My Debut Novel
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall
(UK) (USA)
Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall . . .
Margaret Lennox is recently widowed and in need of a position. It must be far from the past that still haunts her. She finds what appears to be the perfect engagement: governess to a child in an isolated country house.
Yet from the first, Hartwood Hall is unwelcoming.
Why do the locals eye her employer, widowed Mrs Evesham, with suspicion? What is hidden in the abandoned East Wing? Who are the strangers coming and going under darkness?
Hartwood Hall conceals mysteries, perhaps even danger.
But Margaret bears her own secret. One she fears more than anything . . .
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is a chilling gothic mystery, and an authentic and atmospheric love letter to Victorian fiction.
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Praise for The Secrets of Hartwood Hall
‘I loved this fresh take on the gothic genre. Vivid, haunting, surprising’
Stacey Halls
‘Exactly the book you want on a cold, stormy night when the wind is sneaking in the cracks. A thoroughly impressive debut with fantastically timed surprises throughout’
Lyndsay Faye
‘A full-blooded Gothic mystery with bite, great characterisation and heaps of atmosphere. What a debut’
Emma Stonex
‘In her atmospheric debut, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, Katie Lumsden enthrals us with a quintessential manor-home mystery . . . Ultimately a story about women and the haunting secrets they keep, Lumsden’s debut reminds us never to trust first appearances. A mesmerizing debut!’
Sarah Penner
‘It’s a brilliantly creepy and utterly compelling read, which put me in mind of Laura Purcell, Stacey Halls and Michelle Paver: it’s up there with the most wonderfully engrossing and twisty gothic historical fiction’
Caroline Lea
‘Smart, atmospheric, gripping and full of surprises, this is a Gothic spine-chiller by an absolutely modern writer’
Maggie Gee
‘This book delivers HUGE Jane Eyre vibes, gothic and mysterious Victoriana. I LOVED it’
Sophie Irwin
‘Deliciously chilling . . . This intelligent homage to Jane Eyre is a wholly satisfying Gothic tale’
Helen Moffett
‘Katie Lumsden reinvents the tropes and conventions of gothic fiction to dazzling effect in this spellbinding debut . . . Katie’s love of the genre shines through every sentence – this novel is beautifully written with a terrific eye for character and place – and she balances the conventions of Victorian literature with a modern sensibility quite brilliantly’
Amanda Mason
‘An immersive, atmospheric novel and a true love letter to Gothic fiction’
i
‘Dark, twisty, gothic and full of surprises . . . a deliciously atmospheric page-turner’
Liz Hyder
‘A brilliant mystery with stacks of deftly-handled suspense but also a racy love story AND a very intelligent and interesting exploration of women’s roles in the 19th century . . . Katie perfectly borrows the style and language of 19th century literature but tells a story they would never have told, which is what makes this novel feel so very fresh and exciting’
Emily Koch
‘With echoes of Jane Eyre but with a heart of its own . . . a suspenseful and beautifully crafted novel filled with atmosphere, rich characters and plenty of layers to keep a reader hooked right to the end’
Susan Stokes-Chapman