Warwickshire, 1891. Recently orphaned and left destitute, Briar Monroe accepts the protection of Lord Danville and the shadowed sanctuary of Thornby Manor.
The great house looms above a mist-shrouded lake, its corridors heavy with secrets – not least the mysterious death of Lady Elizabeth Danville, and the unspoken tensions between her formidable widower and his magnetic son, Gabriel.
As Briar navigates the undercurrents of a household ruled by watchful servants and locked doors, she is drawn ever deeper into a web of suspicion, desire and fear.
Whispers in the night, figures at windows, and a constant sense of being watched leave her questioning not only the truth about Thornby, but her own safety within its walls.
Atmospheric, intoxicating and laced with peril, Thornby Manor is a gothic tale of betrayal, obsession and a house that never forgets.
Stephanie Bramwell-Lawes grew up in the historic city of Bath and studied History and Ancient History at Exeter University.
A lifelong love of literature led to a career in publishing in 2009, and her passion for books has only continued to grow ever since. Her favourite novels include Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, and anything by Tracy Chevalier.
She currently lives in a restored asylum in Warwickshire with her husband and a small feline dictator named Ruby. Thornby Manor is her debut novel.
My thoughts: This is a suitably atmospheric Gothic novel, set in a brooding house on the edge of a wood, where strange things have supposedly gone on. Just beyond the woods is the local asylum for the mentally ill, indigent and of course inconvenient wives.
When Briar Monroe’s aunt is taken ill and cannot meet her, Lord Danville, whose late wife was her aunt’s friend, offers her a place to stay at his family home, Thornby Manor, which she accepts, keen to keep the realities of her family’s accounts from her sister in London.
However, Lady Danville has recently died, the servants all dismissed and the rumours about the house and its inhabitants are not good. When Danville’s son Gabriel returns, determined to find out the truth about his mother’s last months, Briar finds herself drawn into the hunt for answers.
There’s a suitably weird Mrs Danvers-esque figure in the shape of Clara Marie, governess turned companion to Lady Danville, who now wears her clothes and acts as a cross between Lady of the house and housekeeper, as well as its spymaster, watching the servants and guests.
Gabriel has his mother’s journal, full of strange fears of being followed by a man in a green hat, he was not permitted to see her before she died, and his grief has him imagining terrible things.
Mental illness is handled sensitively, certainly more so than in the period the characters inhabit, where just being a bit different could see you locked away in the asylum. Briar’s doctor father was interested in psychiatry, and shared his passion with his daughter. She would have liked to follow in his footsteps, but that path was not permitted to her.
There’s a lot of tragedy here, Briar has recently lost both her parents, and Lady Danville’s passing still troubles the house and the residents. In striving to protect his wife’s privacy, Lord Danville has caused all sorts of nasty rumours to develop, and Briar must help Gabriel sort the truth from the rest so he can mourn his mother and be reconciled with his father.
Fascinating, sad, moving and a bit creepy, Thornby Manor must now give up its secrets.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 