The Rockwood Chronicles, a new series, opens in 1839. This period began the decline of the great houses, as the taxes to pay for the recently ended Napoleonic Wars and the loss of a generation of capable working men took their toll. Staff cost more money, in other words, and without upkeep the old draughty castle of Rosalind Carey’s home in Devonshire, Rockwood Castle, is crumbling. Can FORTUNE’S DAUGHTER survive the latest blow?
Rosalind’s mother is a former opera singer who tires of being left on the rural estate and returns to her career when Ros’s father, a botanist, turns out to be an obsessive plant hunter. The house is left to eldest girl Ros, her giddy sister Patricia, shotgun-bearing brother Bertie, stymied in his aim for a commission, bookish Walter who writes unprofitable poetry, and their wander-wit aged grandfather Sir Lucien who keeps re-living his Naval career. All great fun, but they are down to one indoor and one outdoor staff, old retainers working for bed and board.
Piers Blanchard, who meets the young ladies when they make a desperate trip to London to see their mother, then promptly arrives from his stately home in Cornwall. He claims to be a cousin, but one they never heard of, and if he’s got his money honestly through clay quarries, how come he’s so interested in Rockwood? Something is fishy, thinks practical Ros.
A good many tropes are presented: the romance of smugglers on the south coast, the handsome lad in Army uniform, the mature man eyeing up his own daughter’s girlfriends; the haughtiness of the wealthy balanced by the inability of impoverished gentility to earn. If you’ve enjoyed books by Dilly Court previously, you’ll know to expect a look behind the front door of the shabby cottage as well as the manor house. Horse and local pony breeds are essential to life and travel, while the new trains are promised in the West Country any year now. When those trains did arrive, they revolutionised food transport, meaning even small farms could profitably sell to the burgeoning city markets. Two decades later, a house like Rockwood would perhaps be established as a market garden and egg and dairy producer, selling direct to London – something unimaginable at this time. I’ll be fascinated to see how the series continues.
Try this great fun, clean romance which treads a fine line between saga and mystery, and ask what you would do if you were FORTUNE’S DAUGHTER.
Don’t miss the brand-new heartwarming novel from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author Dilly Court!
Rockwood was home and she would do anything she could to stop it being stolen from them.
Abandoned by their parents and left to fight for themselves, headstrong Rosalind Carey has no choice but to take charge of her younger brothers and sister in Devonshire’s grand Rockwood Castle. But their once much-loved home is crumbling like the family that lives within it. Living hand to mouth and desperate to provide for the estate that depends on them, the Carey family are one debt away from ruin. Until the day comes when the dashing Piers Blanchard appears on their doorstep from Cornwall, claiming he is Rosalind’s distant cousin and that Rockwood Castle is his.
Piers says he wants to help pay off the family’s debts. But how can Rosalind be sure he isn’t out to take what is his and leave them all homeless? Only a closely-guarded secret will convince Rosalind she can trust Piers to protect her family – and her fragile heart.
© 2003-2025 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy