Nethergate

This is a wonderfully told tale by a masterful storyteller. It should appeal to those who enjoy historical fiction, as well as those who enjoy the novels of Victoria Holt and Catherine Cookson. After the French Revolution, the very young, beautiful and aristocratic Isabelle de Savigny flees France after the guillotining of her father. She turns to her cousin in England, the imperious and implacably cold Lady Rosaleen, who lives on a beautiful country estate called Nethergate. Expecting to find succor and a respite from her woes, Isabelle instead finds that, as a now poor relation, she is to be shown her place. which is little more than that of a servant, rather than that of an honored guest. She is manipulated by Lady Rosaleen into becoming little more than assistant to Lady Rosaleen's maid, Martha. Unhappy with her lot and distressed with her treatment, she falls prey to the romantic overtures of Lady Rosaleen's youngest son, Alan, and they fall in love. When Martha discovers their involvement, she promptly reports it to Lady Rosaleen, who has her son recalled for service by his regiment, where he is sent overseas. In the meantime, discovering that Isabelle is pregnant, she arranges for Isabelle to be married to Martha's one armed, boorish brother, George, so that the baby will have a father. They leave for the country where they will be innkeepers. Lady Rosaleen simply tells her household that Isabelle has run away. There, Isabelle meets Joanna, a woman well trained in the medicinal arts, who ends up helping her in a way that Isabelle could never imagine. After giving birth to a beautiful girl, whom she names Annabelle, and who is the spitting image of Alan, her life is barely worth living at the hands of her abusive husband. The fates and Joanna intervene and provide a way for her to leave the inn and seek a better future without George. Isabelle turns her energies to providing for her young child, as best she can. She finds herself returning to Nethergate, where she takes charge of a destiny that will one day see her fortunes returned to her through Annabelle. This is the story of Isabelle's struggles to restore to her and her child the life and place in society that Isabelle once knew. It is a story of loss and betrayal, of love and hope. It is an enormously entertaining story and one which the reader will enjoy.

This is a wonderfully told tale by a masterful storyteller. It should appeal to those who enjoy historical fiction, as well as those who enjoy the novels of Victoria Holt and Catherine Cookson. After the French Revolution, the very young, beautiful and aristocratic Isabelle de Savigny flees France after the guillotining of her father. She turns to her cousin in England, the imperious and implacably cold Lady Rosaleen, who lives on a beautiful country estate called Nethergate. Expecting to find succor and a respite from her woes, Isabelle instead finds that, as a now poor relation, she is to be shown her place. which is little more than that of a servant, rather than that of an honored guest. She is manipulated by Lady Rosaleen into becoming little more than assistant to Lady Rosaleen's maid, Martha. Unhappy with her lot and distressed with her treatment, she falls prey to the romantic overtures of Lady Rosaleen's youngest son, Alan, and they fall in love. When Martha discovers their involvement, she promptly reports it to Lady Rosaleen, who has her son recalled for service by his regiment, where he is sent overseas. In the meantime, discovering that Isabelle is pregnant, she arranges for Isabelle to be married to Martha's one armed, boorish brother, George, so that the baby will have a father. They leave for the country where they will be innkeepers. Lady Rosaleen simply tells her household that Isabelle has run away. There, Isabelle meets Joanna, a woman well trained in the medicinal arts, who ends up helping her in a way that Isabelle could never imagine. After giving birth to a beautiful girl, whom she names Annabelle, and who is the spitting image of Alan, her life is barely worth living at the hands of her abusive husband. The fates and Joanna intervene and provide a way for her to leave the inn and seek a better future without George. Isabelle turns her energies to providing for her young child, as best she can. She finds herself returning to Nethergate, where she takes charge of a destiny that will one day see her fortunes returned to her through Annabelle. This is the story of Isabelle's struggles to restore to her and her child the life and place in society that Isabelle once knew. It is a story of loss and betrayal, of love and hope. It is an enormously entertaining story and one which the reader will enjoy.

A long time ago I read several of Norah Lofts book, but there was a year or two between each book reading, and I didn't pick up on how she used the same places and characters in a lot of her books. So, pay attention--- she mentions someone or some place, and it sounds familiar, and sure enough, that person or place has been mentioned in another book. I have read "Bless This House" twice and plan to re-read it soon, just to see if I can figure out some of the questions I had after reading it the first time. Norah Lofts was an amazing writer-- she could weave plot lines like nobody's business. All her books are page-turners. "Nethergate" is one I had not read till recently, and I finished it in just a couple of sittings. I loved it for the story, the characters, the way she neatly wrapped it up at the end. Also, she mentioned another character in another one of her books, "Jassy", and I'm going to read that as soon as I re-read "Bless This House." All the Norah Lofts books which I have read---- 13 so far, have all been excellent. And Nethergate is right among those at the top. A great book.

This is a wonderfully told tale by a masterful storyteller. It should appeal to those who enjoy historical fiction, as well as those who enjoy the novels of Victoria Holt and Catherine Cookson. After the French Revolution, the very young, beautiful and aristocratic Isabelle de Savigny flees France after the guillotining of her father. She turns to her cousin in England, the imperious and implacably cold Lady Rosaleen, who lives on a beautiful country estate called Nethergate. Expecting to find succor and a respite from her woes, Isabelle instead finds that, as a now poor relation, she is to be shown her place. which is little more than that of a servant, rather than that of an honored guest. She is manipulated by Lady Rosaleen into becoming little more than assistant to Lady Rosaleen's maid, Martha. Unhappy with her lot and distressed with her treatment, she falls prey to the romantic overtures of Lady Rosaleen's youngest son, Alan, and they fall in love. When Martha discovers their involvement, she promptly reports it to Lady Rosaleen, who has her son recalled for service by his regiment, where he is sent overseas. In the meantime, discovering that Isabelle is pregnant, she arranges for Isabelle to be married to Martha's one armed, boorish brother, George, so that the baby will have a father. They leave for the country where they will be innkeepers. Lady Rosaleen simply tells her household that Isabelle has run away. There, Isabelle meets Joanna, a woman well trained in the medicinal arts, who ends up helping her in a way that Isabelle could never imagine. After giving birth to a beautiful girl, whom she names Annabelle, and who is the spitting image of Alan, her life is barely worth living at the hands of her abusive husband. The fates and Joanna intervene and provide a way for her to leave the inn and seek a better future without George. Isabelle turns her energies to providing for her young child, as best she can. She finds herself returning to Nethergate, where she takes charge of a destiny that will one day see her fortunes returned to her through Annabelle. This is the story of Isabelle's struggles to restore to her and her child the life and place in society that Isabelle once knew. It is a story of loss and betrayal, of love and hope. It is an enormously entertaining story and one which the reader will enjoy.

This book follows the interweaving lives of two families. A woman who is escaping the French Revolution runs to her wealthy cousin at Nethergate. The cousin, Rosaleen, is jealous of her and due to the information given by her maid Pratt, she marries her off to an abusive returned soldier. The story follows her to an inn, through murder, into the service of a girls school, and back to Nethergate where Pratt now lives as a painful reminder of her past. The story is facinating in the way that Pulp Fiction is. You really don't know where it is going at first but you can't put it down. I would have given it 5 stars, but Norah Lofts always seems to ruin her own books in the last couple of pages.