The Dower House Mystery A Golden Age Mystery Patricia Wentworth 9781911095873 Books
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Why can no-one stay at the Dower House?
Amabel Grey, a charming and lovely widow, had not seen scientist Julian Forsham since she chose to marry another man. But it is their fate to meet again now at the eerie Dower House, a house whose previous tenants had tended to quit abruptly. Amabel Grey has accepted a large financial offer – or is it a challenge? – to anyone willing to stay in the Dower House for a full six months. A haunted house doesn’t deter Amabel – not until some very nasty things start to go bump in the night…
Some old friends appear – Jane (of The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith); Molloy, the anarchist uncle; and “Piggy”, chief of the CID; all have a part to play in this golden age mystery from 1925. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
“When I pick up a book by Patricia Wentworth I think, now to enjoy myself—and I always do.” Mary Dell, Daily Mirror
The Dower House Mystery A Golden Age Mystery Patricia Wentworth 9781911095873 Books
No tenant will stay in the Dower House. The ghosts are too intrusive. So the owner offers a premium of £200 to a respectable tenant who will stay six months. Mrs. Amabel Grey leaps at the opportunity. She needs the money for her daughter.At forty and widowed, Amabel (Amy) is still young and charming enough to be the heroine of a romance. As it happens, she runs across her former lover Julien in her new neighborhood, and this has repercussions. In her new home she encounters a barrage of ghostly activity almost every night. Modern readers raised on Hollywood horror might not be frightened by these rather mild ghostly manifestations, but their effect was strong on superstitious servants and susceptible ladies of the early twentieth century (heyday of Spiritualism). This novel came out in 1925.
Amy is in every way admirable. Her misadventures make fun reading. I enjoyed having a heroine of forty, and I suspect Patricia Wentworth was ahead of her time in this regard. Young women were the more usual choice in her day, and in the still influential Victorian era. This book definitely has a Victorian flavor, and Amy has Victorian principles.
Eccentric characters abound -- Amy's morose and garrulous maid; the washed out and perpetually terrified maid who comes with the house; the neighbor who is obsessed with roses; the lady new to the area who has nothing good to say about anyone, and says it smiling and fluttering; the suspicious artist who lives with a gardening sister; the creepy medium who knows too much...
Although the mystery of the house is not that hard to guess, I loved this book. It's entertaining, romantic and charming, with light little touches of humor. Wentworth was a gifted storyteller. I’m finding her Golden Age mysteries addictive.
The Dean Street Press editions of Wentworth's books are enhanced by an excellent introduction.
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Tags : The Dower House Mystery: A Golden Age Mystery [Patricia Wentworth] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Why can no-one stay at the Dower House?</i> Amabel Grey, a charming and lovely widow, had not seen scientist Julian Forsham since she chose to marry another man. But it is their fate to meet again now at the eerie Dower House,Patricia Wentworth,The Dower House Mystery: A Golden Age Mystery,Dean Street Press,1911095870,FICTION Crime
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The Dower House Mystery A Golden Age Mystery Patricia Wentworth 9781911095873 Books Reviews
Wentworth's Dower House is an old-fashioned treat of secrets, disappearances, reappearances, hidden identities, and peril. No one is not embattled against whomever he or she is closest to; even the faithful dogs come in for their share of betrayal and intrigue. A spoiler for animal lovers no animals seem to get hurt in the making of this fast-paced gothic treatment of romantic suspense.
A complete joy to read. Though a familiar theme and feel this to me is what a cosy mystery means.
Not my favorite Wentworth mystery, but as always, the characters are well drawn and people I care about in an interesting setting with twists and turns of plot that keep you guessing. Yet the basic situation is a bit trivial for my taste Why do local villagers believe the Dower House to be haunted? Who cares? Well, it turns out to be so well written that I couldn't scoff and put it down. And the romance? Same answer. Patricia Wentworth knows her craft too well to be completely obvious.
Old-fashioned but very good light mystery, with great settings. Enjoyed it very much.
As usual the author has written a thrilling tale that will hold you enthralled. Her characters are always well developed and the plot is as always excellent. You will enjoy this story, both for the suspense and the romance!
"He experienced a very strong desire to quarrel openly and violently with Mrs. Grey who had snubbed him. Civilization deprives one of these solaces."
It's writing like this that makes Patricia Wentworth so enjoyable to read. Another line "To spend money in imagination is one of the harmless dissipations of the poor."
Despite the fact that the plot has been done almost to death since this was written in 1925, and it's extremely easy to figure out what's going on and who's behind the mystery and what their purpose is, it's so well written, and the characters are so likable that it is, for the most part, a pleasure to read.
I did have some issues with Amabel, the heroine. For the most part she's intelligent, courageous, and quick thinking. But at times she can be irritatingly slow and put upon. The opening scene is a bit off-putting where her spoiled rotten daughter plays on her feelings like an expert to get her own way. The daughter is white-washed later, but it was too little, too late. In addition, she always seemed more like a plot device than an actual person that a mother could love and make sacrifices for.
Happily, Amabel overcomes this beginning with an adventurous and mature attitude that's appealing--older heroines in mysteries written during this time period were few and far between and usually had no hope of participating in romance or adventure. However, right at the very end of the book, in order to put her in maximum jeopardy so the hero will be able to save her, she acts in a startlingly dense manner, unable to figure out the most obvious answer to what she's stumbled across.
Fortunately, the end is so full of action and revelations that the reader is swept along in them and can overlook Amabel's unlikely lapse in intelligence at the crucial moment, and then we have a satisfying and delightful romance to wrap everything up.
I'm a fan of Patricia Wentworth's but I don't think this is her best work. Still, if you're looking for an old-fashioned, British cozy, this definitely hits the mark.
I've read all the Miss Silver mysteries by this author and loved every one. I haven't been as enthusiastic about some of her other works and even stopped reading a few I'd purchased after a couple of chapters, but The Dower House Mystery is fabulous. I couldn't put it down.
No tenant will stay in the Dower House. The ghosts are too intrusive. So the owner offers a premium of £200 to a respectable tenant who will stay six months. Mrs. Amabel Grey leaps at the opportunity. She needs the money for her daughter.
At forty and widowed, Amabel (Amy) is still young and charming enough to be the heroine of a romance. As it happens, she runs across her former lover Julien in her new neighborhood, and this has repercussions. In her new home she encounters a barrage of ghostly activity almost every night. Modern readers raised on Hollywood horror might not be frightened by these rather mild ghostly manifestations, but their effect was strong on superstitious servants and susceptible ladies of the early twentieth century (heyday of Spiritualism). This novel came out in 1925.
Amy is in every way admirable. Her misadventures make fun reading. I enjoyed having a heroine of forty, and I suspect Patricia Wentworth was ahead of her time in this regard. Young women were the more usual choice in her day, and in the still influential Victorian era. This book definitely has a Victorian flavor, and Amy has Victorian principles.
Eccentric characters abound -- Amy's morose and garrulous maid; the washed out and perpetually terrified maid who comes with the house; the neighbor who is obsessed with roses; the lady new to the area who has nothing good to say about anyone, and says it smiling and fluttering; the suspicious artist who lives with a gardening sister; the creepy medium who knows too much...
Although the mystery of the house is not that hard to guess, I loved this book. It's entertaining, romantic and charming, with light little touches of humor. Wentworth was a gifted storyteller. I’m finding her Golden Age mysteries addictive.
The Dean Street Press editions of Wentworth's books are enhanced by an excellent introduction.
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