Review: An interesting and compelling read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 10, 2012
Silveira's novel deals with an interesting time period, an extremely engaging protagonist and a series of events that just don't quite add up. Above all else this novel paints a picture of this fictional town of Ravelston that isn't easy to forget and is extremely vivid.Set in the 19th century, our protagonist is Jane who lives in a different time period, one far advanced from her own. She is extremely modern and pays for this by being sent away to live in Ravelston with her uncle, a Rector. Once there she gets involved with and enjoys the company of the high society folk at Ravelston Hall despite her own social low status. Underneath all this is the mysterious tale of Mary Hale who seems to have disappeared without a trace, although a servant girl no one really cares, again, because of her low status but as the story progresses we learn there is a lot more to this than meets the eye.Silveira's discussion of the social class system in 19th century Britain is extremely interesting and probably the most enjoyable element of the book for me. Although discussed in a lighthearted and novelistic way, Silveira highlights how Mary is viewed as less than nothing by many characters because she was just a servant whilst Jane's forward thinking attitude leads her to seek out the mystery of how Mary came to disappear.The only misgivings I have about the novel came in that I was quite easily able to work out what was going to happen. Once I realised the gruesome demise I was expecting for Mary wasn't so, I didn't find it hard to unravel the mystery myself. I think more time could have been given to the ending of the story and then perhaps it would have been able to be further developed and less rushed as I felt it was.Overall a fascinating fictional portrait of 19th century Britain with an extremely compelling and interesting protagonist.Beth Townsend - The Kindle Book Review