Set in the 1590’s London the story is told from the very different view points of 2 women, Mary and Cat, once like sisters but now accomplices to the murder of Cats husband and worlds apart until fate brings them back together changing their lives yet agin.

There is a lot of attention to detail in the descriptions of the streets of London and the parlours of the upper class, there is one part that especially stands out for me for the authenticity and that was the preparations that the household went to for a grand party. The food made me feel a wee bit queasy! Roasted Porpoise!! Yuck! I’d never heard that one before, mind you I did have a bit of a blonde moment and for some reason I thought that was a hedgehog!! The only explanation i can offer in my defence was that it was about 4am and I’d had no sleep! 🙂

Anyway, after googling roast porpoise I now know that is a type of whale that looks similar to a dolphin. And who said reading fiction novels can’t be educational!

As for the 2 protagonists they are both fascinating and a little bit sinister in their own individual and combined personalities. A psychiatrist would have a field day with these 2. The story line with the curse is threaded throughout the entire story along with an old wooden doll that’s plain creepy!

This book offers so much as well as being a historical novel, there is elements of romance, mystery, thriller, crime and even a twist of the paranormal. So all in all this will definitely appeal to a wide variety of audience.

I think House of Shadows is still my favourite of Pamela Hartshorne’s novels but this one is almost up there with it. If you have read her previous books then you will enjoy this one and it is most certainly one to look out for.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely positively YES!

One to put on everyone’s TBR list! ( )

A wonderful gripping story, wonderfully written. ( )

London 1590. ‘The Cursed Wife’ by Pamela Hartshorne starts with two un-named women in a room; one alive, one dead. And then follows the story of two women who meet as children, Cat and Mary, mistress and maid. Page by twisting page the story of Cat and Mary unfolds as, you can’t help but wonder, which one dies and which lives.
Mistress Mary Thorne sometimes forgets she is cursed. It is 1590 and she steps out into the rain to buy herbs for an ill maid, little knowing her life will be changed. Two stories are told in parallel; from 1562 when the two girls first meet, and 1590 when their paths cross again in London. There is a tug of power between the two as fortunes rise and fall; Cat is envious of what Mary has, while Mary feels guilt at every small slight she has made in her life.
In 1562, Mary is a gentleman’s daughter; orphaned by sickness, she is put into a cart to be taken to the house of a distant cousin where she has been offered shelter. Her solace is Peg, the small wooden doll given to her by her father. When a mob of urchins sets on the cart, one girl grabs Peg and in her haste Mary pushes her. The girl falls and dies. An old woman who sees it happen, curses Mary saying the truth of what she has done will haunt her for the rest of her life. Mary arrives at Steeple Tew, the manor of her relations, and there meets the daughter of the house, Cat. Mary is to be her maid. The two girls become companions, though a pecking order is retained as they grow into young women, until sickness again enforces a change of circumstances.
This is a novel about social mobility, up as well as down, and adjusting to life’s events. It is about destiny; making your own, or expecting it as a right. Cat is an over-indulged child who becomes a spoiled young woman used to everything in life. Though is too simplistic to say Cat is selfish and Mary a saint, you do feel that Cat will always be dissatisfied with her lot. Mary thinks, “Cat sees the world not through a window as others do, but in a looking glass that reflects back what she wishes to see.”
This is a dark tale of bitterness, blame, jealousy and resentment. The two girls are mirror images of each other, but inverted; both start as gentleman’s daughters, both are brought low by circumstances, one adapts, the other does not. This is a curiously modern novel with a young woman confident of her entitlement, regardless of her actions and choices. Everyone, the story makes clear, has choices and must live by those, accepting responsibility for one’s own life.
Hartshorne is a brilliant writer of atmosphere. When Cat marries George, the two girls move to Haverley Court. Though it is newly-built, Mary sees threats everywhere. “To me, the house was a living creature, watching me slyly. Its shadows tiptoed behind me as I walked through it. I would feel them like a breath on the back of my neck and my skin would prickle.” Adding to the haunted atmosphere is the doll Peg, a kind of bellwether, whose painted face changes its expression forewarning of events happening to Mary.
The Elizabethan setting is full of wonderful detail from food to under-garments, but there were times when it became a little too much.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )

Set in the late 1500s, The Cursed Wife begins with a murder. We come into the first chapter to find one woman dead and another stunned by what has taken place. But we don’t know who is dead, and we don’t know who killed her.

Mary was born into a loving family. Then suddenly at the age of six, that is all taken away when her parents and all of her siblings die suddenly of an illness. One day she simply wakes up when her fever breaks and has no family left.

Because her father has gambled away all of his money, and the money her mother brought to the marriage, there’s nothing left to pay the rent. She is then shipped off to her mother’s relative, to be a companion to her cousin.

On her way to her new life, a young girl tries to climb up on her cart and steal her doll. Trying to defend herself she pushes the girl off at the same moment that the cart driver starts driving forward again.

The girl is caught underneath the wheels and killed. In her grief, her mother curses Mary for murdering her daughter. Mary carries this curse through her life, always feeling the pain and horror of what she has done.

Catherine, known as “Cat“, Is the daughter of Sir Hugh Latimer. Mary is to be her companion, and Catherine tells her that companions are friends. She immediately confirms that she will be Mary’s friend too.

Throughout the book, their lives are detailed back-and-forth. One chapter of Mary than one chapter of Cat. Slowly we see how a bright future turns when circumstances, jealousy, and selfishness take hold.

Keeps You Guessing

The progression of their lives from childhood through to adulthood was fascinating. The way their relationship changes so subtly over time made a very interesting read.

This book is a psychological thriller of the best kind. You don’t know who’s dead, you don’t know who did it. Right up until the last minute you have suspicions but they will be wrong. You will have no idea what really happens.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was surprised by the ending. I will definitely be looking out for more from Pamela Hartshorne.

Reviewed for LnkToMi iRead in response to a complimentary copy of the book provided by the publisher in hopes of an honest review. ( )