Author: Luke Devenish
ISBN: 9781922052155
RRP: $29.99
The Secret Heiress is an historical novel set across two distinct timelines a generation apart in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It is an Australian novel and I must admit to finding the look back at our country in that time period fascinating.
I am quite lost as to where to start this review, and how to continue it for that matter. There are so many dark and twisted roads to travel, so many suspenseful turns and possible explanations that it would be easy to unwittingly add spoilers and I would really rather avoid that.
I read an advanced uncorrected proof thanks to Simon & Schuster which has a letter from author Luke Devenish to readers of the proof. It tells us a little of the inspiration and gives a little background. Summersby House is a fictional mansion at the heart of the story but it was inspired by real houses Devenish visited.
In 1886 young Ida Garfield is employed by the elegant Miss Matilda Gregory to begin work at Summersby House but before she can start the news reaches her that Miss Gregory has passed away. Not on to be deterred from a path that seemed heaven sent Ida attends the funeral hoping that someone will still want to employ her at Summersby House. By all accounts Ida isn’t a bright girl, all the brains went to her younger sister Evie and the money Ida will earn in service will go to furthering Evie’s education; what Ida lacks in brains is more than made up for with inquisitiveness. She asks many questions and is always trying to learn new things, I think she is brighter than she’s given credit for and it’s just that hers is a different type of bright.
Ida attends the funeral, hoping someone will still want her at Summersby. Samuel Hackett, fiance of the late Miss Gregory, expresses the need for a housemaid – and a friend. She heads straight to Summersby to begin her duties as housemaid.
Summersby is not at all what Ida was expecting; for such a huge house it is extremely understaffed and that is only the beginning of the odd happenings.
The reading of the late Miss Gregory’s will uncovers a secret deception and brings home the rightful heir to Summersby House, her twin sister Matilda. Things started to get a little twisty here. The two Miss Gregorys were Matilda and Margaret, and it seems this second will states that the deceased Miss Gregory was really Margaret, and Matilda has been incarcerated since the death of her father. A situation that is quickly rectified with Matilda returned to Summersby with her ladies maid Miss Aggie Marshall.
The second timeline in 1903-1904 sees young Biddy Macbryde, an imaginative storyteller, lose her employment with the Reverend Flowers. Her storytelling gets her in too deep one time too many and with no family to return to she sets off aimlessly in need of a new plan. A plan that sees her end up at Summersby House and eventually employed as a companion.
Flicking between timelines is quite well spaced and with both storylines based in Summersby House you find yourself with questions and answers from opposite times which is quite intriguing in itself.
The whole situation with Matilda and Margaret got a little too much for me at times, I couldn’t work out who was who and who we were supposed to be referring to. I was sure there were a couple of instances that the incorrect name was used, and put it down to the fact that my week has been pretty all over the place so could be my headspace or it could be because I was reading an ARC.
The Secret Heiress is intriguing and engaging from start to finish. I had to keep reading to find out what was really going on through it all. There were hints dropped but they weren’t always clear at the time and you needed to continue to find where the pieces fell together.
There is deception on deception and it continues to raise more and more questions about who was in on what, and who was deceiving who.
I loved the intrigue, I loved the twins and the way they were integral to the story. I love Biddy, who is a fanciful storyteller with a story for every occasion yet abhorred dishonesty and lies, always wanted to get to the bottom of a situation and uncover the truth.
There are twists upon twists contained in this book so I’m hard pressed trying not to spoil it. There were some elements of the story I guessed early on but the bulk of it really did hit me from left field, or left me wondering how on earth that could possibly be because it didn’t match up with what I thought because of something else that had happened.
The characters are well drawn and three dimensional in the moment but there’s not a lot of back story – which is exactly how it needs to be to continue the intrigue.
The look at the time, and the town and the setting is glorious. I can’t believe that in a small town where gossip abounds all of this managed to go on right under their noses, but that was addressed in the beginning by the sometime cook Mrs Jack when she said they were a law unto themselves up at Summersby House.
The Secret Heiress is an interesting, engaging, vivid and twisted historical look at the dark goings on in Summersby House and I would recommend it to all.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster 30 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading The Secret Heiress so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Sounds very intriguing!! Great review as always Michelle!
Thankyou Beauty and Lace for giving me the opportunity to review ‘The Secret Heiress’.
The Secret Heiress is divided in years switching between characters.
The book begins in 1886 where 16 year old Ida Garfield (inquisitive but not very bright according to her mother) is offered employment by wealthy 19 year old Miss Matilda Gregory to be a maid at Summersby estate. Unfortunately a week later sees Ida attending Miss Gregory’s funeral, the very day she was to commence her duties. Mr Samuel Hackett, Matilda’s fiancee in attendance at the funeral informs Ida they will still require her services. She is to work to pay her sister Evie’s education.
She soon commences work at Summersby where Barker a very unpleasant valet to Samuel bullies her.
It soon becomes apparent that Matilda was a twin, and that Margaret her twin sister will be moving to Summersby with her maid Aggie.
