The Winter Bride

by Carola Salisbury

Lovely Charity Carew had nothing but awe and reverence for the distinguished poet Martin Revesby. Boldly she wrote him of her admiration, and when he offered her a job as secretary, her delight knew no bounds. Nevertheless, a sense of foreboding shadowed her arrival at Malmaynes, the eerie castle on the grim Cornish coast. Something evil, she was sure, watched and waited. The surly caretaker, perhaps? Or the sinister deaf-mute? Something or someone aroused in her a feeling of danger.Only her growing love for the poet held her safe as she learned the bloodstained legend of "The Beast," a creature long dead who, it was said, refused to die. Suddenly, without warning, the dark tale of violence sprang to life anew, claiming fresh victims, and a chasm of terror stood between Charity and the promise of happiness that had been just within her grasp a short while before. A chasm she could not hope to cross -- and live...

Genres: Gothic, Gothic Romance, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Romance, Fiction

233 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Carola Salisbury is a pseudonym for John Michael "Mike" Butterworth.

Butterworth trained as an artist at Camberwell College of Art and worked briefly as a tutor in drawing at Nottingham College of Art. After briefly working as a salesman, he joined the Amalgamated Press (later renamed Fleetway Publications) after submitting samples of artwork to them. Although these were turned down, he tried again, submitting a script for a sea-going adventure strip. This was accepted and Butterworth was hired as a scriptwriter, at first working primarily Western strips featuring Billy the Kid and Buffalo Bill. His interest in history (particularly naval history) led him to pen many historical comic strips for Comet and Sun, including the Napoleonic era adventures of Max Bravo, the Happy Hussar and World War II air-ace Battler Britton.

Aside from his writing, Butterworth was a gifted editor and created a number of new papers for the firm including Playhour Pictures (soon after abbreviated to Playhour), Valentine and the teenage girls' magazine Honey.

In 1965 he became one of the main script writers for Ranger where he penned the sprawling science-fantasy The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire which remains one of the most popular boys' adventure strips published in the UK to this day.

Butterworth left Fleetway Publications and turned freelance. His first novel, The Soundless Scream, appeared in 1967 followed over the next few years by a number of well-received crime novels which appeared under his full name, which has led to some confusion between his work and that of Science fiction writer and Savoy Books publisher Michael Butterworth. Butterworth also turned his hand to Gothic romance novels under the pen-name Carola Salisbury and Sarah Kemp.

He died at the age of 62.

Reviews

[Dorcas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What. an. awesome. book!! I do love a good creepy vintage gothic and this is one of the best Ive read in some time.

A young woman, Cherry, impetuously writes to a poet she admires, thus beginning a lengthy correspondence with him which culminates in an invitation to become his secretary at his newly acquired inheritance: a manor house/castle in Cornwall.

Cherry's uncle, recognizing the name of the estate, remembers a case 20 years prior in which two young women were strangled to death by someone who became known as "The Beast of Melmayne." A case of some notoriety, but no one in the village wants to talk about it! It's all in the past anyway, right? So it would seem, until...dum de dum! strange things start happening!! a cry in the night, maniacal laughter, a cough in the thickets of an overgrown maze and...murder.

This book had me shrieking in spots. My daughter thought I was just trying to freak her out but I seriously couldn't help it. The "spookiness factor" was too much! This author can write!

I can't go into any more details without giving the story away but if you have any way of reading this (check out your library or used book store like Amazon) you NEED TO READ THIS!

I would call this story a mixture of Jane Eyre, Rebecca, The Boston Strangler and perhaps a bit of the Hunchback of Notre Dame as well, thrown in for good measure. Basically all the elements of a great gothic~

CONTENT:

SEX: None
VIOLENCE: Mild, a few people are killed and there is mention of past murders. Nothing graphic.
PROFANITY: Very Mild, one or two.
PARANORMAL ELEMENTS: None to speak of. The legend is that the "Beast" never dies but will continue to strike...
also, mention is made of the preacher having tried "exorcism" on the man that became the beast (20 years ago) to get rid of his supposed demons~ without effect. Clearly a case of criminal insanity.

MY RATING: G- PG

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charity Carew was a 24-year-old young woman biding her time in 1856. She was raised by her bachelor uncle and had studied stenography. For the last four years she had intermittently corresponded with her favorite poet, Martin Revesby. When the gentleman returned to Cornwall from Belgium, a position as his secretary opened and she was encouraged to accept.

She did.

The Winter Bride had all of the trademarks of a good gothic story. The first person tense as told through the eyes of the heroine. A haunting or sinister presence. Employees that might be up to no-good. A stark castle or in this case: a four-story 'great house' near the sea. And someone lurking. Listening. Waiting.

