Rutherford Park by
Elizabeth Cooke
Snow had fallen in the night, and now the great house, standing at
the head of the valley, seemed like a five-hundred-year old ship sailing in a
white ocean…
For the Cavendish family, Rutherford Park is much more than a
place to call home. It is a way of life marked by rigid rules and lavish
rewards, governed by unspoken desires…
Lady of the house Octavia Cavendish lives like a bird in a gilded
cage. With her family’s fortune, her husband, William, has made significant
additions to the estate, but he too feels bound—by the obligations of his title
as well as his vows. Their son, Harry, is expected to follow in his footsteps,
but the boy has dreams of his own, like pursuing the new adventure of aerial
flight. Meanwhile, below stairs, a housemaid named Emily holds a secret that
could undo the Cavendish name.
On Christmas Eve 1913, Octavia catches a glimpse of her husband in
an intimate moment with his beautiful and scandalous distant cousin. She then
spies the housemaid Emily out in the snow, walking toward the river, about to
make her own secret known to the world. As the clouds of war gather on the
horizon, an epic tale of longing and betrayal is about to unfold at Rutherford
Park…
I was reading
through a few books inspired by, or similar to Downton Abbey when I came upon
Rutherford Park. I wasn't expecting much
because the previous novels were definitely of the derivative kind. But from
the first chapter on, I knew Rutherford Park was going to be different. It was
excellent through and through, often surprising me with where it was going and
how the author chose to portray the characters. They are fully fleshed out and
more complex than I had expected. As good as Downton Abbey? Maybe even
better...
Wow, that's high praise! I do love this time period in history. Thanks for the review!
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