The House at Riverton

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I fell deeply in love with books as a child and believe that reading is freedom; that to read is to live a thousand lives in one; that fiction is a magical conversation between two people - you and me - in which our minds meet across time and space. the fake drama came and slapped me in the face, which of course I did not like in the least and the whole experience got spoiled. Ninety-eight-year-old Grace Bradley, a maid at Riverton Manor in the 1920s, has long hidden a terrible secret. Grace is 98 years old and living in a nursing facility when a visit from a young film producer compels her to relive her past; a past that is full of secrets that she has kept to herself for the last seventy years. Later she earned first-class honours for her English Literature degree at the University of Queensland, during which time she wrote two full-length manuscripts (which are unpublished) before writing the story that would become the 2006 novel The House at Riverton.

All set against the gorgeous backdrop of the English countryside, it's a powerful and emotional tale about fighting your desires and knowing when it's time to give in. These developing relationships had an appropriate speed (especially for the time period) and was kept at a convincing level. The House at Riverton is a rich concoction that offers the elements that readers expect from the English country-house genre but manages to keep the narrative engaging by unfolding the story into the present day, allowing us to see the past as something that is still painfully alive for Grace even though for others it becomes merely a source of potential entertainment or amusement. Frederick was a widower and he was the father of three young and charming children, David (16), Hannah (14) and Emmeline (10).The Holy Bible was acceptable, but any reading material beyond that was most likely injurious and must be presented for his approval or otherwise risk confiscation. It was Hannah, in her wedding dress, mud splattered across the front, clinging to the appliquéd roses. While I appreciate the detail taken to illuminate the differences in the lives of the social classes, it seemed to take the novel a long time to build up tension around the incident at the heart of the book's mystery. One of the footmen, smart in black and white, poured champagne into the top of a tower of glass flutes and everyone clapped, delighting in the splendid wastage.

Of course the Americans are crass, insensitive, and materialistic — and naturally, that means they must be Tories — because IS there any other type of American? Maybe if the world had allowed for the young sisters to be themselves in childhood they would not have felt so different from each other.I found the audiobook engaging and interesting as we flicked back through time and the housemaids secrets, as she unveils the mysteries and affairs that happened at Riverton. Though this is my second time reading this book I find myself once again far too eager to simmer on the plot; rather disenchanted from the prospect of writing a review. Having carried this guilt her entire life, and finally telling the truth via the tapes to her grandson, Grace is able to die in peace. In 2010, Morton's third novel, The Distant Hours, was released, followed by her fourth, The Secret Keeper, in 2012. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, it is the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all and kept a secret for decades.

I wanted to read this book because it looked as if it had a lot of elements I really enjoy: Gothic type mystery, haunted house, family secrets, World War I, the 1920s. Then the picture changed and I was near the summer house, only it wasn’t the summer house at Riverton—it couldn’t have been. She tricked Hannah into marrying a young American named Theodore Luxton by making her believe that married life was going to offer her the adventure that she was seeking. ABOUT 'THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON': Summer 1924: on the eve of a glittering Society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time house-maid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide.But the Riverton book, imo should be labeled as an abridged work, to be fair to anyone picking it up. While reading this story I found myself eager to correct certain actions or behaviours of the characters. She quickly becomes fascinated by Hannah and Emmeline, granddaughters to her employer Lady Violet and daughters to Master Frederick Hartford.

Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet’s suicide. The period of time in which these parts transport the story is but one of two moments in which the reader becomes familiar with Grace. It was a time of prosperity and vitality for the inhabitants of Riverton, and Grace relishes her new position. I think many people who aren't familiar with such a strict class system, notably Americans and Australians like Morton, are also intrigued by the thought that there could have been a whole class of people whose unalterable life purpose was to serve others.The House at Riverton is the first novel by the Australian author Kate Morton, published in the United Kingdom by Pan Macmillan in June 2007.