Our book of the month for October was Mrs England by Stacey Halls. We give you our Big Review below.
***Our Big Reviews are written from the point of view that you have read the book. If this is not yet you, bookmark the page and come back once you have***
Mrs England– the blurb
‘Something’s not right here.’
I was aware of Mr Booth’s eyes on me, and he seemed to hold his breath. ‘What do you mean?’
‘In the house. With the family.’
West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there’s something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England.
Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband, and is far from the ‘angel of the house’ Ruby was expecting. As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew. Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby must face her demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there’s no such thing as the perfect family – and she should know.
Mr or Mrs?
This was my last ever book club whilst living in Cramlington so for that reason it will always have a special place in my heart. The book club had read Halls’ debut a few years back and loved it. Mrs England with its similar [beautiful] cover and strong female lead felt familiar immediately (sorry couldn’t resist).
It split the group with some loving it and some being a little unimpressed. I felt the tension could have been turned up a notch and Mr England made a little more evil and cunning. I was certain from the beginning that it was Mr and not Mrs who was the one to watch but it could have been much more complex and deceptive. It was also slow to start. That being said I was surprised to find I was 200 pages in when really nothing much had happened yet. It was certainly very readable and we all finished the 400 odd pages.
Those not in love with Mrs England can’t have been put off too much as we all said we would read The Foundling which again has all the hallmarks of a Halls book (there I go again sorry!) It’s still out in hardback at the moment but when it comes out in paperback it’s definitely worth a try.
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved with our Book Of The Month try answering our Book Club questions published every month. Just search in our footnotes section for the ‘Get Involved’ articles. We review a new book every month so keep your eyes peeled for the Lowdown on November’s book of the month soon.