In 1903 we meet Biddy MacBryde a 16 year old employed as a kitchen maid for a reverand. She’s pretty, confident and happy go lucky. After losing her employment and many adventures she finds herself at Summersby where she becomes a companion to Sybil Gregory.
There is much talk between the girls (Sybil being the same age) about a secret heiress.
1886/87 sees Ida as inquisitive as ever discovering facts about Matilda and Margaret. There are strange goings on and she is infactuated with Samuel Hackett.
The book is difficult to review without giving clues to the outcome. Parts were confusing but the book’s completion answered the questions I had. It was interesting and exciting, the characters were very believable and there was a real feeling of history.
Thank you for letting me read The Secret Heiress I will have to be careful with this review as I do not want to spoil the ending for others who haven’t read this book yet, The story begins in 1886 and ends in 1904, starting with a young Ida ( a nosy little thing ) working as a housemaid at Summersby House which is located in Victoria, the house/occupants have a lot of strange happenings and secrets going on, all the characters in this book have their own secrets especially the identical twins Matilda and Margaret this is where I had to really concentrate when reading this book as it is easily to get confused with the twins, Mr Barker is a truly horrible man who gets his just rewards at the end of the book, this book has so many twists and turns it is unbelievable a brilliant book written by Luke Devenish I will be certinally reading his other novels
You have no idea how pleased I am to see Michelle’s words “I am quite lost as to where to start this review, and how to continue it for that matter.” relating to The Secret Heiress by Luke Devenish – my thoughts completely. The book is visually beautiful with the cover showing the glorious Summersby House where much of the story takes place along with the lovely gold lettering of the title.
My overriding thoughts are that of confusion and once again, in Michelle’s words, “The whole situation with Matilda and Margaret got a little too much for me at times, I couldn’t work out who was who and who we were supposed to be referring to.” Thankfully the loose ends were tied before the end of the novel.
Like Gilli and Deborah, whose reviews are above, the last thing I want to do is give away any of the plot. The characters were well drawn as was the historical period it was set in. It was easy to absolutely love some characters and despise others. I agree completely that Ida was brighter than she was given credit for and although there were times when you knew she’d come out with something she shouldn’t have, she was refreshingly delightful. The Secret Heiress is also easy to read and well written although I frequently finished a section and had to “process it” in my head because I needed to make sure I wasn’t getting it wrong and often I wasn’t sure I didn’t get it wrong. I particularly enjoyed the historical Australian background and the way the characters developed over time.
There is no doubt that The Secret Heiress is one of the most, if not the most, unusual books I’ve read. I am thankful to Beauty and Lace and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read an interesting Australian author.
The Secret Heiress is a mystery set in Victoria in 1886 and 1903 with two characters, Ida in 1880s and Biddy in the 1900s central to the story telling.
In 1886 Ida has been employed by Matilda Gregory, the mistress of Summersby House, who suddenly dies in mysterious circumstances. Ida’s inquisitiveness helps tell the story. But there has been a big deception. There is a secret heiress, whose name is also Matilda Gregory (theres also a Margaret) but she is a girl with memory issues!
Matilda’s/Margaret’s fiancé Samuel appears to be linked to Matilda’s/Margarets death, but with the also mysterious Barker they return the second Margaret/Matilda to her inheritance – and set off a series of puzzling events. Then there is also the story of 1903 and Biddy who uncovers further twists and turns about the heiress of Summersby.
I have to say the story kept me guessing but the twists and turns made the story difficult to follow at times. To be honest, it starting to annoy me after a while. All questions are answered in the end though and its a satisfying ending!
A interesting book…..
I love Australian stories, and this one is in a Victorian setting near the town of Castlemaine (where the author lives) in 1886 after the Gold rush in that area.
It is an intriguing story with lots going on, and gets pretty confusing jumping between the 2 different time lines and all the mixed up characters, but it still kept me turning the pages wanting to know what happened next.
Each person had a hidden agenda, which meant the reader needed to guess what the character had plotted, why, and how they meant to carry it out. This was indeed a challenge!
I did manage to guess who the Secret Heiress was before it was revealed, but it was nicely tied up in the story line as it ended.
I enjoyed the book, the tales of servants and staff daily life in The Big Houses in those days, and the historical time line.
Thank you Beauty & Lace, and Simon and Schuster for allowing me to review this book. I am delighted with the variety of reading choices we get to trial in this Book Club.
The Secret Heiress! certainly a book that you have to keep your wits about you. I know I had to reread certain parts to keep following the twists and plot. Now that i have finished, I also know that I will read the whole book again just to get my head around it all. In saying that I did enjoy the book, loved the back telling and relating to parts of the country that I know well. The detail in making sure it kept in time and true to the period was pleasing. Luke has a very good story telling talent, in the Secret Heiress it wasnt until about 3/4 of the way thru that I guessed ONE part of the plot. The book finished off well which pleased me no end and gave it a finality so as to not be hanging on a thread and wondering more. Thank you Luke and to Beauty and Lace for letting me review this book.
