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Chargement... The House at Riverton: A Novel (original 2006; édition 2009)par Kate Morton (Auteur)
Information sur l'oeuvreLes brumes de Riverton par Kate Morton (2006)
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Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. This is another gently moving, atmospheric novel by award-winning Australian author Kate Morton. It shifts between the 1920s and 1999 in England and has elements of gothic fiction, romance, mystery and historical fiction. Ursula, a film-maker, visits 98 year-old Grace to see what she remembers about her time spent with the Hartford family, as a house-servant and ladies’ maid at Riverton House in Essex. In particular she wants to know what Grace remembers about the fateful party in 1924 which ended with the suicide of a young poet and his discovery by wealthy socialite sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford. Grace takes us back to a different era when social ranks were studiously maintained and a life in service was far more than just a job, and keeping up appearances and loyalty were everything. Grace recollects the glamorous life of her mistress Hannah Hartford, and her unhappy marriage to politician and businessman Teddy Luxton. She remembers “The Game” the sisters and their brother played as children and their devotion to secrecy. Grace is a witness to the household secrets and gradually her story unfolds, one intrigue and heartache after another. This was a delicately written story creating a haunting atmosphere of glamour, secrecy, romance and heartbreak. Although it is long, it feels like the kind of book that creates such an engaging world that you don’t want it to end. I will definitely happily read anything else Kate Morton writes without even reading the blurb. 3.75/5 A low pick for me. The story about a well-to-do family in WWI England is told from the POV of Grace, one of the Hartford family's servants, who lives vicariously through the two Hartford sisters, Hannah and Emmeline. The plot moved slowly for 3/4 of the book then rushed to its cataclysmic conclusion. I also found myself wanting to know more about Grace's transformation from a maid to an archeologist than just a quick few sentences at the end. The pacing throughout the book was chaotic and undisciplined. It was Morton's first novel, so that's why I cut her some slack and still picked it. I cared enough about the characters, too, so I will probably read more by her. Grace is the storyteller and she is 98. She tells the story as she reminisces about her past life in service as first a maid and then lady’s maid to the Hartford family at Riverton. The story is woven from the past and the present and really draws in the reader. Glimpses are given of a secret and a guilt that Grace has never shared. Enough twists and turns for interest. The time period and how war affected the family upstairs and downstairs and the role of women in society and at home were interesting. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
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Summer 1924. On the eve of a glittering Society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999. Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poets suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long consigned to the dark reaches of Graces mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge something history has forgotten but Grace never could. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)823.92Literature English English fiction Modern Period 2000-Classification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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Les personnages me sont apparus sans relief ni grande structure et j'ai eu beaucoup de mal à trouver une quelconque empathie à leur histoire.
Le mystère principal s'étire jusqu'à la dernière ligne et m'a laissé un sentiment de "tout ça pour ça".
C'est bien dommage que les thèmes qui auraient pu être abordés : la rivalité entre soeurs, le féminisme, l'époque révolue de ces domestiques prêts à se vouer corps et âmes à leurs maîtres n'ont pas été plus exploités.
Je n'ai pas retrouvé l'atmosphère brumeuse de ce manoir anglais, ni pris part aux mystères qu'il promettait et je suis passée à côté du destin des différents personnages.
J'ai ressenti beaucoup de froideur dans la plume, de distance avec les personnages et l'univers et je suis ressortie frustrée de ne pas avoir plus aimé ce récit qui pourtant sur le papier avait tout pour me plaire.
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