Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Night Child

Rate this book
Boldly trading the stuffy drawing rooms of fashionable Boston for the darkly majestic wilderness of the rugged north country, Brandy Claybourne comes to Maine in the years following the Civil War, an idealistic young teacher in search of a new life. Here she meets Grey King, head of a vast shipping empire and arrogant master of King's Inland, a man marked by dark rumors and haunted by a tragic past. At his request, Brandy comes to Grey's magnificent mansion hoping to end his daughter's troubled silence--a silence that began the night her mother, a legendary southern beauty, died in a mysterious stable fire. But even as she fights to win the child's trust, and to unlock the truth about the past, Brandy finds herself irresistibly drawn to the strong and seductive Grey King, a man she begins to suspect is capable of anything--including murder.

225 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

5 people are currently reading
163 people want to read

About the author

Celeste De Blasis

15 books109 followers
Millions of readers have fallen under the spell of the lush, enthralling and bestselling novels by Celeste De Blasis. Tales of adventure and romance set against the sweep of history—all are storytelling at its finest. After graduating from Pomona College, Celeste devoted her life to impeccable research and spellbinding writing. A native Californian, Celeste grew up on the historic Kemper Campbell Ranch in the Mojave Desert, where she lived until her death in 2001

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
57 (28%)
4 stars
70 (34%)
3 stars
58 (28%)
2 stars
12 (5%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for Manybooks.
3,870 reviews100 followers
July 31, 2019
Although in many ways a typical and formulaic as anything historical romance novel, I have indeed and actually enjoyed Celeste de Blasis' The Night Child considerably more than say the similar in scope and feel oeuvres of Victoria Holt or Barbara Cartland, mostly due to the fact that the author's main protagonist, that the main heroine, Brandy Claybourne, is not some simpering, forever fainting and delicate debutante snowflake in a long taffeta gown, but an independently minded, strong-willed, even at times rather tomboy-like young American woman (raised in California during the Gold Rush era by her widowed father, Brandy actually even often dons denims) who not only knows her own mind and her wants, her desires, but also will stop at nothing to solve the mysteries of King Inland and why Grey King's young daughter Missy has basically shut the door on the world since her mother's death, becoming withdrawn and silent (except for bouts of screaming).

And while I actually pretty well realised rather early on who the main villain of The Night Child was going to be revealed as being (and do have to at least somewhat wonder why in these historical romances with attached mysteries, it is so often the female housekeeper who is the antagonist, the evilly and psychotically twisted monster), I still have found The Night Child a for the most part light mystery (and romance) romp through late 19th century Maine, and that Celeste de Blasis has obviously also done her research (not only on the history of 19th century California and New England, but also in particular with regard to mental and cognitive challenges and syndromes in children), this really does make The Night Child although in no way spectacular, an entertainingly enlightening way to spend a couple of hours curled up on the couch or in bed, simply reading, simply enjoying, immersing myself in the past.

While I do in fact have to cringe more than a bit at the rape scene (near the end of The Night Child, when Grey forces himself on a still virginal Brandy after having been falsely told by the villainous and nasty housekeeper Margaret Bailey that Brandy had been intimate with his brother Raleigh), the fact that the author has Grey King not only abjectly apologising but also taking full and complete responsibility for his actions (for his unacceptable and violent behaviour), makes this so troublesome and disgusting scenario at least somewhat a bit easier to stomach and handle than in many similar historical romance type novels (where often, scenes of sexual violence are condoned and seemingly even enjoyed, if not actually appreciated by the heroines, where violent sex scenes are definitely not universally narratively condemned).

