Victoria Holt (1) (1906–1993)

Martha finds herself on the other side of a couple of years ‘out’ in the ton and without a husband, and her aunt has gently reminded her of her options: find a husband, fast, or find a job as a governess. Martha decides on the latter and sets off for a remote manor to take up the tutoring and managing of a stubborn and motherless child with an aloof but also philandering father. The neighboring manor houses a flirty bachelor brother and his meek sister, who dotes on Martha’s charge and show more mooneyes the father. Martha finds herself in the middle of it all, fighting off both the advances of the neighbor and her disturbingly strong and growing feelings for the master of Mellyn.

Oooh, I loved this one. A fantastic gothic romance with all sorts of Jane Eyre and Rebecca vibes. show less

Since I resemble a hedgehog, at least I am not spineless.

This one owes a huge debt to Jane Eyre, but where Brontë's heroine is a meek little mouse, Holt's is as prickly as a hedgehog and has a spine of steel.

Martha Leigh is an impoverished gentlewoman who takes a job as governess to the daughter of Connan TreMellyn, a recently widowed wealthy Cornish landowner. As this is a gothic romance, mysterious occurrences and brooding men abound, but Miss Leigh is too level-headed and sharp-tongued show more to be a stereotypical gothic heroine: she is more of a detective than she is a wilting flower. I also award her bonus points because she actually spends a good portion of the novel with the child she is being paid to educate, something an inordinate number of literary governesses fail to do.

While Mistress of Mellyn may not be great art, it is greatly entertaining and would make one hell of a movie. show less

According to the local Cornish legend, six novices were turned to stone for betraying their vows. They still stand in a circle on the moors, dancing their defiance. The seventh 'virgin' was walled up in the convent as punishment.

When Kerensa Carlee, a cottage girl, trespasses on the local estate to see the grisly discovery, her life begins to mimic the legend. Though her name means 'peace and love' she finds neither as she is constantly striving to fulfill her desire of living at the estate show more of St. Larnston as mistress.

Despite her sometimes despicable actions in the name of her ambitions, Kerensa remains a sympathetic character. Her relationships with her best friend, her brother, and especially her grandmother show a deep capacity for love though her generous ambitions on the behalf of others do not necessarily coincide with their own wishes. I found myself hoping for her happiness and fascinated by the mystery surrounding her.

The story comes an interesting full circle, though the links to the legend do not appear until the final chapter. Though the chapters are too long and it was not the romance I expected, it was nevertheless an excellent read (and an admonishment to listen to Granny, especially if she has a reputation as a wise woman). show less

After a strange and unsettling encounter with a mysterious stranger, Cordelia Grant begins teaching at a boarding school in England. In the background: the rakish Jason Verringer. In the background of the background: a possible ghost.

Ohhhhhhh man, Victoria Holt! As a child, I used to spend a lot of deadly dull afternoons in houses with complete sets of Reader's Digest Condensed Books -- which, as you may be able to infer, contained abridged versions of popular fiction. I read a lot of them, show more and I was particularly enraptured with the Gothic potboilers of Victoria Holt. Of these, The Time of the Hunter's Moon was my favorite.

Re-reading it now, I can dimly see what my eight-year-old self adored about this book: its heroine is (mostly) cool, collected, and self-sufficient, and she exists in an overwhelmingly female universe. Cordelia's relationships with other women run the full spectrum, from her jovial spinster guardians to her silly school friends to her obnoxious students to her insecure employer to her arch social rivals. The Time of the Hunter's Moon, oddly enough, passes the Bechdel Test in spades.

Alas! This is a Gothic romance from the 1980s, so a few men need to turn up as love interests. One of them is creepy and spectral, so he's okay. The other is a Rakish Lord who repeatedly threatens to rape the heroine as part of his banter-filled seduction technique: "He was forcing me out of my coat. I kicked out at him and he laughed." They have a lot of leaden and belabored dialogue. Obviously, he is her One True Love.

The stuff with the romantic foil is dull and offensive. In contrast, Cordelia's visits back home to her guardian are charming and homey, while her experiences as a teacher document her growing self-confidence and enjoyment in her profession. Given the unequal qualities of this novel, I can't help but wonder what this novel would look like if you stripped out Generic Smoldering Rake and just made this a lesbian romance between Cordelia and Headmistress Daisy.

It would look a lot better, methinks. show less