Children are enlisted as soldiers, young people are pawns in a darkened arena without a choice. I wish someone along the line might have stepped in, & revealed that death is never so far away as it appears; is a stranger in the night via the creaking floorboards of our houses & sneaks into our rooms through whistling winds cold from their long journey. We would, however, not have a story if someone had done this. We might even have a different life outside of fiction if representatives had cautioned of the world's evils. We cannot alter the past.
Because of this fact, we watch Hannah & Emmeline drift apart from the bond that they once held. Each sister began to grow in a direction that was representative of a desire misunderstood by the other. I found the way that Morton wrote about their relationship to be very honest & appropriate for the time period. Though one might note that both characters could have easily been women in a multitude of moments in time, they fit snuggly in the years in which this story takes place. The relationship & behaviour they exhibit with regard to themselves, each other, & those around them revealed a far larger picture than that which Morton paints.
The plight for freedom, regardless of the cost, takes centre stage in this plot. Our young & incredibly ignorant narrator wanders through life seeking a breach from the constraints of her own life. She no longer wants to be alone but cannot tie herself to any person who would bring her the heartfelt warmth she so desires. I suppose that growing up in the earlier years of the century did not help her quest to find fulfillment. She did not have the liberty of asking for help, of telling a friend she wished they were closer; of spreading her love for Alfred in any way other than in secret. Each other character seeks their own validation in a world that has set the stage for a play in which they hold no substantive roles.
How are any of these women meant to survive in a world where they are not wanted, not needed? They spend their lives on the wrong side of a swinging door waiting to be admitted into the room. I found this to be very sad to read. The conclusion of this book had me reflecting on all the ways in which the characters failed but also, the ways in which they failed themselves. Maybe things might have been different if Hannah & Emmeline had spoken. Maybe if no secrets were kept nothing would need to be kept hidden. Maybe if the world had allowed for the young sisters to be themselves in childhood they would not have felt so different from each other.
There is no way to know for certain that things would have changed if by a single alteration. Hannah was always ignorant of life. She never questioned whether or not Grace actually knew shorthand, she assumed. She never gave way to rhetoric when speaking to Grace because she retained her taught beliefs; Grace was a servant to the house. Regardless of how much progress each of the characters made, they remained stiff in their ways of ignorance. I suppose this is not so different from the non-fictional world which is what makes this story all the more devastating.
If I could revisit this story for the first time, I would. I will read this book again in a couple of years because I find the flow of reality intermingled with the fantastical events, a flash of honesty in a world of hidden secrets. I came upon the final scene this time around wishing that things would be different. Why did anyone need to die? Why is death the final straw for conflict? I do not have the answer to that, nor with regard to this story or in real life. What I do know is that this book brings out a habitual cycle of reflection for me. I cannot escape the desire to read Morton’s books a thousand times over for the flow of the reveal; the deceit, the honest truth of our entities. Our inability to be ourselves in a world that has sectioned us off to be fictional characters in a twilight zone of our dreams.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2023
Czuję pustkę.
Uwielbiam klimat książek jaki tworzy Kate Morton. Zżyłam się z bohaterami, przez co nie mogłam oderwać się od ich historii. Tak bardzo pokochałam tę historię, ten klimat. Były momenty gdzie trochę dłużyła mi się książka, aczkolwiek całokształt- przecudowny. Polecam!!!
Uwielbiam klimat książek jaki tworzy Kate Morton. Zżyłam się z bohaterami, przez co nie mogłam oderwać się od ich historii. Tak bardzo pokochałam tę historię, ten klimat. Były momenty gdzie trochę dłużyła mi się książka, aczkolwiek całokształt- przecudowny. Polecam!!!
February 7, 2017
I had been excited to try a Kate Morton book for quite some time. I'd been so sure she'd be an author I love that I had already purchased four of her books. So it is with regret that I write this review. Sigh.
I loved Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day. And I like Downton Abbey. So The House at Riverton seemed like a sure bet. It actually did feel almost like a mashup of The Remains of the Day, and Downton Abbey, but Riverton was lacking the things that make them great. The Remains of the Day has so much character development. It has subtle yet intense emotion. But The House at Riverton felt bland. Grace was our narrator, but I felt nothing for her. She was too outside the story to make a reader feel connected to the sisters, but she also didn't give much of herself to make a reader feel connected to her. Downton Abbey is full of interesting characters and lots of drama. While The House at Riverton promised suspense and passion, the majority of the book was dry and dull. The suspense and passion here was confined to the last 100 pages, mostly only the last 50. The book is 470 pages long. That's way too much time to build up to a final scene of drama.
I'm sure I'll try another Kate Morton book sometime. I've heard that her others are better than this one, but after reading this, they won't be at the top of my list.
I loved Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day. And I like Downton Abbey. So The House at Riverton seemed like a sure bet. It actually did feel almost like a mashup of The Remains of the Day, and Downton Abbey, but Riverton was lacking the things that make them great. The Remains of the Day has so much character development. It has subtle yet intense emotion. But The House at Riverton felt bland. Grace was our narrator, but I felt nothing for her. She was too outside the story to make a reader feel connected to the sisters, but she also didn't give much of herself to make a reader feel connected to her. Downton Abbey is full of interesting characters and lots of drama. While The House at Riverton promised suspense and passion, the majority of the book was dry and dull. The suspense and passion here was confined to the last 100 pages, mostly only the last 50. The book is 470 pages long. That's way too much time to build up to a final scene of drama.
I'm sure I'll try another Kate Morton book sometime. I've heard that her others are better than this one, but after reading this, they won't be at the top of my list.
March 28, 2022
Achei que esta leitura ia ser maravilhosa, mas não senti empatia nenhuma pelas personagens. A Hannah ainda me conseguiu despertar um pouco de compaixão, mas só. A história não me prendeu e achei-a previsível e arrastada. E a Grace, senhores, achei-a uma protagonista/narradora muito fraquinha, talvez tenha de lhe dar o desconto da idade, afinal tem 99 anos quando o livro começa. Não foi uma boa estreia com esta autora, com muita pena minha, pois este livro foi lido para o projeto da Ana Lopes de releitura dos livros da Kate Morton.
October 22, 2013
This is Kate Morton's debut novel and she's clearly still finding her feet here. It's not bad, but it absolutely pales in comparison to her other three. If I had to do it over again I'd spend my time reading something else.
July 13, 2018
This was so unbelievably sad in so many ways but so good too. Riddled with darkness and lightness and secrets. I absolutely loved the mysteries as they all slowly unfolded and everyone's lives, their passions, their secrets, were revealed.
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