Author: Kate Riordan
Publisher: Harper
Date of publication: February 2015
In 1933, naive twenty-two-year-old Alice is pregnant,
unmarried, and disgraced. She can no longer share her parents’ London home, so
her desperate mother concocts a cover story and begs her old friend, Mrs.
Jelphs, for help. The housekeeper at rural Fiercombe Manor, Mrs. Jelphs is
moved by Alice’s “plight” as a new widow and agrees to watch over her in the
secluded English countryside until the baby is born and given up for adoption.
Because the manor house’s owners, Lord and Lady Stanton, no longer live there,
Alice’s only company will be Mrs. Jelphs and her skeleton staff.
Thirty years before Alice’s arrival, Lady Elizabeth Stanton awaits
the birth of her second child, fervently hoping he will be the boy her husband
desires. But as her time nears, she is increasingly tormented by memories of
what happened with her first baby and terrified that history will repeat itself
. . . with devastating consequences.
At first, Fiercombe Manor offers Alice a welcome relief from
her mother’s disapproving gaze. But she begins to sense that all is not well in
the picturesque Gloucestershire valley. After a chance encounter with Tom, the
young scion of the Stanton family, Alice discovers that Fiercombe’s beauty is
haunted by the clan’s tragic past. She is determined to exorcise the ghosts of
the idyllic, isolated house.
Nothing can prepare Alice for what she uncovers. Can she
escape the tragic fate of the other women who have lived in the Fiercombe
valley?
Fiercombe Manor is a book written in dual timelines. The first being Alice's story in the 1930s and the second Elizabeth's in the late 1890s. Alice comes to Fiercombe as a pregnant unwed mother to have her baby and then give it up for adoption. As she is there, tries to find the truth about Elizabeth and her daughter Isabel.
This is going to be another instance where I find myself in the minority. I had a hard time getting through the book. It was slow to start and just never got off the ground for me. I felt like it was longer than it needed to be and had too many overly descriptive passages. I ended up skipping to the end to see what happened to everyone. But, just because I didn't like it much doesn't mean you won't, so I do urge you to give it a try.
One interesting note, this book was originally published in England with the title The Girl in the Photograph. Can anyone tell me why they do that? I have never been able to figure out why the title changes depending on the country.
About the author:
Kate Riordan is a British writer and journalist who worked
for the Guardian and Time Out London. She is also the author of Birdcage Walk
and is already at work on her third novel. Born in London, she now lives in the
Gloucestershire countryside.
Kate’s Tour Stops
Tuesday, March 17th: No
More Grumpy Bookseller
Wednesday, March 18th: Bibliophilia,
Please
Thursday, March 19th: For
the Love of Words
Monday, March 23rd: Svetlana’s
Reads and Views
Monday, March 23rd: A
Bookworm’s World
Tuesday, March 24th: A
Bookish Way of Life
Wednesday, March 25th: Dwell
in Possibility
Thursday, March 26th: Doing Dewey
Tuesday, March 31st: Always
With a Book
Wednesday, April 1st: 100
Pages a Day … Stephanie’s Book Reviews
Thursday, April 2nd: Booksie’s
Blog
Monday, April 6th: Unshelfish
Tuesday, April 7th: Ms.
Nose in a Book
Wednesday, April 8th: Peeking
Between the Pages
Thursday, April 9th: From the TBR Plee
Purchase Links
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book for the tour.
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