Secrets of the Gatehouse: a captivating, bittersweet, Victorian saga
by Lilly AdamPublish: Aug 27, 2020Historical Fiction Women's Fiction Book Overview
Childhood sweethearts, Silas Shepherd and his wife Claire have been happily married for sixteen years. Keeping with family tradition, they are tenant farmers, who reside on Squire, Reginald Brunswick's land in Bagley village with their son and three daughters. Although life in 1840 is often a struggle the family pride themselves on their unyielding unity and ability to cope with the hardships which befall them.With another baby on the way, Claire finds her proficiency to manage her family slowly ebbing away and fears she is losing control of her oldest children. While thirteen-year-old Martha Shepherd constantly has her head in the clouds, dreaming of an unrealistic future, Frank, is determined to prove he is no longer a boy and has made a solemn promise to himself to break with tradition and live a future life of wealth and prosperity, turning his back on what is expected of him, to follow in his father's footsteps. Prepared to break all the rules installed by his parents to accomplish his goals, Frank's rebellious actions soon initiate a series of catastrophic events.Bruce Brunswick, the Squire’s mysterious, disfigured and crippled brother, resides at the gatehouse on the Brunswick Estate. Renowned for his eccentric and often sinister behaviour, he soon finds the opportunity to take advantage of Frank's rebellious ways as a means to threat and blackmail the Shepherd family, while at the same time, cover up his own immoral actions.With one disaster after another, the Shepherd family find themselves at their wit’s end. Thrown into a state of turmoil they are forced to flee from their lifetime home to escape the looming threat and shameful scandal which surrounds them.Secrets of the gatehouse is a moving story about strong family ties and the enduring power of a family who is tested to their limits.The miracle of how love has the strength to change and influence characters is apparent throughout the story where twists and surprises are never far away.
