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!
Book Review – ‘ The Secret Heiress’
This book ‘The Secret Heiress’ by Luke Devenish is both fascinating and intriguing.
It is set in Victoria Australia and covers two time periods, 1886 and 1903 which are Interwoven.
All the characters are memorable, whether good or bad, in their own way, such as the twins Margaret and Matilda Gregory, even the horrid valet Barker adding depth and mystery to this compelling story.
The two most worthy of mention and intrinsic to the story are firstly Ida Garfield who in 1886 at the age of sixteen leaves her farm and family to work at the ostentatious home Summersby as a housemaid and portrayed initially as somewhat inferior in her intellectual capacity. Yet as she encounters the many mysterious and intriguing events proves herself to be a young woman of determination and tenacity.
Secondly we have Biddy MacBryde in 1903 who seems somewhat deceitful but is just a story teller and only has the best interests of everyone at heart as she too finds herself at Summersby and brings all the mysterious events together including who really is the secret heiress.
There are so many twists and turns in this novel it keeps you wanting to turn the pages. At times you think very momentarily that it is becoming predictable and then it completely turns and it has become so unpredictable.
After all the suspenseful happenings along the way that really keep you on the edge of your seat the end was very uplifting and you are left with a good feel.
All I can say is that this is a superb novel.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book.
Carol Johnson
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Simon and Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read and review The Secret Heiress by Luke Devenish.
I honestly don’t know how I feel about this book, As Michelle said in her review, and others have agreed “(T)he 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”.
As a result I struggled with the chapters flicking between characters and time periods because I was unable to clearly follow the storyline.
I don’t intend to reiterate what others have written of the plot, and to write something different would to easily produce spoilers. Suffice to say the story contains numerous twists and turns and whilst the identity of the Secret Heiress is obvious from around half way through the story, the how remains an interesting and convoluted surprise.
Some aspects of the story remained unanswered irritants for me:
Why did Miss Matilda Gregory want to employ Ida as a housemaid, not for her servant’s skills but for her inquisitiveness?
Why did Mr Barker show such antipathy towards Ida?
How could Ida’s sister not know Ida’s children?
I also found the rape scene and ensuing events to be gratuitous and illogical and feel the story line could have been managed quite effectively without needing to resort this.
And yet, despite all of the above I was enthralled enough by the book to read the entire story in 2 sittings!
Although I think at times Devenish tried too hard to create twists and turns, overall the story is an interesting read, with strong well defined characters and descriptions of life in Victorian Era Australia.
Thank you for the opportunity to review the secret heiress. I was a bit sceptical when I first started reading the book but soon got into it.
Reading about the 2 different time periods was fascinating and I found it easy to like the characters. I could really picture myself there with them due to the writers beautiful imagery.
I don’t want to spoil what happened for those wanting to read it but if you are interested in period books and like a good storyline then this book is for you.
“The Secret Heiress”
Set in Castlemaine, Australia in the period 1886 and 1903. The story line goes back and forth between these periods setting the scene for mystery and intrigue.
Ida, a farm girl is offered an opportunity to work as a housemaid at Summersby House. Ida takes the job as it’s an opportunity for a poor girl who has been told that she’s not very bright even though she is an inquisitive young lady. Unfortunately before Ida starts at the house her employer Miss Gregory is found dead and she hopes that she is still wanted at Summersby House. The handsome Sameul Hackett the late Miss Gregory’s fiancé does still wish to employ her.
Biddy MacBryde, a young lady who is cheeky and a little deceitful herself is employed by the Reverend as a kitchen maid looses her job because of her big mouth, is eventually drawn to Summersby House where she is employed as a companion to one of the residents. Biddy is also a curious young lady who believes there are many underlying stories about the houses residents that need to be brought to fruition from the past.
With the many mysteries involving a number of characters namely the twins Margaret and Matilda Gregory, and Mr Barker there are many lies and deceitful happenings which kept the story interesting but at times it made it a little confusing to follow as every time I thought I had it worked out it changed, just to keep the intrigue there.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book.
Thank you to Beauty&Lace and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity of reviewing “The Secret Heiress”. I am not going to go through the plot, I believe you would have gathered the story line from the other reviewers. I am going to give you my personal opinion of the book.
I really struggled to get into this book, it took me around 200 pages to actually want to finish it, that is why my review is a couple of days late.
