Wentworth Hall - Abby Grahame

Wentworth Hall – Abby Grahame

Pages: 276

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s

Release Date: 5^th July 2012

Edition: UK paperback, review copy

It’s 1912 and the Darlingtons of Wentworth Hall have more than just their extensive grounds to maintain. They need to keep up appearances that things are as they have always been for one of England’s most elite family’s...even as whispers of secret romances and bitter betrayals threaten their facade of perfection.

Maggie Darlington has a secret. And she’s not the only one: the handsome groom, Michael, the beautiful new French nanny, Therese, even Maggie’s youngest sister, Lila, are all hiding something. And when scandalous satires start appearing in the newspaper with details that closely mirror the lives of the Darlingtons, they are soon looking over their shoulders, worrying about whose scandal will be next – because at Wentworth Hall, nothing stays secret forever.

I’m a big fan of period dramas and I’m starting to really get into historical YA – especially those set in and around the 1920s so I was excited about submerging myself in the world of Wentworth Hall.

I didn’t buy into the sumptuous world of scandal and money that Abby Grahame set up in Wentworth Hall. It didn’t have the quintessential English-ness that I wanted from a novel set in an English country manor at the beginning of the twentieth century – it felt as if I were reading and American novel by an American author, which I was, of course. It’s such a shame as the story, the setting and the characters had such potential that I felt was missed.

There were lots of secrets and hidden scandals hidden behind the walls of Wentworth Hall and I have to admit that I figured some of the biggest ones out myself. That’s always a double-edged sword for me: I love the self-righteous feelings of smugness that figuring out secrets and mysteries gives me, but I always love being shocked and surprised by something totally unexpected.

Even though Wentworth Hall wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be, I enjoyed it for what it was: light, fluffy and good fun.

For my 2012 Debut Author Challenge and 2012 YA Historical Fiction Challenge

Thank you to S&S for providing me with a review copy.

Sophie