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Binding: Audio CD
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781921334863
Edition: Unabridged
ISBN: 192133486X
Label: Bolinda Publishing
Manufacturer: Bolinda Publishing
Number Of Items: 16
Publication Date: April 30, 2008
Publisher: Bolinda Publishing
Studio: Bolinda Publishing
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Editorial Review:
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
Product Description:
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 poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long-consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could. A thrilling mystery and a compelling love story, "The House at Riverton" will appeal to readers of Ian McEwan's "Atonement", L.P. Hartley's "The Go-Between", and lovers of the film "Gosford Park".
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
This was a book I didn't plan to read, but once I started there was no putting it down. I found myself laughing and crying with the characters, and thinking what might have been for them. A great read, with the substance to make me wish it wasn't over...
Rating: -
The House at Riverton is an engaging period mystery narrated by elderly Grace, who in her youth was a servant at Riverton. Grace has spent the remainder of her interesting and varied life trying to forget her ties to Riverton, but as the end of her life approaches she feels compelled to tell the true story of the disintegration of the Hartford family culminating in the suicide of a troubled young poet who was entangled with the daughters of the house.
This is a quietly narrated piece; it takes a bit of time for the reader to be drawn in, but once engrossed this is hard to put down. Some reviewers have noted the heavy foreshadowing, and at times the plot revelations were no surprise. However, the final revelation was unexpected, at least by this reader.
Kate Morton has created a novel that embodies the moody, restless spirit of the period between the two World Wars in England. The upper classes struggle with the disintegration of the class structure they have built their familial estates upon, the working class and women struggle with the new freedoms just becoming possible, and everyone is weighed down by the grief of the recent war.
Rating: -
This is a lovely first book by author Kate Morton. I don't want to give away too much, but I'll say this: yes, it's predictable. As another reviewer pointed out, by around page 50 or so, you can tell at least one of the "twists" because the clues aren't exactly subtle. This didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. There is a certain warmth (for lack of a better word) to the writing that made me want to read on. It's the kind of book you want to read while curled up in a comfy chair, sipping tea.
So, to summarize: yes, it has its issues. Yes, it's still enjoyable. I look forward to reading her next book. I think she has potential.
Rating:  -
After reading The Forgotten Garden I was eager to read another work by Kate Morton. And while The House at Riverton was just as well written, I found the plot less to my liking. I'm not going to summarize the book, since countless other reviewers have already done that and this is not a book report, after all. I will simply say that it is a story about the Hartford family in the early years of the 20th century. Everyone in the family (except one and I won't say who that is as that would be a spoiler) leads a mostly sad and unhappy life before meeting an early and tragic death. Perhaps the most tragic of all are the two sisters Hannah and Emmeline, around whom the plot revolves.
Just as in her other book The Forgotten Garden, Morton tells what could easily become a sordid tale without ever letting it become so. The House at Riverton is a thoroughly sad story with very few bright spots in it, and yet thankfully Morton does not allow it to becomde dark or disturbing.
Unfortunately, the central core of the story is a tale of illicit love and adultery. Again, Morton does not get explicit. Even so, these are themes that are contrary to my personal values and so this book is not one I will keep or ever re-read. Another reviewer commented on Morton's use of the "f" word near the end of the book; I, too, was extremely disappointed that the author felt the need to insert such language into the book. That alone cost the book a star.
It was conspicuous to me that all of the Americans in House at Riverton were obnoxious and boorish. And while I wasn't offended by this as some other reviewers were, I do think it was a poor choice for Morton to give such a one-sided and unflattering portrayal of Americans. We don't hold the monopoly on bad behavior!!! She could have made at least one American a sympathetic character (Teddy probably came the closest, and then only because he was trying to be English), and/or made some of her unpleasant characters be something other than American. The American tourists were especially uncouth - I thought that was unfair, really.
Both of Kate Morton's books are well-written; there is no doubt that she is a highly gifted writer. However, after the House at Riverton my feelings about her work are more mixed, and whether I will read her next book is uncertain. The Forgotten Garden also included an element of adultery, but it was not so central as in The House at Riverton. Perhaps with her third book Kate Morton will just leave it out entirely. That would be nice.
Rating: -
First and foremost, I enjoyed my experience with this book in the same manner I enjoy watching BBC period pieces. It definitely feels like the author was aiming from the beginning for a movie deal and it unfolded in my mind as if I was watching one. Not a bad thing, just not necessarily a good thing either.
As many others have mentioned, including the author herself, the book is HEAVILY influenced by older works such as Rebecca, Gosford Park and Upstairs/Downstairs. I give the author credit for being upfront about this, but, I think The House at Riverton oversteps the inspiration line into derivation territory.
Some clues are so obvious that you want to smack the main character and say "DUH!" when she finally realizes her parentage. Perhaps we weren't meant to be surprised?
At other times, specifically the ending, I felt the plot was slightly flawed. I did not understand why the poet had to die. Weren't there other options such as throwing the gun into the lake, tackling him, or shooting him in the foot, arm or somewhere other than the head? Now, the whole premise of the book is that he died BUT I just felt like the scenario created did not make this unavoidable. The reason he died, given the other options available and the identity of the shooter, was too weak for his death to be necessary so I was left feeling that the author did not plot this carefully enough.
Finally, and this is minor, a couple of things were left hanging. For example, the exact contents of the gift from Hannah to Grace was never explained. Obviously, it was money or jewelry or something similar but I did want to know. Also, given the way Hannah felt about Grace at the end of her life, I was a tiny bit surprised she didn't retract her gift. Also, why does Ursula think her Grandmother Florence was only some sort of distant second cousin? Did Jemima never tell Florence who her mother was? If not, why? Or did Florence conceal this information from her children? Again, if so, why?
Overall, I did enjoy this book and definitely do not regret my purchase or the time I spent reading. But, I don't feel it's as good as I was led to believe or I had hoped.
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