Christmas 1926: the Forbes family are hosting a celebration at Eden Hall. Eighteen-year-old Daisy is preoccupied by a sense of change. Overnight, her relationship with Stephen Jessop, the housekeeper's son, has shifted and every encounter seems fraught with tension. Before the festivities are over, Daisy has received a declaration of love, a proposal and a kiss - from three different men. Unable to bear the confusion, she flees to London. By the following summer, Daisy has bowed to the persistence of the man who proposed to her. When the family reunite at Eden Hall and Stephen is once more in her life, it is clear to Daisy she is committing to the wrong person. Will love conquer all, or is Daisy's fate already written?
In 1914, despite the threat of war in Europe, Pearl Gibson's future is bright. She has secured a desirable position as a lady's maid for Lady Ottoline Campbell. Her new role sees her transported from a life of drudgery to the Campbell's vast Scottish estate. Pearl is quickly drawn into a whirlwind of intrigue, glamour and scandal, as she realises her job requires her to become her lady's confidante as well as her maid. In the confusing world of the upper classes it is Ottoline's cousin, Ralph, who Pearl comes to rely on, trust - and love. But when violence erupts in Europe, Pearl and Ottoline's world is irrevocably changed. As the men in their lives are called to the front line, shocking events unfold at home that both Pearl and Ottoline vow never to reveal. They share a secret that will test their loyalty to one another to breaking point, and will bind them together forever...
In 1914, despite the clouds of war threatening Europe, Pearl Gibson's future is bright. She has secured a position as a lady's maid to a wealthy Northumberland aristocrat, a job that will win her not only respect but an opportunity to travel and live in luxury. Her new life at Lady Ottoline Campbell's Scottish summer estate is a whirlwind of intrigue and glamour, scandals and confidences-and surprisingly, a strange but intimate friendship with her employer. But when violence erupts in Europe, Pearl and Ottoline's world is irrevocably changed. As the men in their lives are called to the front lines, leaving them behind to anxiously brace for bad news, Pearl realizes she must share one final secret with her mistress-a secret that will bind them together forever . . .
Judith Kinghorn presents a beautiful and haunting story of lost innocence and powerful, enduring love, in her sweepingly epic and gloriously intimate debut.
Clarissa is almost seventeen when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer-and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled. Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa. As Tom and Clarissa's friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and another story unfolds: they are not the only people in love. Soon the world-and all that they know-is rocked by a war that changes their lives forever.
