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The House at Riverton: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Kate Morton
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $7.95
You Save: $17.00 (68%)
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Rating:  119 reviews
Sales Rank: 9230
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.5
ISBN: 1416550518
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9781416550518
ASIN: 1416550518
Publication Date: April 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: FIRST EDITION! ~ COLLECTIBLE! ~ NEW WITH DUSTJACKET!
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, April 2008: In her cinematic debut novel, Kate Morton immerses readers in the dramas of the Ashbury family at their crumbling English country estate in the years surrounding World War I, an age when Edwardian civility, shaken by war, unravels into the roaring Twenties. Grace came to serve in the house as a girl. She left as a young woman, after the presumed suicide of a famous young poet at the property's lake. Though she has dutifully kept the family's secrets for decades, memories flood back in the twilight of her life when a young filmmaker comes calling with questions about how the poet really died--and why the Ashbury sisters never again spoke to each other afterward. With beautifully crafted prose, Morton methodically reveals how passion and fate transpired that night at the lake, with truly shocking results. Her final revelation at the story's close packs a satisfying (and not overly sentimental) emotional punch. --Mari Malcolm
Product Description
The House at Riverton is a gorgeous debut novel set in England between the wars. It is the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all and kept a secret for decades.Grace Bradley went to work at Riverton House as a servant when she was just a girl, before the First World War. For years her life was inextricably tied up with the Hartford family, most particularly the two daughters, Hannah and Emmeline. In the summer of 1924, at a glittering society party held at the house, a young poet shot himself. The only witnesses were Hannah and Emmeline and only they -- and Grace -- know the truth. In 1999, when Grace is ninety-eight years old and living out her last days in a nursing home, she is visited by a young director who is making a film about the events of that summer. She takes Grace back to Riverton House and reawakens her memories. Told in flashback, this is the story of Grace's youth during the last days of Edwardian aristocratic privilege shattered by war, of the vibrant twenties and the changes she witnessed as an entire way of life vanished forever. The novel is full of secrets -- some revealed, others hidden forever, reminiscent of the romantic suspense of Daphne du Maurier. It is also a meditation on memory, the devastation of war and a beautifully rendered window into a fascinating time in history. Originally published to critical acclaim in Australia, already sold in ten countries and a #1 bestseller in England, The House at Riverton is a vivid, page-turning novel of suspense and passion, with characters -- and an ending -- the reader won't soon forget.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 114 more reviews...
 Much better than I expected December 26, 2008
(It's interesting that other reviewers thought of the novel "Rebecca" and the movie "Titanic" because I did too.)
I rarely want to immediately reread a book just after finishing it but I did this one. I did start to read Chapter One again and saw immediately how much richer it was and meaningful as I now can appreciate the subtlties contained therein. But for this kind of reward, you'll need to read the entire book first ~(;->
I don't want to speak more of the plot as there is plenty revealed here already. I will say that the plot is involved, has layers of characters who are pulled forward into the spotlight and then fall into the background, some resurface, some die, some have small bit parts but have big plot impact. The past is always impacting the future which I think is why a reread would be so worth while.
The core characters are tied together on a number of levels - Grace the lady's maid to Hannah the middle child of the family of Riverton House. Together, this is really their story from beginning to end. Grace promises Hannah early on to keep Hannah's secrets which she does.
Grace even gives up her separate personal life journey for Hannah but in the end, Grace does live her full life but you need to read the book to know why....
This is an author I really want more of.
 A slow read at first... but it gets better! December 18, 2008
In the early 20th century, a girl named Grace began working a servant at an English manor called Riverton. Now an old lady with a mind full of secrets and regrets, Grace is ready to share the ghosts of her past with one person -- her grandson -- through a series of recorded audiotapes. Meanwhile, a filmmaker has come to interview Grace; she is making a film about Riverton -- specifically about one notorious, terrible event that happened at Riverton in 1924. But will Grace reveal Riverton's secrets to this filmmaker? And will she even reveal all her secrets to her grandson?