Oh! And I forgot the rain. It rained when Charity went out for a walk. It rained when she passed the church and graveyard. And it was the wind and rain that battered the shutters of her new home. -Enter the sound effects here: Oooooooo!, like in moo, the sound a cow makes!-

After viewing dirty hands, indifferent food and all-over untidiness, Charity was appointed to take charge of the mansion. In a nutshell, Mrs. Challis, the long-time housekeeper and cook, was not pleased. And to quote some vintage Southern wisdom: when mama Mrs. Challis ain't happy, nobody is happy.

Unfortunately, there was some slow reading. I found my thoughts wandering several times. I had a few issues with the heroine; she came across a little too snooty several times. Maybe it was just me. Lastly, the ending. Let's talk about the last chapters.

Or let's not.

Okay, you got me. Let me just say it was different. Again, maybe it was just me. You will just have to read the story to find out why. 😏

[Tweety · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2

No!!!!! I was wrong!!!!!

Before anymore time passes I am going to review this!

Cherry Carew lives on the infamous Cornish coast with her uncle who happens to be a lawyer. A few years before the book starts she, (like a besotted school girl) sent a letter to a rising poet. For four years now she has been communicating with a mad genus of a poet, Martin. One day she hears from him, he is coming to Cornwall, for good. Not only that but he is offering her a job, as his secretary.

Cherry jumps at the chance of a change of scene, and the next thing you know she's at Malone Manor. But with her arival, the twenty year old tale of The Beast of Malone comes back; to the detriment of all who thwart this evil man/woman's plans.

Things escalate into a nightmare faster than a storm at sea, fingernails trailing across her door, Long hands feeling their way around the corner, a hunchback gardener who follows her through all the lonely passages in forgotten wings of the Manor and women, one by one being found strangled and left by the graves of the victims of The Beast of Malone.

What I loved: The suspense had me on the edge of my seat! I was horribly afraid for the heroine, and I wasn't even reading it at night. Who was it strangling women? Was she safe? For how long...?

How could I not fall in love with this book? The setting, the excitement and the descriptions were Magnificent. There were tons of screech worthy moments and a impossible-to-guess ending. Which brings us to my dislikes…

What I could not bring myself to like: The shocking near end. I'm sorry, it was cheating, ending the book that way! (I can't tell you without giving it all away) Also, I would have liked the Hero to have been in it more, he was very much 'locked up in his study'. And I didn't get to know him well till the end! (If the end even counts)

But, all in all I recommend Gothic fans to read it as it was satisfying. And spooky. A tad bit like Jane Eyre if fact. Completely worth the day it took to read! I see myself happily sitting down to it again and again many more times.

[MomToKippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 for me. The ending took away a half star. This is one interesting creepy Gothic romance. I love the author's use of language - very classic period vocabulary, very elegant turns of phrase. It's a bit campy but enjoyable and fun. It is goofy at times with a lot of insta-love happening and some unbelievable behavior common to mystery heroines (wandering about at night when murderers are lurking and the like). We do have a good strong intelligent heroine that reminds me of Victoria Holt's style of character. Some portions had me rapt while others forced my eyes to roll a little. The climax of the story was great (and loved the twist!) but the last 20 pages had me disappointed as the author ties things up by omnisciently telling every detail from behind the scenes in a fashion I didn't care for. Overall a lot of fun. I would read Salisbury again.

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Victorian era gothic, lots of twists and turns and things that go bump in the night. I was able to guess at the villain's identity about 75% in, but still kept me turning the pages to see if I'd guessed right.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book long ago and stupidly loaned it out to a friend and never got it back. Finally, with Ebay, I've been able to add it back into my collection of gothics, and I must say it is still as good a read as I remember it being 25+ years ago.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the old gothics from the 70's.

[Cathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I can't believe I got through this and still have fingernails left - a few!
It's very suspenseful and keeps you guessing. It's very gothicee (Not a word - I know) which I loved. It felt a lot like a Mary Stewart book with a strong, smart Heroine. It had almost two endings - one for the mystery and one for the love interest. They both fooled me! I will probably be searching for more of Salisbury's books :)

[Alisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A successful Gothic suspense novel, but one which I still have a few quibbles with.
Yes, the last 20 percent did surprise me somewhat, and yes, if you’re in the mood for something eerie and a bit shivery, you’ve come to the right place. So far, so good. But I was never fully on board with Charity, the heroine. She’s a bit too sure of herself for a Gothic novel (in spite of the fact that she occasionally does stupid things). I didn’t feel like she was very accessible to the reader. Her way of describing things was, yes, sometimes deliciously scary, but also weirdly clinical. Like, she doesn’t actually seem to have much emotion. Or if she does, it’s the told-not-shown variety.
And I found Uncle Gervase’s letters really bizarre. He sends her letter after letter telling her about “the Beast of Malmaynes” as if knowing all the gritty details is going to help, but instead of sounding like a concerned family member, it just comes across as ghoulish and gossipy.
In spite of this, it wasn’t a bad book, and it did get the atmosphere right.

[MV · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a few years back. I fully admit I bought it because I loved the cover (and of course wintery gothics). It did not disappoint. Super creepy and went in directions I didn't expect!

