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The Master of Penrose
Kate, widowed and stranded in Canada in 1812, takes on the care of Jon Penrose's deeply disturbed daughter and goes with him to Massachusetts. Despised by the child's mother and caught up in war and intrigue, Kate struggles to save the child.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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192 people want to read
About the author
Jane Aiken Hodge
54 books80 followersJane Aiken Hodge was born in the USA, brought up in the UK and read English at Oxford. She received a master's degree from Radcliffe College, Harvard University.
Before her books became her living she worked as a civil servant, journalist, publishers' reader and a reviewer.
She has written lives of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer as well as a book about women in the Regency period, PASSION AND PRINCIPLE. But her main output has been over twenty historical novels set in the eighteenth century, including POLONAISE, THE LOST GARDEN, and SAVANNAH PURCHASE, the beloved third volume of a trilogy set during and after the American War of Independence. More recently she has written novels for Severn House Publishers.
She enjoys the borderland between mystery and novel, is pleased to be classed as a feminist writer, and is glad that there is neither a glass ceiling nor a retiring age in the writers' world. She was the daughter of Conrad Aiken and sister of Joan Aiken.
Before her books became her living she worked as a civil servant, journalist, publishers' reader and a reviewer.
She has written lives of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer as well as a book about women in the Regency period, PASSION AND PRINCIPLE. But her main output has been over twenty historical novels set in the eighteenth century, including POLONAISE, THE LOST GARDEN, and SAVANNAH PURCHASE, the beloved third volume of a trilogy set during and after the American War of Independence. More recently she has written novels for Severn House Publishers.
She enjoys the borderland between mystery and novel, is pleased to be classed as a feminist writer, and is glad that there is neither a glass ceiling nor a retiring age in the writers' world. She was the daughter of Conrad Aiken and sister of Joan Aiken.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 3, 2022
3.5 stars
This takes a very long time to get going as Hodge lingers over scene setting (Canada, New England, and Washington during the War of 1812) but once the protagonists settle into the hero's home and an uneasy alliance against the hero's vain and sullen wife, this becomes an absorbing tale.
The truest love in the story and the heart of the tale is that between heroine, Kate Croston, and Sarah Penrose, the traumatized, mute young daughter of former sea captain and textile magnate, Jonathan Penrose, and the aforementioned wife, Arabella. Sarah is a well-realized child character, no plot moppet but a very real, very unhappy little girl, and the scenes featuring her display some of Hodge's best writing and deep understanding of the human soul. Kate, who has her own trauma, immediately bonds with the child and the growth of that bond as it is tested and tempered by events outside of Kate and Sarah's control is the novel's core-everything else, even the romance between the two adult protagonists, essentially revolves around that relationship and pales in comparison.
Because this was marketed as a genre romance, we know there will be a "happy" ending, pesky wife or no, and the only real suspense lies in how Hodge manages this. She pulls out all the stops, brings in a villain from Kate's past even more loathsome than the self-absorbed wife, and leans into her earlier scene-setting but the final chapter is rather anticlimactic and the ending seems rushed and unrealistic. Still, getting there was more than half the fun, Kate and Sarah are cherishable characters, and I was glad to make their acquaintance.
This takes a very long time to get going as Hodge lingers over scene setting (Canada, New England, and Washington during the War of 1812) but once the protagonists settle into the hero's home and an uneasy alliance against the hero's vain and sullen wife, this becomes an absorbing tale.
The truest love in the story and the heart of the tale is that between heroine, Kate Croston, and Sarah Penrose, the traumatized, mute young daughter of former sea captain and textile magnate, Jonathan Penrose, and the aforementioned wife, Arabella. Sarah is a well-realized child character, no plot moppet but a very real, very unhappy little girl, and the scenes featuring her display some of Hodge's best writing and deep understanding of the human soul. Kate, who has her own trauma, immediately bonds with the child and the growth of that bond as it is tested and tempered by events outside of Kate and Sarah's control is the novel's core-everything else, even the romance between the two adult protagonists, essentially revolves around that relationship and pales in comparison.
