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A review by liralen
Rutherford Park by Elizabeth Cooke
3.0
Comparisons to Downton Abbey are inevitable here, aren't they?
What sets this apart, though, is that there's more room for slightly less savoury characters to have their way. Servants do things they shouldn't, and get away with it. They family members do things they shouldn't, and get away with it, one way or another.
The back of the book is a bit disingenuous, as Mary's secret is not the one that threatens to split the family apart -- but there are certainly secrets aplenty. I did wish that some of them had been explored in more depth, as it might have been interesting to take Mary's story further, or Harry's...but there's a lot of ground covered, and a lot of characters' stories explored.
It's an interesting time period, by the way, that period just before World War I -- the calm before the storm, in a manner of speaking. Not only must the family and servants gradually understand what war will mean for them, but the times are just on the cusp of changing -- women getting more independence (mentioned on and off in the book); more opportunities for the lower classes (there are hints of things changing in terms of mills and so on as well, although that's another thing that I wish had had a bit more closure).
Overall I'd call this a solid three- or three-and-a-half-star book -- complex characters; some plot points that could use a bit more investigations; an engaging look at a bygone era.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
What sets this apart, though, is that there's more room for slightly less savoury characters to have their way. Servants do things they shouldn't, and get away with it. They family members do things they shouldn't, and get away with it, one way or another.
The back of the book is a bit disingenuous, as Mary's secret is not the one that threatens to split the family apart -- but there are certainly secrets aplenty. I did wish that some of them had been explored in more depth, as it might have been interesting to take Mary's story further, or Harry's...but there's a lot of ground covered, and a lot of characters' stories explored.
It's an interesting time period, by the way, that period just before World War I -- the calm before the storm, in a manner of speaking. Not only must the family and servants gradually understand what war will mean for them, but the times are just on the cusp of changing -- women getting more independence (mentioned on and off in the book); more opportunities for the lower classes (there are hints of things changing in terms of mills and so on as well, although that's another thing that I wish had had a bit more closure).
Overall I'd call this a solid three- or three-and-a-half-star book -- complex characters; some plot points that could use a bit more investigations; an engaging look at a bygone era.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.