mainly interesting for the servant life detail...many interwoven stories, used major world events for colour ( )

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. ( )

A very enjoyable English novel; well written; good storyline, good characters. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

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 ( )

I read this for a RL book group. I like historical fiction, though prefer mine set in the BC time period. It was a large book, and I was dreading having to read it, expecting it to take a long time. I was more than pleasantly surprised. I was blown away. It was a quick, riveting, fun read.

The book is set in Edwardian England, and in the present day. The POV, Grace, is a former servant, a maid, in a big country estate. She lived in the village near the house and goes to work there at 14. Her mother was a maid there before her. There is a secret about her mother's time at the house, and why she left, but no one will speak about it.

In the present day, Grace is in her 90s and living in a nursing home. She is contacted by a woman who is doing a film about a death that happened on the estate in 1924. A poet killed himself at a garden party. The family became notorious is a minor way. The contact stirs Grace's memories of the events and the secrets she alone knows, because everyone else is dead.

The part of the story set in the past, is Grace recalling the events of her life. It is interspersed with present day issues. She is very old and declining as the book progresses. She is dealing with her relationship with her nurse, and her grown daughter, which are at times prickly. She meets and talks with a production assistant and an actress.

Her main reason for dredging up her memories is not just for the film, but for a series of audio tapes she decides to make for her grandson. He is grown and a successful author, but has vanished. He is dealing with the death of his wife, feeling guilty about it, and has abandoned his life. Grace, with her own association with the death at the estate, wants to explain how you can be involved in events, be unable to stop them, but can't let them destroy you.

I think the issue with the grandson is what saved the book for me. It is minor, but it turns the book into a living story, rather than a static recitation of the past. I always find that looking backward exclusively is a boring way to tell a story. You already know that everything works out or the narrator wouldn't be there to tell the story.

Grace's memories bring the family at the estate and her fellow servants to life. The bulk of the past story is focused on them. Grace eventually became a ladies maid to the elder daughter, Hannah, and quite emotionally attached to them all, but especially to Hannah and the younger daughter Emmeline.

Grace also tells of her life, her lost love, her mistaken marriage to another, the birth of her daughter, WW I and WW II, her receiving a Doctorate in Archeology, working on digs, and her discovery of her mother's secret. Most of Grace's personal story is told in a few lines of conversation without a lot of detail. It was sometimes frustratingly limited. The story of her lost love and her discovery of her mother's secret is woven into the story of the family and has depth.

I found everything but the Doctorate and the work on digs to be believable and a good addition to the story. She was no longer in school at 14, yet she went on for a terminal degree ? She earned her degree after the war as a Continuing Education student and divorced working mother, I doubt she would have the time or money. Then she somehow was actually working on digs around the world, with no strong connection to academia, it all seems absurd.

The story is one of family, of loyalty, perseverance and of forgiveness. It had a great emotional impact, the characters were that well drawn, and the stories that interesting. I was worried that the author might try to emulate the writing of the time and that the book would be slow and staid. It was smoothly written and flew by, I read it in almost one sitting, and just loved it. I found the various members of the family to be confusing at times in the beginning, but just let it roll off me.

I only saw 2 questionable items in terms of historical accuracy that struck me. Morton has the aristocratic household using fish knives and forks, and while they came in during this time period, they were considered middle class and not used. Then a ladies maid would have been called by her surname: Reeves, not Grace as they do in the book. ( )

Ninety-eight Grace Bradley knows the truth behind the incident at Riverton Manor in the 1920s. The incident--the purported suicide of poet Robbie Hunter--also caused two sisters to stop speaking to each other and Grace herself to leave her employ at Riverton shortly thereafter. Now Grace has been approached by Ursula, a woman with a desire to make a film of the events and is asking Grace for her input. With so many decades having passed since that night Grace is the only surviving person and, thus, the only one who can relate what truly occurred.

Grace resolves to make a tape of the events for her long-absent grandson Marcus. Like her mother, Grace worked for a number of years as a serving maid for Lord and Lady Ashbury at Riverton. The story reveals much about the rigid social class structure of the time and the destruction wreaked in the lives of members across all the classes by World War I.

