Wentworth Hall
It’s England, 1912, and the Darlington family is on the verge of collapse. With rumors of falling finances and scandal lurking in the background, the only solution is to get free-spirited eldest daughter Maggie safely married off to a rich man. But Maggie is keeping a secret that could devastate the whole family—and so is Therese, the new French nursemaid.
When the rich Fitzhugh twins arrive for a stay at the family’s ancestral home, all eyes are on them as a possible solution to the Darlingtons’ problems. However, events soon spiral out of control when a vicious satire closely mirroring the family’s drama appears in the newspapers.
Despite my initial enthusiasm for this book upon hearing its comparison to Downton Abbey, I am sad to say that it did not live up to my expectations for two reasons: First, the historical setting was shallow and seemed poorly researched; and second, there were so many poorly transitioned plot twists and sub-dramas that I felt as if Grahame were simply going through a checklist. Perhaps more for those in search of light reading than true fans of historical fiction.
