A Place of Secrets

A Place of Secrets Cover

Rachel Hore

The night before it all begins, Jude has the dream again ...Can dreams be passed down through families? As a child Jude suffered a recurrent nightmare: running through a dark forest, crying for her mother. Now her six-year-old niece, Summer, is having the same dream, and Jude is frightened for her. A successful auctioneer, Jude is struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband. When she's asked to value a collection of scientific instruments and manuscripts belonging to Anthony Wickham, a lonely 18th century astronomer, she leaps at the chance to escape London for the untamed beauty of Norfolk, where she grew up. As Jude untangles Wickham's tragic story, she discovers threatening links to the present. What have Summer's nightmares to do with Starbrough folly, the eerie crumbling tower in the forest from which Wickham and his adopted daughter Esther once viewed the night sky? With the help of Euan, a local naturalist, Jude searches for answers in the wild, haunting splendour of the Norfolk woods. Dare she leave behind the sadness in her own life, and learn to love again?

8 Reviews 10 Comments

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Judy

This book is a romantic’s dream. A young widow (34) dating an ambitious city-type, full of career-thrust but with little care or tenderness for her, is suddenly diverted from London to Norfolk.

The reason? She works at an auctioneer’s firm in London, as an expert in eighteenth century books. One day she gets a phone call from a man who says he has a large collection of scientific volumes from that period which he would like to sell.

Norfolk is where our heroine, Jude, comes from. Indeed she hails from very near the same village in which the ancient manuscripts lie. So she agrees to spend a weekend down at the old, slightly impoverished manor house to value the books, journals and scientific instruments which the owner hopes will preserve the old house, which desperately needs a new roof.

But Jude has been having nightmares since she was a child. Lost in woodlands, searching for her mother. Now she discovers that her six year old niece, Summer, the apparently fatherless daughter of Jude’s sister Claire, who still lives in Norfolk, is having the same troubling dreams.

But the mystery of the manuscripts at Starbrough Hall pales into insignificance when she discovers the mansion’s folly, an enormous tower, crumbling in the woods, with a fearsomely supernatural reputation which keeps the locals well away.

One of the many fascinating aspects of this hugely readable book is its genuine knowledge of eighteenth century ventures into the newly fashionable science of astronomy. Rachel Hore’s research and her mastery of the subject is deeply impressive. You feel totally safe in her hands.

Richard

This incredibly detailed story follows a family line from the eighteenth century to the present day. The ancestor, Anthony Wickham, who produced wonderful accounts of stargazing, was in fact assisted by his adopted daughter, Esther.

But who is Esther? This question is at the heart of the novel. And how is Esther connected to the heroine, Jude, and to her niece, Summer? And what are we to make of Jude’s grandmother’s tales of her meetings as a young girl with Tamsin, a gypsy girl from a camp of Romany travellers which visited the area each year?

What is the significance of the necklace of golden stars which Jude’s grandmother has kept secret since her girlhood?

I really enjoyed this book. It’s clever, haunting, ghostly, and contains a huge amount of information about astronomy; how fashionable it became to thinkers and philosophers in the eighteenth century. You feel very confident with the writer’s research, and there’s even a knowing nod to astrology as well.

Fundamentally, this is a story about a family with emotional problems, resolved thanks to the unravelling of the past – and a strange and supernatural one.

And, as Judy has reminded me to tell you, it is a love story. A romance. And hugely enjoyable.

Rachel Hore talks to Richard and Judy

Reviews

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  • Ali

    Fantastic! Not a book I would have picked up before your recommendation. Couldn't put it down in the end. Enjoyed the mystery and how all the charactures came together. Will be reading msome more of Rachel Hore's books in the future. Read this book you will not regret it.

    By Ali Osmond - 28.09.2010

  • A Place of Secrets

    All my fave genres combined- drama, history, mystery, romance, family with a scientific twist. Love how it develops and changes between past and present. Great choice!

    By Emily Oldham - 03.10.2010

  • Sorry Richard and Judy Gave up on this book. Found the story boring and the narrative tedious. Went

    Sorry Richard and Judy Gave up on this book. Found the story boring and the narrative tedious. Went nowhere and characters did not develop. Tried and then gave up. There are more entertaining books out there.

    By Ann Allan - 30.10.2010

  • A Place of Secrets

    This book is really good and a new author to me. I ordered it after seeing it on the list and couldn't put it down. It has everything - romance, history, mystery, intrigue! I will certainly be reading all her other books. In fact I have just finished "The Memory Garden" and enjoyed that one too.