And yes, even academically inclined and generally serious reader I do in fact sometimes (and actually even more than sometimes) simply desire to quickly and painlessly (for nothing but pleasure) read a romantic and even a bit trashy love conquering all type of tale, a standardly mundane story of a girl finding her Mr. Right and swooning at the sight of him (even if he might be less than stellar), and thus and therefore, for me, and at this time, Celeste de Blasis' The Night Child is or at least has been just what the proverbial doctor ordered, a romantic but still historically interesting novel of love and mystery, a thriller that thrills without too much horror and no gratuitous violence, and also the type of reading experience where one kind of already knows and appreciates right from the beginning, right from the start, that the formulaically intrepid, strong-willed female protagonist will both solve the mystery and find everlasting love, that she and her lover, her later husband (in this case, Brandy, Grey and Grey's daughter Missy) will indeed live happily ever after.
Profile Image for Misfit.
1,638 reviews357 followers
December 19, 2008
Brandy Claybourne, raised in Old California, is a bit too free of spirit for the stuffy Boston school she teaches at and loses her position. Wealthy entrepreneur Grey King hires Brandy to help his daughter, who has drawn into her own shell of a world after witnessing her mother's horrifying death. Once at Grey's Maine estate, Brandy is attracted to Grey (there's a surprise), as well as his bit of a rake younger brother.

As Missy comes out of her shadows during the daytime, Brandy experiences some strange activities in her room during the night (is it the child who becomes a different person at night or are other forces at play?), as well as one too many too close calls that threaten her life. As her feelings for Grey continue to grow, Brandy fears that he may be the one responsible for his wife's murder as well as the attempts on her life until the mystery finally unfolds in a Du Maurier type of twist (sorry, won't tell you which one, that would be a dead give-away).

I found this to be a nice light read and perfect for a snow-bound December afternoon. Despite the appearance of a romance, the sex scenes aren’t really much more than kissing - although there is one brief bit during the usual hero gets the wrong impression and thinks the worst of the heroine that's a bit dark and might turn some readers off. Certainly not as good as the author's other novels, and definitely a far cry from her awesome
The Proud Breed. Three stars.

Profile Image for Kathy.
52 reviews1 follower
June 18, 2011
Celeste's first book. David read it in manuscript form before his death and assured her that it would "be a book" and that she would be a successful author. That gave Celeste great joy. My college research on Autism helped form the primary character and I was so proud to see my name in print for the first time. It is a gothic novel and a fun read.

Celeste and I shared a very special friendship after meeting at Oregon State in the late 60's. I miss her very much and I especially miss all of the books she would have written.

I read "The Night Child" in manuscript form while visiting her at the ranch and found it a fun read.
Profile Image for Floor tussendeboeken.
660 reviews102 followers
October 14, 2018
Ik heb gemengde gevoelens over dit boek. Het verhaal stak op zich goed in elkaar, maar er werden op een gegeven moment dingen gerechtvaardigd waar ik misselijk van werd. Ik ga daar verder niet te diep op in ivm spoilers
Profile Image for William.
461 reviews35 followers
November 20, 2015
In this early novel, Celeste De Blasis takes the traditional Gothic format of the 1960s–70s and gives it a fresh take due to her overlaying the familiar governess-in-a-mysterious-house plot with a fresh, independent, smart and thoroughly modern heroine Brandy, as well as a charge who displays some, if not all, traits of autism. Based on the author's research into what was once a misunderstood, little-known diagnosis, "The Night Child" moves along briskly, packing an emotional wallops as it approaches its climax.
638 reviews38 followers
September 11, 2008
This is one of the first books I clearly remember reading. I reread it a few years ago and it was a trip down memory lane - otherwise it probably wouldn't have held my interest. It's decently written, but pretty dramatic. Also, without spoiling anything... one of the main characters commits what I consider an unforgiveable act, but it's pretty much just blown off. Reading it now as an adult, that really spoils the whole thing for me.
Profile Image for Theresa Eaman.
31 reviews2 followers
September 9, 2014
I read it when I was fairly young and it really stuck with me. later on in life the title came back to me and it was able to locate a copy. I found I still enjoyed it as much as the first time.
19 reviews
January 6, 2023
This is one of those books I have read over and over again. Love the story, love the characters, will probably read it a few more times eventually!
Profile Image for Emmy de Reus.
829 reviews72 followers
January 10, 2020
Ik las dit boek eerder (1987) in hardcover-editie van uitgeverij Kadmos, maar kon me er weinig tot niets meer van herinneren.