In my mind, traditionally, a good mystery novel begins with some kind of event; a murder or a theft, and then spends the rest of its pages trying to solve the crime. "The House At Riverton" defies this convention. It gives hint after hint of some big event to come, yet time and time again it pulls the reader away just when it seems we're getting close. Though the first half of the novel does help to set up later events (as in, "yes, this story is going somewhere, I promise!"), I found it difficult to get through. By the last fourth of the novel, I had become relatively engaged, but it took so long to get there, I had to set the book aside multiple times. Yes, it eventually becomes a page-turner, with an event worthy of any suspense novel, but will the average reader be able to get to that point without giving up in despair?
While reading this novel, I was reminded of two things: First, the film "Titanic," because, like that movie, "The House At Riverton" is about an old woman recounting the events of her youth, centering around a famous event, slowly revealing the untold secrets of her -- and its -- past. Second, I was constantly reminded of the TV series "Manor House" (aka "The Edwardian Country House," as it was called in the UK), even going so far as to picture Riverton to look just like the house did on that series, right down to the grounds and the servant's quarters. Therefore, I was not surprised that the author had actually been inspired by this very series, according to the acknowledgements at the end of the book. So that's neat.
I love reading about the Edwardian era, and overall I thought this was a good story. However, so much of it was slow and seemingly pointless that it's a tough one to get through at first. But if you do manage, I think you'll find yourself satisfied. I would like to reread it someday.
My favorite fiction of 2008 December 7, 2008
Back of the Book:
"Grace Bradley went to work at Riverton House as a servant when she was just a girl, before the First World War. For years her life was inextricably tied up with the Hartford family, most particularly the two daughters, Hannah and Emmeline.
In the summer of 1924, at a glittering society party held at the house, a young poet shot himself. The only witnesses were Hanna and Emmeline and only they- and Grace- know the truth."
From Me:
This was an absolutely wonderful way to start the new year( I first read this book in January of '08.) This is one of those books that leaves you feeling slightly melancholy that it has ended.
The story opens with Grace in a nursing home reflecting on her past. We know from the beginning that she has held secrets and regrets close to her heart for many years but what unfolds over the course of this book is a multi-layered story that holds many poignant moments.
Grace leaves home at a tender age to learn how to be in service to the Hartford family. She learns to care about the entire family and the entire serving staff and begins to think of them as the family she never had. She sees their faults and she protects their secrets with devotion and a strong sense of duty.
However, she is not the only one bound by duty. I watched as one by one members of the family fulfill their duties for the greater good and I began to wonder who made the greater sacrifices. The aristocracy or the servants?
The theme of sacrificial service strikes a deep chord with me and I found this particular part of the story to be very haunting.
At the end of the book, the author lists several titles that she drew information from. Not surprisingly, I already have several on my TBR list and will be all the more interested in looking at them because of this book.
So Enthralling December 5, 2008
I just loved this book. As I started I thought this book was going to bore me. Boy was I ever wrong. I learned to love the characters and really relate to their feelings and desires in life. Lives can get so tangled up at times and this is portrayed superfinley in this great novel. So, real that I really felt I was there. I sat up late nights sometimes till four in the morning gulping down the scenes. I highly recommend this book for a variety of reasons. It pulled on my heartstrings.
Loved this book! November 28, 2008
The House at Riverton reminded me in some ways of a Rebecca DuMaurier novel in its setting and atmosphere--an old house, a wealthy family, long-kept secrets. Where it differs is in the main character, not a member of the family but a long-time servant who observes the interactions of the family members and their guests in their gilded environment but is outside of it. The story is a fascinating glimpse into the time that young poor girls went "into service" and became full time members of great households, who took the notion of duty to that family seriously, and kept their secrets carefully. The story is told in flashbacks from the current day, as a modern day researcher carefully pries the truth about a mysterious death and the role of the two daughters of the house in that event. This adds the dimension of the narrator herself remembering what seems to be an impossibly distant world, having lived through the latter 20th century life of Britain as well, and yet she had been a part of it, and no one thought to ask her her thoughts on it and memories of it until it was almost too late. I found the main story suspenseful and the framing story to be touching and interesting, but most of all I came away from this book feeling like I had soaked in the atmosphere and reality of a world long gone from the scene. Very enjoyable.
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