    By Janet Thompson - 30.10.2010

  • A Place of Secrets

    I bought this book because I was about to go on holiday in north Norfolk where it's set. A real page-turner - I loved it. I was gripped by the atmospheric descriptions of the forest and old folly, I was interested in the characters and delighted in the way all the loose ends were tied up at the end.

    And guess what? I did a long walk in the woodlands at the National Trust's Blickling Hall, emerged from the trees to see a folly! Not at all spooky but still a moment to treasure.

    By Eileen Mann - 05.11.2010

  • Loved it!

    Is it possible to have a love affair with a book. If so, that is what I had with this story. I have recommended it to everyone I know who reads. It has made me believe that romance can be entertaining without being sickening and that history can be fascinating. If only there could be a sequel! Maybe about Rowan and her life? Im off to seek out other books by this author. Thank you Richard and Judy.

    By Anna - 06.11.2010

  • Disappointing

    I've read many of Richard and Judy's recommendations in the past and enjoyed them all, except Kate Mosse's 'Labyrinth' - but I think that was because it couldn't possibly live up to the hype. But this? What were they thinking? The story is initially promising, but it all becomes a bit silly, with the coincidences being too unlikely, too many and too often excused by the characters saying, 'what a coincidence!' The writing is pedestrian at best. Rachel[duck]loves a cliche - 'cut the atmosphere with a knife', 'through it like a dose of salts', and many many more are all here. The characters are shallow, irritating and wooden. The manuscript portion sounds nothing like 18th century writing. The conclusion is trite and predictable. Horrible book, really rubbish. A good idea completely wasted. I wondered how it had even reached publication, let alone R and J's book club!

    By Karen - 10.11.2010

  • OK, for what it is

    This book is naive romantic fiction. I agree with Karen's criticisms above, yet I still enjoyed it for what it is. Unfortunately, it is poorly edited (two glaring errors near the beginning almost put me off completely), there are too many cheesey metaphors and tedious cliches, and many places where it just seems the wrong words have been used, which grates a bit.

    There are too many things put down to 'coincidence', but the point is that they're not just coincidence, but rather synchronicity, serendipity, fate, whatever you like to call it. It might have been better if the author had used 'coincidence' less often and developed the idea of synchronicity more.

    These faults were distractions, and it's hardly literary (as I've seen suggested in a review elsewhere), there's nothing in it where I thought 'what an exquisite expression'. There's no deeper meaning and nothing much to learn from this book, it's just an enjoyable story.

    By Charlotte - 21.11.2010

Comments

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  • I'm about halfway through this book and i have to say im hooked - very glad i got it!

    Rosie

  • Am about to start reading this - I have to say the cover would have instantly put me of if it hadn't have been recommended. I've probably missed a lot of good books due to being so fickle!

    lulu

  • A place Of Secrets is a beautiful book. After finishing Sister I didn't think I could find anything to equal it, but it really is great. Going in search of next read Operation Mincemeat tomorrow. Thanks to Richard and Judy enjoy seeing you both on Twitter too Mike xx

    Mike Garrick

  • I heard so much about this book that I have just ordered it and I'm looking forward to reading it. Mike Coatesworth new autobiography, Find a soft spot to land on is now in the shops, and has reached his milestone of over 1 million visitors to his book website, www.coatesworth.co.uk

    Mike Coatesworth

  • I loved this book - such compelling reading and I loved the way the past blended into the present. The characters were believable and I found the astronomy fascinating. Recommended highly.

    Pam

  • I was pleasantly surprised by this book. As others hjave said the cover would have put me off buying it and I'm pleased I did. Although the plot is a little convelouted in places the gneral premise is very good and kept me hooked. Very enjoyable read, now on to the next

    Mark

  • I enjoyed the first part of this book but struggled to finish it -so much detail to absorb,that I found myself becoming irritated with the plot.I only finished it to find out connections in the storyline.Would only recommend it if you are prepared to take time reading it.

    Dawn Fallis

  • I am halfway through the book and finding it boring, a little tedious and slow. I will persevere though and hope that it will improve.

    Millie

  • Have read The memory Garden by this author and loved it so hope this book is as good.

    Jane Craft

  • dull, dull, dull, dull, dull - how on earth did this one slip through the net? This is the first R & J book that is a chore to read. Stargazers and tree huggers? Give me a break. Unlikeable, stilted characters, taking an age to get anywhere or say anything that is not dull, dull, dull......................

    Donna

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