Tregaron's Daughter

5 stars

Cadi is a Cornish fisherman's daughter. One day, she and her father help to save a man's life on the sea. When her father dies, the man that she helped save comes to take her to his home, which is where Cadi's adventures begin.
Cadi has some issues with feeling out of place, and missing the only home that she has ever known, but she tries to make the best of it. The family welcomes her, though, even Lucian, who when she met him while they were trying to save his uncle's life, she thought he didn't really like her. But then mysterious things start happening, and Cadi isn't sure if she can trust Lucian.

*happy sigh* I think that this is my favourite Madeleine Brent. I was a little apprehensive that it wouldn't be as good as I show more remembered it, because although I used to read it all the time, I haven't read it for about 20 years, give or take a few years. Yes, Cadi has TSTL moments, but they are mitigated by her common sense approach to life, and her efforts to make the best of things. She gets frustrated and sad, especially since her entire family is now dead, but she goes on, as one must, and enjoys the life that she has lucked upon as much as she enjoyed her life in Cornwall.
Cadi is brave, has a strong sense of responsibility and of honour, and tries to live so that her life means something. She is a strong heroine, and while none of the other characters are as clearly drawn, including Lucian, she carries the story.
An added bonus for me is the fact that Cadi has some sort of precognition psychic ability, which just added a little bit of a difference to differentiate it from all the other gothic romances out there. show less

This Gothic romance is set in 1910 in Italy and England and tells the story of Cadi Tregaron, a young girl with a secret past. The plot is incredibly inventive but not very believable. The characters are somewhat stereotyped, and the ending is predictable. If you enjoy light romantic suspense, this book is for you, but it’s not my cup of tea.

I absolutely adore this story. Madeleine Brent has been one of my favorite authors since I was a teenager and Tregaron's Daughter is one of the reasons why.

This is the story of brave Cadi Tregaron, raised by her fisherman father, who saves a wealthy Englishman from dying at sea. When her father dies, the man takes her into his family as an adopted daughter of sorts. There she discovers more about her grandmother than she ever knew.

The story is well-plotted and the characters have depth. I highly recommend this novel!

Cadi Tregaron is just a Cornish fisherman's daughter-until she saves a stranger's life, and sets off a chain of events which will change her life drastically, etc. "Tregaron's Daughter" sometimes feels like gothic-by-numbers--there's a big house, a lost heiress, a series of suspicious accidents, an Italian count, several attractive but untrustworthy men, etc.-- but that makes sense when you know that Madeline Brent is a pseudonym for Peter O'Donnell (comic strip writer of "Modesty Blaise" fame) who reluctantly agreed to try a gothic at his publisher's request. I think the subsequent Brent books get more assured and more original, but this one isn't too shabby: Cadi is much less annoying than the typical gothic heroine, and the action show more scenes, as always from O'Donnell, are great. These books deserve to be much more popular than they are. Mary Stewart fans should definitely check these out. show less

This book has a predictable plot, but is a good read nonetheless.