Mansions and Madness, Oh My!

If you loved Rebecca and Jane Eyre, you might enjoy this one. The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield, might even be a better marker. A gothic story complete with creepy mansion, a history of madness and fires, and secrets kept. Edie Burchill, a book editor from London, visits Milderhurst Castle. Milderhurst was the home of the author of her favorite book from childhood, and it is still inhabited by the author’s daughters. Of course, the Blythe sisters carry a mysterious, secretive air, and Edie can’t help but be fascinated. Especially since her mother lived with them for a time when she was evacuated from London as a child.

Percy and Saffy Blythe are elderly twin sisters—one who is strong and taciturn, one who is nurturing and more timid. Their younger sister, Juniper, is a creative, free spirit who has succumbed to mental illness. Their long-deceased father was an eccentric author who expected his daughters to do his bidding and how loyalty to the family. Edie, meanwhile, is an only child in the throes of romantic disappointment, and the mysterious Blythe family captures her imagination. Her mother lived at Milderhurst, but Edie has never known anything about it.

The book has a great combination of interesting characters and a setting so well described that you can smell the dank, unused rooms in the far reaches of the castle. The author is a bit too wordy at times, telling the reader too much about how what the character is thinking rather than letting the reader figure some of it out. But overall a satisfying read.