Because this was marketed as a genre romance, we know there will be a "happy" ending, pesky wife or no, and the only real suspense lies in how Hodge manages this. She pulls out all the stops, brings in a villain from Kate's past even more loathsome than the self-absorbed wife, and leans into her earlier scene-setting but the final chapter is rather anticlimactic and the ending seems rushed and unrealistic. Still, getting there was more than half the fun, Kate and Sarah are cherishable characters, and I was glad to make their acquaintance.
October 13, 2017
Once I figured out that York was Toronto I had a much easier time following the story. It is one of her few books that takes place in America.
February 1, 2008
very good romantic suspense/historical setting (American Revolution)
Kate Croston runs away from England and becomes a governess to troubled daughter of an American political leader. Her secret nightmare follows her every where she goes and affects her employer's family. She fights for the young girls sanity and finds a solution to her own.
Kate Croston runs away from England and becomes a governess to troubled daughter of an American political leader. Her secret nightmare follows her every where she goes and affects her employer's family. She fights for the young girls sanity and finds a solution to her own.
February 9, 2010
What can I say? I am an Aiken Hodge fan. Couldn't put this book down, which is the way of things with her books for me.
April 17, 2023
See Leslie's review.
"Kate laughed and sighed and rolled up her sleeves." . . . 'Oh, risk!' Impatiently. 'Surely you can see I'm beyond that!'' My kind of book. Her one-on-one care of little Sarah worked -- I suppose it's textbook. I didn't even mind the romance.
Ms. Hodge did A LOT of research over people, and places during the Civil War; interesting that there was the Presidential Palace, the White House was just being built -- well almost. There was endless (to me) wrangling over then-current politics. Jonathan was in the thick of it.
Arabelle's lack of concern toward her daughter, Sarah, seemed obviously geared toward a trauma, but what kind of trauma? Likewise Kate has had a traumatic experience but what? Meanwhile, her care for Sarah is predominant. When Sarah speaks her first word, it was magical for me.
"Kate laughed and sighed and rolled up her sleeves." . . . 'Oh, risk!' Impatiently. 'Surely you can see I'm beyond that!'' My kind of book. Her one-on-one care of little Sarah worked -- I suppose it's textbook. I didn't even mind the romance.
Ms. Hodge did A LOT of research over people, and places during the Civil War; interesting that there was the Presidential Palace, the White House was just being built -- well almost. There was endless (to me) wrangling over then-current politics. Jonathan was in the thick of it.
Arabelle's lack of concern toward her daughter, Sarah, seemed obviously geared toward a trauma, but what kind of trauma? Likewise Kate has had a traumatic experience but what? Meanwhile, her care for Sarah is predominant. When Sarah speaks her first word, it was magical for me.
June 6, 2022
Maybe not Jane Aiken Hodge's best historical fiction, but an interesting read. English Kate finds herself beaten down by misfortune and needing rescue during the War of 1812. American Jonathan Penrose reluctantly takes her to be the nursemaid for his disturbed daughter. Kate gradually makes progress in calming and nurturing the speechless child.
In the meantime, Jonathan's marriage is on the rocks, with a selfish, money-hungry wife. He seeks distraction in politics and the question of should the New England states withdraw from the war and separate from the Union.
Things are complicated by the arrival of a hated acquaintance of Kate and a devious plot by the wife. The British attack on Washington is the backdrop for the final resolution of the story.
In the meantime, Jonathan's marriage is on the rocks, with a selfish, money-hungry wife. He seeks distraction in politics and the question of should the New England states withdraw from the war and separate from the Union.
Things are complicated by the arrival of a hated acquaintance of Kate and a devious plot by the wife. The British attack on Washington is the backdrop for the final resolution of the story.
August 15, 2022
Nostalgia reread Jane Aiken Hodge #5. I found this one a little difficult to get into but once started I soon became hooked . Set during the War of 1812 (or the Second War of Independence) it follows the fortunes of Englishwoman Kate Crosten as she takes charge of the highly disturbed daughter of Jonathan Penrose and his haughty jealous wife. This only get worse when a figure from her past comes into their orbit. Full of intrigue, compassion, hatred, jealousy, passion and history as one would expect from JAH.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews