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 housemaid 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.

Set as the war-shattered Edwardian summer surrenders to the decadent 20s, The House at Riverton is a thrilling mystery and a compelling love story.

My Review

This is my third Kate Morton novel and I enjoyed it as much as the other two. I listened on Borrowbox. I will say though that it is very long, especially as an audio book and I had to renew it twice.

I did like Grace, though I preferred the parts of the book set before, during and after WW1. She did frustrate me at times, never saying what she thought to anyone, particularly to Hannah, when she was her lady’s maid. Hannah sought a response, but all Grace would ever say was yes and no. I understand that she felt it wasn’t her place, but still….

Grace first starts at Riverton House as a housemaid when she is only fourteen or fifteen, following in the footsteps of her mother who was in service there a number of years before, but now takes in sewing. We meet the family – too many to mention all of them – but the most important are the visiting son Frederick and his children David, Hannah and Emmeline. Grace is fascinated by them. Hannah and Emmeline will become the focus of the novel which is told mainly from Grace’s point of view.

The war takes many of them and the young, rich aristocrats in the family’s circle soon realise that it’s not something to be joked about. Grace’s ‘friend’ Alfred, also in service at Riverton, is given a white feather and is coerced into joining up. He comes back totally changed.

As 98-year-old Grace reflects on everything that happened to her, she makes tapes for her grandson Marcus, who she is desperate to see one last time.

A lovely book with some really interesting twists at the end.

About the Author

KATE MORTON is an award-winning, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author. Her 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/

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