I am glad that I preserved with the book because it seemed to get better around the 250 page(s) mark. I kept getting confused with the twins and had to go back and reread some pages to get back with the characters.
It had a good story line, 4 main female characters and 2 main male characters. To the author Luke Devenish – thank you for writing a novel set in the beautiful Australian bush.
Ida was not the most intelligent girl but her curiosity landed her a job that lead to a world of mystery, intrigue, lust and deception.
Working for the “deceased” Matilda Gregory at Sumersby, an estate like no other, found Ida bullied by Mr Barker, the valet to a Samuel Hackett, betrothed to the deceased. She slaved away, friended Mr Hackett and served her mistress (although no longer there) to the best of her ability.
Little did they see the surprise revealed in Matilda Gregories will, to free a sister “wrongfully” confined to an establishment for the mentally deficient, enter Margaret (Matilda) Gregory. Enter a new mistress for the house of Sumersby and a friend and colleague in Abby for Ida.
Flash forward now to Biddy, a young girl whose circumstances find her at Sumersby, looking for work and using a history of mistruths. Befriended by Miss Sybil, heiress to the Gregory family estate, and finding herself in a world of mystery similar to that of Ida.
The story of the two girls, Ida and Biddy, intertwines as the story goes on, and the years flicker back and forward, helping the reader try to piece together what has happened, is happening and how the story will end. Some you can guess, other things you find you were so wrong about and the last is quite revealing!
I was uncertain of this book at the start, thought it was a little slow to read but it drew me in, had me enthralled and the ending had me smiling. Who doesn’t like love, romance, betrayal, mystery, murder and intrigue all in the same book???
I loved this book! What a wonderful change to read a book Set in Australia. The characters are wonderfully odd and your never quite sure what they are up to! It just keeps you picking up your book to find out what they are up to next, you know something isn’t right but you can’t quite put your finger on it! When it seems you’ve figured it out all of a sudden your not so sure anymore, twists and turns that you don’t see coming keep you entertained right to the end.
I love historical novels especially those that are Australian painting our country with beauty in the words of the book. I justs wanted to keep reading and I didn;t want it to end, the suspense of the twists and turns kept me wanting to read on.
Thanks Beauty & Lace for choosing me to be a part of this book trial. I was lucky enough to read The Secret Heiress by Luke Devenish.
I know I am overdue with this book review but it honestly took me so long to finish. I suffered with a couple of migraines during the reading time and believe me, this isn’t a book you’d describe as a ‘light read’….I found myself becoming totally immersed with the story, the characters, and my mind was working overtime. I was constantly trying to ‘discover’ the answers and detect….I felt like a detective on this journey. And I could not understand some areas when my head was sore, as it hurt to think. Sorry for the overdue review!
This story is set in two completely different time periods. It begins in 1886 in the Victorian countryside. I love that it’s based in Australia…feels more relevant. Ida is a main character and finds herself working in an old Manor House named Summersby House in Victoria, Australia. The story jumps to 1903 (17 years later) when Biddy (the other main character), a young girl, leaves Melbourne in search of a new life in the country, she finds herself looking for a job and consequently, ends up working in Summersby House.
During the time both women are living & working in the Manor House, they are plagued by mysterious occurrences, eerie goings on, strange servants and secrets that slowly unravel. This story has so much going on, I loved the Goth feeling from the novel…that dark, morbid side – I’ve always had a fascination for this type of reading so I thoroughly enjoyed it.
There were a few parts of the story I didn’t get, I did not understand how certain factors were a part of the story…not knowing these details didn’t detract from the pleasure of reading this and I’m happy to say that everything is answered at the end, so nothing is left up-in-the-air.
I’ve not heard of the Australian Author Luke Devenish, but if his stories are anything like this one, I will be picking up another to sink my teeth into.
If you love a good read that completely immerses you in the story and envelops you in mystery, with brilliant characters you feel you know, in beautiful dark Gothic surrounds you ‘feel’, then you have to read The Secret Heiress by Luke Devenish.
Thanks To Beauty & Lace for giving me the opportunity to read the Secret Heiress.
Where do i start ? I was excited to read this book at first and then the complex story line made it difficult to pick up the book and continue. There was so much confusion with the characters and how they fitted in , that i had to re-read many pages again.
Although i love to read historical Australian Themed Novels this one was very hard to follow, maybe it was just me.