Mistress of Mellyn

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 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 show more 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

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 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 show more sorts of Jane Eyre and Rebecca vibes. show less

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 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 show more sorts of Jane Eyre and Rebecca vibes. show less

Mistress of Mellyn is a great example of an old-fashioned gothic romance. It begins with the necessary heroine, an impoverished gentlewoman with no prospects for marriage (of course), who is pursuing a living as a governess in an isolated and somewhat spooky manor. The master of the house is a widower, handsome and forbidding, whose wife died in fantastic circumstances and whose body was never positively identified. All this is wrapped up in rumors and mysterious happenings while our heroine, against all her better judgment, begins to have feelings for the man she suspects may have had a hand in his wife's death. It's sentimental, full of cliches, over the top, and immensely entertaining reading. If you like your romances of the show more soap-opera variety, with the threat of doom and gloom, Victoria Holt in general and Mistress of Mellyn in particular will serve you well! show less

What a Gothic! All the elements are here: the isolated location, an orphaned governess, an unruly child needing love, the brooding master, the mystery from his past, and the danger to our heroine. Shades of Jane Eyre, anyone? Still, Holt manages to make the story her own and perhaps makes the story even creepier than Jane Eyre.

The mystery from the past was well done! It surprised me, although the clues were all there. And the danger was terrifying for me. But as any experienced reader of Gothics knows, all will come round in the end. It is the story itself getting the heroine from the start to the finish that is the joy to read. And this book was a joy.

The book is recommended for casual fans of Gothics. If you've read lots of them, this show more book may seem derivative. However, since I loved it, I'm giving it five stars. show less

Mistress of Mellyn is one of the novels that kicked off the Gothic romance boom of the 60s and 70s. Published in 1960, it's a fabulously spooky and cozy tale featuring a determined, no nonsense governess as the protagonist. The two little girls in this are written particularly well, and Victoria Holt does a solid job of making you uncertain of what exactly is going on and which characters are trustworthy throughout the story. The ending wasn't my favorite, but the book as whole is good enough to make it well worth reading. If you're a fan of Jane Eyre, give this one a try!

Victoria Holt was largely responsible for my addition to gothic romance novels when I was a teenager, and so it was with great relish and nostalgia that I re-read "The Mistress of Mellyn." The book is delightful and perfect for a young adult reader. Holt writes with a sense of proper behavior that is sadly lost today. It was rather refreshing to have a character be flustered by a kiss.

The plot is typical of the genre: well-reared young woman becomes governess for naughty/misunderstood/ultimately sweet girl. Girl's father is handsome/vaguely dangerous/ultimately wonderful. Love ensues after the requisite difficulties and murder mysteries.

Highly recommended.