Holding this book in my hands and looking at the house on the front, I was immediately transported back to a house in Wahroonga that I used to pass on my way to school. I used to always think that the house would have some lovely stories to tell. I was eager to read this book after Michelle’s great review. The book resolves around a beautiful house called Summersby and being in the Historial era I could visually imagine them in their fine attire.
As I started the first page we are in the year of 1886 and learning about the character Ida aged 16. She seemed delightful and not hard to warm to straight away. My heart strings were going though, when her mother and family members all regarded her as not as bright as her younger sister. In this chapter we also meet Samuel Hackett who I admit, I fell for his charm but wondered if further reading it would change my mind about him. We also meet Samuels right hand man Baxter who I found to be a scarey, creepy and sleazy individual. A character that I just didn’t warm to from Day 1.
Getting to know the characters I was then wanting to know more re Ida, and then it changed to the story of Biddy in 1903. I was finding it a bit hard reading as I wasn’t sure who Biddy was but obviously kept reading to find out more. I was enjoying getting to know her story. I realised she was related to someone in the storyline but not sure who.
On further reading without giving any plots away, I found the characters of Matilda/Margaret who are twins totally confusing where I would have to skim back a few pages to reread what I had just read. Their characters still confused me through till the end of the book though. It was at some stage that I wasn’t sure if I was Martha or Arthur. This is where you have to definitely keep reading.
It wasn’t till I was halfway through the book that I finally got my sense of direction to the book and I was totally hooked and intrigued to see how this all panned out. There is mention of a sapphire blue vial in the book and this had me wondering what was going on with it. I had ideas but then throughout the book they would be thwarted.
Ida, what a beautiful character is she and definitely smarter than what others thought of her. I couldn’t wait to read her story and where it was going to end. There is also Sybil another character that is warm and friendly and becomes great friends with Ida.
When reading you just have to remember that you will be going past and present and once your head gets around this, you will be thrilled and intrigued at the storyline. You cannot help but just keep reading. I made myself a cuppa while I read and totally absorbed myself in the book and the coffee was forgotten and cold.
I loved the ending of the book, Luke definitely captured the moment that I closed the book with a beautiful sigh. Good things certainly happen to good people.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and of course Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity of reading this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I used to visit Hawthorne as that’s where my mum grew up so I could visualise the area.
What a wonderful read this is. With horrid and enchanting characters, great story line and creative writing. Initially it took some getting used to flipping between timelines and I would always cry out when I found myself having to flip between them as each timeline was engrossing and I just wanted to stay with it! But, soon into the new timeline I was hooked again!
This is definitely a book needing to be read with a block of chocolate, a glass of wine and solitude to enjoy the twists and turns that it has to offer.
The Secret Heiress is a rich, historic fiction book set in Castlemaine, Australia in 1886 and 1903. The novel is by screenwriter, playwright, author and academic, Luke Devenish. The latter is no stranger to writing about history as his two previous books were set in Ancient Rome. His latest offering is a rather mysterious one set closer to home.
The novel is told in two separate, interwoven parts. Initially we meet Ida, a naïve farm girl who is offered an amazing opportunity to work as a housemaid at the exquisite, Summersby House. Ida accepts the job because it’s a great opportunity for a poor girl who has been told that she’s not very bright. It’s possible that her intelligence was not given its full credit because she is a rather inquisitive young lady nonetheless.
Ida has a rickety start at Summersby. Her mistress, Miss Greggory is found dead on Ida’s first day. But Ida perseveres because she hopes that someone at Summersby will still want to employ her. That somebody proves to be the charming and handsome gentleman, Samuel Hackett and the former fiancé of the late Miss Gregory who wishes for Ida to continue her work at the stately home. Things initially seem okay but then a serious of mysterious events start taking place and these contribute to a rather strange and vivid mystery entangling all of the characters.
The other main thread in this book stars Biddy MacBryde, a young lady with a cheeky disposition who works as a Reverend’s kitchen maid. Her big mouth sees her fired and eventually she is lured to the elusive surrounds of Summersby where she is employed as a friend/companion to one of the residents. She also possesses a natural curiosity for the house’s inhabitants and what she discovers is a rather complicated story entrenched in the past.
Luke Devenish’s prose is well-written but there are moments where it is a bit too detailed and flowery for its own good. The novel is a sprawling and ambitious one that is engaging. But there are some moments where it is a tad too confusing and difficult to understand- namely where the identities of the twin sisters, Margaret and Matilda Gregory are described. The characterisation is rich but the names are too similar and the structure is a little too messy and this can confuse some readers. Thankfully this is all resolved eventually in what is a rather neat and satisfying ending.
The Secret Heiress is a complex book filled with layers of lies and deceit. It’s an interesting story and Devenish should be commended for setting a dark and gothic tale in Australia. There are some minor problems that let this book down but ultimately it is quite a dark and stirring read set in an opulent house and grounds. Nice.