The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, Katie Lumsden
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, Katie Lumsden
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
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The Secrets of Hartwood Hall

Author: Katie Lumsden

Narrator: Olivia Vinall

Unabridged: 9 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 02/28/2023


Synopsis

A gripping and atmospheric debut that is at once a chilling gothic mystery and a love letter to Victorian fiction.

Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it’s cursed…

It’s 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.
 
But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn’t quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis’s widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.
 
Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret’s history threatens to catch up with her, it isn’t long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.

About The Author

Katie Lumsden read Jane Eyre at the age of thirteen and has loved Victorian literature ever since. Her YouTube channel, Books and Things, has more than 27,000 subscribers, and she lives in London and works as an editor. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall has been shortlisted for the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown Award.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jasmine on March 06, 2023

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is an atmospheric and compelling gothic mystery. Margaret Lennox, recently widowed, has taken up a governess position at Heartwood Hall under the employ of Mrs. Eversham. Margaret quickly learns that the villagers avoid the house and its inhabitants. There are whispers t......more

Goodreads review by Dab on February 28, 2023

This was absolutely unputdownable; I spent the last 48 hours either reading it or thinking about reading it. What a brilliantly written, gripping book! After the death of her husband Margaret is left without resources and finds a position as a governess to a ten year old boy in a remote manor house.......more

Goodreads review by Teresa on December 27, 2022

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I was enjoying it a lot and wondering what was the 'ghostly' secret of the house and why there were so few staff in the place and why, why, why everything really. Margaret, who is recently widowed and hired to be a governess to Louis, is the central charac......more

Goodreads review by Wendy Darling on April 28, 2023

Taken as a traditional mystery, The Secret of Hartwood Hall has many elements that recall many of the very best stories in the gothic genre without being too referential. I loved listening to the story, which unfolds slowly as Margaret Lennox arrives at Hartwood Hall to serve as governess to a lonel......more

Goodreads review by Jessaka on June 04, 2023

Desiring an easy read, it was time to try a gothic novel. I did not like Jane Eyre 2 years ago because it was so much like all of the gothic novels that I had read in my 20s. This book sounded like a cross between Nancy drew, her ghost stories, and a Gothic novel. That it was. It was exciting as wel......more


Quotes

A SheReads Favorite Historical Gothic Mystery

"Who doesn’t love a cursed manor house in the remote English countryside, especially one with an entire abandoned wing? I’m looking forward to diving into this modern gothic that also promises some Lady Chatterly’s Lover action (there is a handsome gardener!)."
CrimeReads

"[A] captivating debut. . . . Assured prose propels this well-crafted tale of family, friendship, and the cost of personal freedom. Fans of the great Victorian novels, in particular Jane Eyre, will have fun."
Publishers Weekly

“Debut author Lumsden masterfully creates a believable atmosphere of the age, where science and logic are served side by side with the supernatural in everyday life.”
Booklist

“In her atmospheric debut, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, Katie Lumsden enthralls us with a quintessential manor-home mystery. Fans of gothic literature will savor the peculiar characters, the abandoned corridors, the deceptions and twists behind every door... Ultimately a story about women and the haunting secrets they keep, Lumsden's debut reminds us never to trust first appearances. A mesmerizing debut!”
Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is exactly the book you want on a cold, stormy night when the wind is sneaking in the cracks. A thoroughly impressive debut with fantastically timed surprises throughout.”
Lyndsay Faye, author of The King of Inifinite Space and Jane Steele

“I loved this fresh take on the gothic genre. Vivid, haunting, surprising.” 
—Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars

"A full-blooded Gothic mystery with bite, great characterization and heaps of atmosphere. What a debut." 
—Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters

“This book delivers HUGE Jane Eyre vibes, gothic and mysterious Victoriana. I LOVED it.”
Sophie Irwin, author of A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting

"Incredibly rich prose in this absorbing, deeply atmospheric story of governess, Margaret Lennox. A brilliant love letter to classic Victorian fiction and a standout debut."
—Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author

"The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is an easy book to read. It is fun to dive into the details of life in 1852."
Mystery and Suspense Magazine

"We have all the classic ingredients for a gothic and romantic mystery.... Full marks for the narrative drive and absorbing plot...a very capable and entertaining debut."
—Historical Novel Society