Product Description

The House at Riverton is a gorgeous debut novel set in England between the wars. It is the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all and kept a secret for decades.

Grace Bradley went to work at Riverton House as a servant when she was just a girl, before the First World War. For years her life was inextricably tied up with the Hartford family, most particularly the two daughters, Hannah and Emmeline.

In the summer of 1924, at a glittering society party held at the house, a young poet shot himself. The only witnesses were Hannah and Emmeline and only they -- and Grace -- know the truth.

In 1999, when Grace is ninety-eight years old and living out her last days in a nursing home, she is visited by a young director who is making a film about the events of that summer. She takes Grace back to Riverton House and reawakens her memories. Told in flashback, this is the story of Grace's youth during the last days of Edwardian aristocratic privilege shattered by war, of the vibrant twenties and the changes she witnessed as an entire way of life vanished forever.

The novel is full of secrets -- some revealed, others hidden forever, reminiscent of the romantic suspense of Daphne du Maurier. It is also a meditation on memory, the devastation of war and a beautifully rendered window into a fascinating time in history.

Originally published to critical acclaim in Australia, already sold in ten countries and a #1 bestseller in England, The House at Riverton is a vivid, page-turning novel of suspense and passion, with characters -- and an ending -- the reader won't soon forget.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4590 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, April 2008: In her cinematic debut novel, Kate Morton immerses readers in the dramas of the Ashbury family at their crumbling English country estate in the years surrounding World War I, an age when Edwardian civility, shaken by war, unravels into the roaring Twenties. Grace came to serve in the house as a girl. She left as a young woman, after the presumed suicide of a famous young poet at the property's lake. Though she has dutifully kept the family's secrets for decades, memories flood back in the twilight of her life when a young filmmaker comes calling with questions about how the poet really died--and why the Ashbury sisters never again spoke to each other afterward. With beautifully crafted prose, Morton methodically reveals how passion and fate transpired that night at the lake, with truly shocking results. Her final revelation at the story's close packs a satisfying (and not overly sentimental) emotional punch. --Mari Malcolm

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. This debut page-turner from Australian Morton recounts the crumbling of a prominent British family as seen through the eyes of one of its servants. At 14, Grace Reeves leaves home to work for her mother's former employers at Riverton House. She is the same age as Hannah, the headstrong middle child who visits her uncle, Lord Ashbury, at Riverton House with her siblings Emmeline and David. Fascinated, Grace observes their comings and goings and, as an invisible maid, is privy to the secrets she will spend a lifetime pretending to forget. But when a filmmaker working on a movie about the family contacts a 98-year-old Grace to fact-check particulars, the memories come swirling back. The plot largely revolves around sisters Hannah and Emmeline, who were present when a family friend, the young poet R.S. Hunter, allegedly committed suicide at Riverton. Grace hints throughout the narrative that no one knows the real story, and as she chronicles Hannah's schemes to have her own life and the curdling of younger Emmeline's jealousy, the truth about the poet's death is revealed. Morton triumphs with a riveting plot, a touching but tense love story and a haunting ending. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Kate Morton, a native Australian, holds degrees in dramatic art and English literature and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Queensland. She lives with her family in Brisbane, Australia, and is writing her second novel.

Customer Reviews

zzzzzzzzz!!
The House at Riverton started promising enough, but went downhill fast. I didn't like any of the characters, except for Grace and the story didn't hold my interest.

Enchanting Fiction
Ms. Morton is a gifted storyteller. This is a gently paced, softly told story which takes place primarily in the decades surrounding the first world war. In this story a ninety eight year old grandmother, Grace, recollects the events of her youth. She tapes these recollections as a gift for her missing grandson. As the story begins, we are on the cusp of the first world war. Grace enters into service at the great house, Riverton, where her mother was in service years before. (Grace has been assured by her mother that the family will accept her.) As the story progresses Grace becomes enthralled with the family, becoming particularly enamored with the eldest daughter of the Hartford family, Hannah.

On one level this story is a mystery, early in the story we are told that one night, in the midst of a family celebration, a young poet took his life in front of the two daughters of the home. One daughter was the poet's fiancee, the other his alleged lover. To this day no one knows exactly what happened to cause this tragedy, only that it destroyed the family forever.

On another level this is a story about the end of the Edwardian era of aristocratic privilege. This was a time when the role of women expanded, the class system came under attack and foundation of English society shifted.

The author deftly tells Grace's and England's story and what a wonderful story it is.

The House at Riverton
Oh if the walls could speak! This entire tale is a flashback told by Grace, who was a young maid and a discreet observer of the behind-the-scenes life of the Ashbury family. Grace, now 98 years old and dying, reminisces during interviews with a young filmmaker who wishes to get the details straight about the mysterious occurrences that took place behind the closed doors of the family mansion. Slowly, the story of her life as the family maid unfurls. Gradually, we discover the secrets that she has discreetly kept throughout her entire lifetime. This chilling and electrifying story takes place through many transitions in our country's history. From the decaying Edwardian era, to the tragic First World War, and then to the roaring twenties, we follow Grace and the family members through struggles, conflicts, lovers, tragedies, and even through murder! This debut novel by Kate Morton possesses brilliant character development and compelling settings, and is impossible to put down.