HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Secrecy (1997)

by Belva Plain

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
407462,291 (3.31)4
First came the sin. Then the lies. He was handsome, charming, irresistable, and an eighteen-year-old lady-killer, her uncle Cliff's stepson, Ted. But in one terrible night he would shatter the life of fourteen-year-old Charlotte Dawes and nearly destroy her family. Years afterward, Charlotte would remember that night with fear and loathing, with pain that could be banished only by her work as a gifted architect, building a new world for others as she conceals her own. For Charlotte's family, prime employers in New England mill town, what happened to Charlotte was the beginning of the end. Her father is left shattered by his daughter's pain. Her troubled mother is unable to cope. And her distinguished family has fallen from grace, plunged into debt. The only rock that sustains them in their darkest hours is a woman whose own guilty secret has given her the power to ruin--or resurrect--the family to whom she owes her life. Belva Plain's searing novel cuts to the heart of a family ravaged by secrecy. But it is ultimately a story of redemption, the kind that grows when one person dares to tell the truth.… (more)
None
Loading...

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

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 4 mentions

Showing 4 of 4
Another solid novel by Belva Plain. While the twist wasn't altogether shocking, I still didn't see it coming. I really enjoyed this book. ( )
  tntbeckyford | Feb 16, 2019 |
When Charlotte Dawes is raped by her cousin-by-marriage, Ted at 14, her parents are furious. Charlotte becomes pregnant, and as she recovers from a ruptured tubal pregnancy both parents are at her bedside. Meanwhile, Ted continues assaulting women until he is caught and indicted. He then escapes from prison into the night. Eight years later, Charlotte is working in Manhattan and despairs of forming a relationship with a man, until she meets Roger Heywood who coaxes her out of her traumatic fear of sex. Disaster follows when a flood happens, potentially revealing a terrible secret. It was a little farfetched but I notice with Belva Plain that you really learn to care about the characters. I give it an A+! ( )
  moonshineandrosefire | Feb 3, 2012 |
Charlotte Dawes, raped at 14. Family plunged into dept. Mother was frivolous. ( )
  saucecav | May 20, 2006 |
I really like the author's books. She deals with subjects that are a bit taboo but with sensitivity.

Back Cover Blurb:
He was handsome, charming, irresistable, and an eighteen-year-old lady-killer, her uncle Cliff's stepson, Ted. But in one terrible afternoon he would shatter the life of fourteen year old Charlotte Dawes and nearly destroy her family. Years afterward, Charlotte would remember that day with fear and loathing, with pain that could banished only by her work as a gifted architect, building a new world for others as she conceals her own.
For Charlotte's family, prime employers in a New England mill town, what happened to Charlotte was the beginning of the cover-up, the beginning of the end. Her father is left shattered by his daughter's pain. Her troubled mother is unable to cope. And her distinguished family have fallen from grace, plunged into debt. The only rock that sustains them in their darkest hours is a woman whose own guilty secret has given her the power to ruin - or resurrect - the family to whom she owes her life. ( )
  mazda502001 | Nov 2, 2008 |
Showing 4 of 4
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Information from the Swedish Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
A door slammed so hard that the glass prisms on the hall light clashed in alarm.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

First came the sin. Then the lies. He was handsome, charming, irresistable, and an eighteen-year-old lady-killer, her uncle Cliff's stepson, Ted. But in one terrible night he would shatter the life of fourteen-year-old Charlotte Dawes and nearly destroy her family. Years afterward, Charlotte would remember that night with fear and loathing, with pain that could be banished only by her work as a gifted architect, building a new world for others as she conceals her own. For Charlotte's family, prime employers in New England mill town, what happened to Charlotte was the beginning of the end. Her father is left shattered by his daughter's pain. Her troubled mother is unable to cope. And her distinguished family has fallen from grace, plunged into debt. The only rock that sustains them in their darkest hours is a woman whose own guilty secret has given her the power to ruin--or resurrect--the family to whom she owes her life. Belva Plain's searing novel cuts to the heart of a family ravaged by secrecy. But it is ultimately a story of redemption, the kind that grows when one person dares to tell the truth.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.31)
0.5
1 1
1.5
2
2.5 1
3 15
3.5 1
4 6
4.5
5 2

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 205,380,213 books! | Top bar: Always visible