The longer Grace works at Riverton, the more she sees the complications underlying the Ashbury family ties and dynamics. But Grace spends most of her time at Riverton absorbed by and feeling connected to the lives of three of Lord and Lady Ashbury's grandchildren--David, Hannah, and Emmeline (and most particularly connected to Hannah). David is the one who first brings Robbie Hunter into all of their lives by bringing him home from Eton for Christmas.

The story covers a number of years--the events surrounding World War I and numerous births, deaths, friendships, and secrets. It jumps back and forth between the ninety-eight year old Grace's present interactions and her retelling of her past to her grandson through the tapes.

Some of the "twists" are foreshadowed and are easy to predict, but it is still a pleasure to watch the details work themselves out through the well-written story. Fans of stories full of secrets, atmosphere, and a gothic feel such as in Rebecca or The Thirteenth Tale will find much to love in The House at Riverton. ( )

Grace Reeves leaves home at the age of 14 to work as a servant at Riverton House. Now at the age of 98, she is approached by a director to verify facts of the Hartford family and death at Riverton. Flipping from flashback to present, Grace shares all the details of her relationship with the children of the house and reveals the secrets she has kept all these years.

I fall into the minority with my rating, but I'm not too surprised. Overall, I thought it was good - its saving grace being the last 100 pages or so, even though they were somewhat predictable. I felt like the other 300 plus pages were just okay, with some of them actually being dull. I had hoped for more, but still enjoyed parts of the story. (3.5/5)

Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy ( )

Great read, if a little fluffy. Narrated by Grace, a nearly-100-year-old former servant at Riverton, who is party to the house's big secret, which is also the secret of the death of a noted WWI war poet. Big, sweeping atmospheric novel, much in the vein of Gosford Park. Very immersive. Many illegitimate children.

As long as the book was, I wanted more.

In the same vein as The Thirteenth Tale, but ... fluffier. More of a beach read. But a really good beach read!

The best description I can give comes from the Author's Note: Morton writes that she is very interested in works that "utilize tropes of the literary Gothic: the haunting of the present by the past; the insistence of family secrets; return of the repressed; the centrality of inheritance (material, psychological and physical); haunted houses (particularly haunting of a metaphorical nature): suspicion concerning new technology and changing methods; the entrapment of women (whether physical or social) and associated claustrophobia; character doubling; the unreliability of memory and the partial nature of history; mysteries and the unseen; confessional narrative; and embedded texts." (Wikipedia reports that Morton is currently pursing a PhD on this subject.)

Overall, this makes me wonder if Grace is indeed an unreliable narrator. We have no clues to make us think other than what she says; she is our sole entrance to the story, although I think we can assume it is "written" by Marcus, her grandson, and the only one to whom she tells her big secret (via audiotape, to be played only following her death). As a device, Marcus also allows us to be up-to-date on Grace's "middle years," those following Ruth's birth and her experience as a nurse in WWII but before we meet her in her final days. (We don't learn much, only that she gets a relatively happy ending.) But we do depend on Grace's interpretation of everything, and in some cases on what Hannah told Grace after much time had passed. There's room for her to disguise facts, to interpret them, but we have no basis for knowing if or when she does.

Morton goes on to recommend:
Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Chatham School Affair, by Thomas H Cook
Possession, by AS Byatt
The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood
Half Broken Things, by Morag Joss
A Dark-Adapted Eye, by Barbara Vine

As sources, she cites:
The Rare and the Beautiful, by Cressida Connolly
1939: The Last Season, by Anne de Courcy
The Viceroy's Daughter, by Anne De Courcy
Vita, by Victoria Glendinning
The Mitford Girls, by Mary S Lovell
Life in a Cold Climate, by Laura Thompson
The Theory of the Leisure Class, by Thorstein Veblen
Historical information found in the works of: Nancy Mitford, Evelyn Waugh, Daphne de Maurier, F Scott Fitzgerald, Michael Arlen, Noel Coward and HV Morton. ( )

In a nut shell, I liked it. It reminded me of Atonement and The Blind Assassin. So if you liked either of those books, well, it's similar themed. That said, Ian McEwan pulled off a great story in a whole lot less number of pages. At almost five hundred pages, it was a tad bit long.

