Farringdon’s Fate
1854. Life at Nettlecombe Manor in Devon would be peaceful for Edwin, Lord Farringdon and his five daughters, if it wasn’t for his second wife, Charlotte. She is determined to throw a lavish ball to celebrate her eldest stepdaughter Louisa’s engagement. As part of her preparations, she engages a French corset-maker. When Madame Pittier is taken ill, her assistant Jane Haydon is obliged to take her place, bringing her into contact with the older Farringdon sisters and the estate manager’s son, Sam Gill. While she is there, she hears strange stories about a gypsy’s curse and a ghost portending death through the scent of lavender – a scent she herself detected, despite the absence of flowers in the room…
I was pleasantly surprised by this well-written saga. There are some occasions when the dialogue seems too modern, as are the relaxed attitudes between different social classes. (Even with permission, wouldn’t working-class Victorians feel uncomfortable addressing social superiors by their first names?) If Edwin is a baron (rather than an earl or higher), then his daughters should be the Honourable Misses Farringdon, rather than Lady Louisa, Lady Victoria, etc. But I don’t suppose hardcore saga fans will care tuppence for that.
A greater flaw is that when the climactic tragedy occurs, it is largely kept off the page and the character most devastated by these events is not told the news by any of the other central characters, making them appear more heartless than they are and robbing the reader of what could have been an emotionally charged scene. But on the whole, this is a lively read, with well-delineated characters (apart from a one-dimensional villain, who is mercifully largely kept off-stage). There are clearly more episodes to come in the story of the Farringdons before everyone can have their happy endings.
