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Thursday, April 4, 2024

The Mystery of Haverfordwest House by Rachel Burton

 


Another story with two timelines.  1933 England Annie, like her mother enters service at Haverford House. Unlike her mother Annie dreams big, and seeks a future without being subservient to the owners and their ilk, who treat domestics as part of the furniture. One day Annie Bishop disappears and a legend starts.

2003 Haverford Houseis under threat of going under and the myth of Annie Bishop is waning. Viola who has worked five years in keeping the house going, now realizes that she has to accept the reality however unpleasant that the house will go up for sale, probably a modern hotel.

The stories from both decades are actually about social change, in the former period radical with WWI And the rise of feminism. In the latter period the bald fact that the privileged life of the “big houses” has come to an end and that the National Trust can only do so much to preserve such buildings.

Descriptive and still very much personal stories of Annie and Viola made for interesting reading.

Sent by Aria & Aries for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.


View from my window




2 comments:

  1. Oh this sounds like an interesting read. I like the dual timeline. Love the view from your window!

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  2. The view from your window is very nice, Mystica. Thank you for sharing! The Mystery of Haverfordwest House sounds good. I enjoy dual timeline novels.

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