Here's the plot...and I can't give too much away because there's a mystery, well, I don't want to spoil that for you.

Present day: A movie is being made about the legendary Riverton House and the one fateful night in 1924 when a young poet shot himself, witnessed only by the two young wealthy daughters of the manor, Emmeline and Hannah. Why did he do it? Was it over the sparkly celebutante Emmeline or over the beautiful but married elder sister?

Only one person alive knows the truth. Now an elderly lady, Grace was just a girl when she started working at the Riverton House. She was the same age as Hannah and grew up fascinated by the glamorous Riverton children. Grace finally reveals the truth behind a horrible incident that happened at the Riverton House.

It is a beautiful story. The way the story unfolds and flashes back and forth in time. I really felt swept back in time to when young men were going off to fight in the Great War and the loss everyone felt afterwards when a whole generation of young men were gone. And the roaring twenties that Emmeline thrived in. And Hannah. I liked Hannah. She reminded me of my sister, so strong-willed and beautiful.

At times I felt like Grace was just a tad bit obsessed with the Riverton House. But then again I think that was the point. And while the book was a bit too long, it did totally immerse me in the story and time-period. After a certain point, I knew what happened that night...and then there was still a twist! ( )

In 1999, Grace Reeves, a 99 year old woman living in a nursing home, is contacted by a film director who is making a movie of the apparent suicide in 1924, of a young poet. The death occured at a high society party hosted by the wealthy Harford family at their Riverton estate where Grace was employed as a maid for the family and she is the last person living whose memories can perhaps add authenticity to the film. As Grace is flooded with memories of the long ago past and it's tragedies, she begins to tell the tale in tape recordings meant for her grandson. It is through these recordings that the reader learns of Grace's ten year relationship with the Hartford daughters, Hannah and Emmeline, who, along with Grace, witness the death of the poet on that long ago night. ( )

This is one of those books I was sad to finish. I wish it would never end. I'm not sure why, but I think I just got caught up in the world.

One word to describe this novel is: breathtaking.

I loved how the book was set up: interwoven with both past and present day; part of a script; newspaper articles; letters.

The end knocked me over like a ton of bricks.

I just know I'll be diving back into this world again and again. I can't stay away. ( )

Beautifully written, evocative telling of tale of the upper classes during the early 1900''s by a woman who observed it first-hand, as a parlourmaid and later as a ladies maid to Hannah, one of the main and most tragic of the many tragic characters in the family. Wonderful author's notes included ( )

I received this novel as part of the Barnes and Noble advanced reader program.It wasn't really my cup of tea but it was well written ( )

The book reminded me of THE THIRTEENTH TALE and also REBECCA...set in London during the time the wealthy had housemaids and servants.

It reminded me of THE THIRTEENTH TALE because it was an elderly person telling the story of her life from a housemaid to a lady's maid to being an archelogist.

It reminded me of REBECCA because of the time and the life style...love, murder, family, loyalty is all wrapped up into a fantastic read.

ENJOY!! ( )

In 1999, Grace Reeves, a 99 year old woman living in a nursing home, is contacted by a film director who is making a movie of the apparent suicide in 1924, of a young poet. The death occured at a high society party hosted by the wealthy Harford family at their Riverton estate where Grace was employed as a maid for the family and she is the last person living whose memories can perhaps add authenticity to the film. As Grace is flooded with memories of the long ago past and it's tragedies, she begins to tell the tale in tape recordings meant for her grandson. It is through these recordings that the reader learns of Grace's ten year relationship with the Hartford daughters, Hannah and Emmeline, who, along with Grace, witness the death of the poet on that long ago night.

This tale takes place in the pivital ten years just before, during and after World War I, when the repressive rules and mores of Victorian England are changing to the less restricted society of the modern era. Morton examines the evolution of class distinctions and the changing roles between the wealthy aristocracy, the evolving servant class, and the repressive role of women.

