The Secret Rooms
A Castle Filled with Intrigue, a Plotting Duchess and a Mysterious Death
1st Edition
Published on 1. November 2012
480 pages
978-0-241-96038-7 (ISBN)
Description
A castle filled with intrigue, a plotting duchess and a mysterious death, this book is perfect for lovers of Downton Abbey and Brideshead Revisited.
On 21st April 1940 John the 9th Duke of Rutland, and one of Britain's wealthiest men, ended his days lying on a makeshift bed in a dank cramped suite in the servants' quarters of his home, Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire.
After his death, his son and heir Charles, ordered that the rooms be locked up and they remained untouched for sixty years. But what lay behind this extraordinary set of circumstances?
For the first time, Catherine Bailey unravels a complex and compelling tale of love, honour and betrayal, played out in the grand salons of Britain's stately homes. At its core is a secret so dark that it consumed the life of the man who fought to his death to keep it hidden . . .
'Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance, and a deeply dysfunctional family...gripping' Sunday Times
'Astonishing...jaw-dropping...It would spoil the book if I revealed the whole works, suffice it to say...what a family' Sunday Telegraph
'An extraordinary detective operation' John Julius Norwich
On 21st April 1940 John the 9th Duke of Rutland, and one of Britain's wealthiest men, ended his days lying on a makeshift bed in a dank cramped suite in the servants' quarters of his home, Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire.
After his death, his son and heir Charles, ordered that the rooms be locked up and they remained untouched for sixty years. But what lay behind this extraordinary set of circumstances?
For the first time, Catherine Bailey unravels a complex and compelling tale of love, honour and betrayal, played out in the grand salons of Britain's stately homes. At its core is a secret so dark that it consumed the life of the man who fought to his death to keep it hidden . . .
'Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance, and a deeply dysfunctional family...gripping' Sunday Times
'Astonishing...jaw-dropping...It would spoil the book if I revealed the whole works, suffice it to say...what a family' Sunday Telegraph
'An extraordinary detective operation' John Julius Norwich
Reviews / Votes
Gripping. Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance * Sunday Times * 'Astonishing, jaw-dropping, superb. Horrifying, extraordinary * Sunday Telegraph * Extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat, enthralling. All the ingredients of a lurid horror. The plot is thick with destroyed documents, decadent aristocracy, betrayed honour and curses * Metro * Compelling. A remarkable piece of research which throws a bright shaft of light on powerful people, hypocrisy and the first world war -- Jeremy Paxman * Guardian, Books of the Year * Wonderful . . . has everything: family intrigue and hatred, love and war, witches' curses, eccentricity, snobbery and a series of shocking secrets. No reader can finish it unmoved * Sunday Express * Teems with hypocrisy, deceit, parental manipulation and bullying. Bailey artfully shows how guilt, grief, pride and shame levied a heavy toll * Literary Review * An extraordinary detective operation -- John Julius Norwich Excellent, beautifully crafted, fascinating * Red * Excellent. A fine, suspenseful, atmospheric tale, a less melodramatic and more nuanced Downton Abbey * Daily Express * Bailey's fascinating book takes us to the heart of a family tragedy ... this is a horrifying story of love, despair, intrigue, snobbery and upper class eccentricity which reads like fiction but is amazingly - and shockingly - real * Lancashire Evening Post *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
24pp b/w photo inset
File size
9,78 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-241-96038-7 (9780241960387)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Catherine Bailey
The Secret Rooms
A Castle Filled with Intrigue, a Plotting Duchess and a Mysterious Death
Book
05/2013
Penguin Books Ltd
€14.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Catherine Bailey is the author of two bestselling works of twentieth-century history: Black Diamonds and The Secret Rooms. She lives in London.
