If you’re a fan of Victorian literature, then this new book is basically made for you, but someone who is also obsessed with the genre. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall [Buy Bookshop Amazon] is the debut novel from Katie Lumsden. She’s a BookTuber on the channel Books and Things, which has quite the following.
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall follows Margaret Lennox shortly after her husband’s death. He left her nothing, so she picks up the first governess job she can get. It happens to be out in the middle of nowhere with a family that isn’t particularly well-liked by the townsfolk. But Margaret is determined to make this work since her hearing loss in one ear and her status as a widow will make it hard to find another job.
Margaret just doesn’t know that there’s a lot going on at Hartwood Hall. The townsfolk think the place is haunted, which is a theory supported by some members of the staff. The town also doesn’t like that there is no man to run the house or that the woman of the house lost a daughter during a trip and did not bury her at the hall. There are a lot of secrets and manipulations happening around the home, which has Margaret trying to figure out what’s really going on.
The first portion of this book moved a bit slow for my tastes, but it was still interesting. It is definitely heavy-handed on the Jane Eyre [Buy Bookshop Amazon] and haunted house vibes. The way this story came together in the end surprised me and I loved it. I wish I could say more but I try really hard to avoid spoilers on this site. Just know, it was quite the twist.
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