I read and loved The Forgotten Garden earlier this year, and was eager to read Morton's first book. She has done her homework and really brings a bygone era back to life in a way that makes the reader experience the past, and she is becoming one of my favorite authors. My only small gripe is that The House at Riverton is a little too long and somewhat predictable, but still, this is excellent historical fiction. Recommended. ( )

Was hoping this would be a good read, but disappointed. Just didn't find it remotely interesting - formulaic plot, clicheed characters etc. Beginning sounded like Rebecca, film sub-plot like Titanic. I kept reading which is why it got 2 * but not much to recommend it. ( )

The main parts of this story flash back and forth between present day (or the late 90s) and the 1920s. It is mostly told by Grace, a young girl who worked at Riverton as a housemaid. Grace shares with us the events that lead up to the death of a young poet at a party on the shores of the lake at Riverton. Grace's story touches on wealth and privilege, the lives of soldiers after they've been to war, feminism and the role of women, and how love touches our lives.

Riverton is like many of the wealthy English homes in the 20s - it is beautiful, it is full of beautiful people, it almost seems to have a life of it's own, and it is full of secrets. These secrets are whispered about in town by the commoners and are rarely mentioned within the house's own walls.

The mysteries of this novel unfold beautifully, as does Grace's story, which shows us the importance of living our lives fully and surrounding ourselves with those that we love. I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading about the effects of war on Europe and who enjoys tragic mysteries. ( )

"The House at Riverton" opens in the years before the First World War, with Grace, our narrator, beginning her career of service as a housemaid at Riverton, a great English country estate. Grace is immediately drawn to the children of Riverton--David aged 16, the eldest, Hannah, a boisterous girl of 14, and Emmeline a shy 10 year old. Grace feels an immediate connection with the children, and longs to be included in their secrets. Over the next several years she becomes closer to them, first as they visit the house, then after the death of their grandfather and uncle in the Great War, which leads them to take up permanent residence in the house. Hannah marries soon after turning 18, and decides to take Grace with her as a ladies maid. After marrying, Hannah's life slowly unravels, and she takes Grace with her into her decline. Grace escapes, but only with the knowledge of a terrible family secret.

Kate Morton is an excellent storyteller, and she does a fantastic job slowly unfolding the secrets of "The House at Riverton." I thought I had figured out the "twist" in this book, but was surprised in the end to find out I had gotten it wrong. Her description of life during and after WWI in England feels authentic, and she does a great job capturing the emotions of the different characters. I do wish she had given us a little bit more about Grace--throughout the novel Grace hints at all of the wonderful things she has done in her life, and I would have liked to read more about them, instead of the novel focusing exclusively on Grace's interactions with the doomed Hartford sisters.

I came to this novel after reading Morton's more recent "The Forgotten Garden". If you enjoyed that book, I think you won't be disappointed by this one. ( )

I give this book 4 ****. It was a good story and I found it hard to put down. Well written. Some of it was easy to figure out but I wanted to keep reading anyway, just to see if I was right. I grew to know the characters and wanted the story to continue. It had a great ending that I didn't see coming. I didn't like what was left hanging though. Was he or was he not?

A light but engaging read seemingly about the life of a servant in a big English country house in the 1910/1920s, but ultimately about the family she served.

This would be a good book to take on holiday, it is beautifully written and whilst some of the characters seem very stereotyped, I guess that is simply the nature of the class system showing. ( )

The House at Riverton was, in its way, compelling. Morton does a wonderful job with Grace, the narrator. Her voice is true, her reactions consistent, her observations limited by her experience [leaving the reader to 'wisely' figure things out on her own], and her syntax true to the period.

Other reviewers have summarized the plot, I will merely tell you that I sneaked out of a warm bed at 2 AM to read, laughed aloud and cried as needed, and had a thoroughly good time. ( )

Good story, but too dragged out for me. I love a descriptive sentence but really this went a stage too far. Think if i'd had an abridged version it would have got 5 stars as they story was good. ( )

Got off to a slow start, but once this gathered pace, it was unputdownable! I loved it. It's a wonderfully written book, with great characterisation, and beautiful imagery. Kate Morton managed to combine all my favourite themes - Gothic, old houses, family secrets, sisterhood, history, and mangled relationships!

Highly recommended! ( )