[Yue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes for the Gothic factor. The castle, and the creepy staff and the rain and the cold and all the mystery and the story about the murders years ago.

No to the Romance factor. Weak; the ending is even weaker. I liked the twist (didn't see THAT coming) but I don't know... I think a good romance should be on par with the Gothic factor.

One of the few times I find the heroine too nosy.

[Eirene Ritznore · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for suspense, for indeed, that is how this book is heralded, then I think you will find it- at least, for the first half of the book.

Set in 1856, Cornwall, the story is told from the first person perspective of Charity Carew- a spinster of twenty-four. The first introduction occurs as she travels to the rugged sea coast of Cornwall, to a village called St. Gawes, to take employment with a distinguished, up and coming poet named Martin Revesby, a man some twenty years her senior. Recently, Revesby has inherited a large estate called Malmaynes, entailed to him through a distant cousin. He has been abroad, but is returning to take up residency there.

Being a poet of some note, and having published a slim volume or two of his poetry, Revesby had caught the attention of Charity several years prior, when she had written to him of her admiration for his work. This had begun a friendship of sorts between the poet and his devoted fan via an exchange of letters. When he received word of his inheritance, and decided to take up residence at Malmaynes, he offered Charity a position as his secretary; a position which she accepted eagerly. What an honor to work for a man whose own work you so highly respected and prized!

Needless to say, nothing is ever as simple as it appears. Just before Charity left her uncle's home, where she has resided since her parents' deaths, he informed her of a strange case involving a man known as the Beast of Malmaynes. Twenty years prior, a man- Saul Poldark- suspected to be demented or insane, had strangled to death two young women of the town, and legend has it, that though he is believed to have perished after he threw himself off a steep cliff into the rocky coast line, that he really is alive, supernaturally, roaming the stark coast line and known as the Beast of Malmaynes.

I have to admit, I was very entertained through the first half of the book. However, the second half seemed to take FOREVER to get through. I suppose that is partly due to the fact that I had largely figured out the mystery and was just waiting for Charity to get it. The book is well written. It is true to form as a Gothic suspense novel, but I felt that, particularly, after the main revelations were through, that the story seemed to fall apart. It lacked a sufficient framework for the final outcome. I am not disappointed that I read it nor do I feel gypped of time, but, on the whole, the book was rather lackluster.

[Rebekah Giese Witherspoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great prose, and dripping with Gothic atmosphere. Would've been 5 stars for me if the author had created more suspense around the identity of the bad guy. I figured it out super early in the novel, because there was literally nobody else who could fit in those shoes, so I spent the rest of the book waiting for the heroine to connect the dots.

Recommended for: Folks who love atmospheric 1960s and 1970s Gothic novels.

Where I found it: Used paperback from abebooks.com. (The freebie is available at archive.org.)

[Mela]

Perhaps it is a good Gothic mystery/romance.

I was interested in the story (what happened, who was who), but all that gloom, wind, dark corridors - annoyed me this time.

Perhaps I was not in the mood. Perhaps another time, perhaps not...

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Jane Eyre knockoff, Gothic mystery wannabe is actually quite a riveting and deliciously creepy read. Even though the writing is a bit lavender on the edges and downright corny at times, I managed to stay entertained - maybe it's because I don't read a lot of mysteries and I'm blissfully unaware of the usual plot devices and shockers. I was relieved that this story contained no paranormal elements. It's just a good old-fashioned mystery.

[Jaimey · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most spine-tingling, shocking gothic romances I've ever read. Spectacular.

[Mermarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review coming tomolly! 😘

[~•verena•~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

In einem Schloss in Cornwall fängt ein junges Mädchen bei einem berühmten Dichter als Haushälterin an. Das Schloss ist unheimlich, die Angestellten merkwürdig. Es gab vor Jahren eine Mordserie und nun passieren wieder Morde. Gegen Ende gibt es auch noch eine unerwartete Wendung. Leider sind die letzten 2 Kapitel zwar erklärend, aber geben dem ganzen eine verblendete und überkitschige Wendung, die das ganze Buch versaut. Pluspunkte für die Rebecca-Vibes. Die sind allerdings auch nix Neues mehr.

[Elaine Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

his is an old book but a brilliant story - it's a romantic thriller with lots of twists and turns and well worth the reading - some of the language is really old fashioned but it doesn't detract from the story.

[Johanna Juntunen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hyvä kirja! Piti otteessaan loppuun asti.

[Anu Korpinen]

Suomennettu 1978 nimellä Talvimorsian. Ihan mukava kesälukukirja, goottilaista jännitystä vanhassa kartanossa, murhia menneisyydestä ja rippunen romantiikkaa.

[Kirsi Mannonen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is well-written Gothic romance but quite frankly it should be more fun and lavender. It´s also very much product of it´s time: mentally ill are monsters who get no sympathy, an ugly man with speech-and-hearing impairment is object of horrified pity etc.