Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The House at Riverton: A Novel by Kate Morton
Loading...

The House at Riverton: A Novel

by Kate Morton

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
1,175793,230 (3.87)96
Loading...
won't like will probably not like will probably like will like will love

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

English (75)  Norwegian (3)  Danish (1)  All languages (79)
Showing 1-5 of 75 (next | show all)
This story is composed of the reflections of a 99-year old woman who has kept secrets for most of her life. And in order for her to pass peacefully into the greater beyond, she needs to share the truth that she has kept bottled up inside. Grace was a 14-year old impressionable girl when she entered the "great house" to begin her years of servitude and loyalty. She adheres to all of the many traditions that were part and parcel of the time at the beginning of World War I in England. Although there are flashes between today's world and the early part of the 20th Century up until the mid 1920s, we know little of what transpired in the intervening years unless told to us in passing. I agree with my reading group on one point...I wish that the author explored how Grace changed her social station after World War II.
I thought that Kate Morton painted the time, place and atmosphere of both Riverton House and London perfectly...often times, I felt as though I was with Grace, and sisters Hannah and Emmeline too. The reader knows at the start that the suicide of a famous poet was not a suicide at all, and that the two sister witnesses are linked in some way by prior events to what indeed happened. But there are even more secrets that are revealed along the way to the final ending.
If you have read, "The Thirteenth Tale" and enjoyed that book, you most certainly with find "The House at Riverton" equally riveting and a pleasure to read. ( )
  knithappened | Nov 10, 2009 |
A very enjoyable English novel; well written; good storyline, good characters. ( )
  lindawwilson | Oct 12, 2009 |
Enjoyable read stolen from work. I aleady had one of her books on my shelf in the U.K., so though it'd be good.

A film is about to be made about the goings on in an English country house, dredging up the past again, especially for one of the few remaining witnesses, a former ladies' maid. A mystery revealed piecemeal by her, as she retells her story for her grandson. ( )
  soffitta1 | Oct 7, 2009 |
I read this book while on vacation and I loved it. I really liked following the family saga and the tension. The mystery was also wonderful. I am anxious to read Morton's new novel. ( )
  JenSay | Sep 29, 2009 |
a nice gentle book about the memories of a 98 year old of the secret she had kept since a tragedy at the house in which she had started working as a housemaid and then progressed to lady's maid. There is a nice blend of her history as well as that of the family she worked for, particularly Hannah, to whom she was eventually a personal lady's maid. It flowed along nicely and had way of uncovering yet another surprising secret around unexpected corners. Not a taxing book, but good for a nice rainy afternoon, or a long train ride ( )
  cameling | Sep 21, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 75 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
For Davin, who holds my hand on the roller-coaster
First words
Last November I had a nightmare.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Originally published in Australia as "The Shifting Fog." Name changed to "The House at Riverton" for publication in the UK and US.
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
People/CharactersHannah Hartford, Emmeline Hartford, David Hartford, Robbie Hunter, Grace Bradley
Important placesRiverton, London, England, UK
Important eventsWorld War I
Awards and honorsSainsbury's Popular Fiction Award Nominee (Best Novel, 2008)
DedicationFor Davin, who holds my hand on the roller-coaster
First wordsLast November I had a nightmare.
Last words(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
DescriptionA story of love, mystery, and a secret history revealed. Summer 1924. On the eve of a glittereing society party, by the loake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hanna... (show all)
Book description
A story of love, mystery, and a secret history revealed. Summer 1924. On the eve of a glittereing society party, by the loake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999. Grace Bradley, ninety-eight, one-time housemaid at Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and old memories-long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind-begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge, something history has forgotten but Grace never could.

No descriptions found.

The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.

Popular covers

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | 45,566,577 books!