Het is een romantisch verhaal met wat 'suspense' over de in Californië nogal onconventioneel opgevoede en daardoor wat vrijgevochten Brenda, die na de dood van haar vader naar de oostkust is gekomen en daar een baan als onderwijzeres heeft gekregen in een wat bekrompen plaatsje in de buurt van Boston. Als haar onderwijsbeleid niet blijkt te stroken met de ideeën van het schoolbestuur neemt ze ontslag en aanvaardt een positie als gouvernante van de 5-jarige Melissa (Missy) King, dochter van de rijke zakenman, paardenfokker en landeigenaar Grey King. Greys echtgenote Jasmine is twee jaar eerder bij een brand in de stallen van het landgoed King's Inland in de staat Maine om het leven gekomen en sindsdien is Missy in zichzelf teruggetrokken en heeft geen woord meer gesproken.
Door haar andere aanpak van Missy weet Brenda te slagen waar eerdere pogingen van andere gouvernantes faalden: Missy's gedrag neemt geleidelijk een keer ten goede.
Maar er gebeuren vreemde dingen waardoor Brenda zich bedreigd voelt en ze vraagt zich af of Missy misschien een gespleten persoonlijkheid heeft: overdag een lief en aanhankelijk meisje, dat 's nachts wordt overheerst door een kwaadaardiger 'tweede ik' (wat de oorspronkelijke titel 'Night Child' verklaart).
Uiteindelijk blijkt het gevaar uit een geheel andere hoek te komen...

Wat me nu opviel in het boek terwijl dat me in 1987 niet stoorde, is dat min of meer werd 'goedgepraat' en verklaarbaar werd geacht dat een van de -overigens sympathieke- bijfiguren in het verleden zijn overspelige echtgenote en haar minnaar had vermoord; verder wordt Brenda op een gegeven moment verkracht. In het licht van de #Metoo-beweging van de laatste jaren heeft dit nu bij herlezing toch wel een iets andere impact.
3½ ster.
Profile Image for Mandy.
135 reviews3 followers
May 13, 2020
Een boek van mijn moeder dat ik gelezen heb toen ik een jaar of veertien was. Jeugdsentiment dus.

Dit is een roman in een bijna standaard opzet: arme, jonge vrouw ontmoet / gaat werken voor rijke, ongrijpbare man, het één leidt natuurlijk tot het ander en ze leefden nog lang en gelukkig. Een beetje zoals de klassieker Jane Eyre, vooral omdat ook hier een kind de reden is waarom de jonge vrouw bij de desbetreffende man gaat werken als gouvernante.

In dit boek zit de spanning hem in het gevaar dat al vanaf het begin duidelijk is, de tragische dood van de eerste vrouw van Grey King welke mogelijk opzet is geweest. Ik wist niet meer hoe de vork in de steel zat tot ik het boek weer uit had gelezen. In mijn herinnering was het een zeer romantisch en spannend boek, maar dit keer vond ik dat een stuk minder. De karakters zijn erg eenzijdig en soms zo naar dat ik ze geheel niet mocht. Zonder al te veel te weg te geven, is Grey King zelfs op een bepaald moment een verschrikkelijke klootzak, maar wordt daar niet sterk op gereageerd, alsof het helemaal niet zo erg is wat hij doet. Ook Brenda wilde ik af en toe echt achter het behang plakken.

Toch heb ik het boek uitgelezen omdat ik het in combinatie met mijn sentiment niet zo heel ernstig slecht vond. Het is echt een boek voor liefhebbers van historische romans, toch zou ik dan eerder kiezen voor Jane Eyre.
Profile Image for Chrisangel.
405 reviews12 followers
October 20, 2022
This was a good story, but (considering the many pages of her other books) a bit too abbreviated, and could have benefitted from around 100 more pages, which would have given time for more character depth and the relationship between Grey and Brandy (the H and h of the book) to develop better. Everything was a bit too rushed.

Another bone to pick (and I think others will agree) is the totally unnecessary rape scene, which - despite Grey's temper and tendency to drink when troubled - was out of character, especially because at this point in the story he had fallen in love with her. What's also out of character - and a real about face - was Brandy's forgiving him way too fast, especially considering how quickly she'd get angry and defensive with him over much lesser things. She'd get resentful if he'd tell her what to do (and meanwhile she was working for him and should have curbed the attitude), yet his forcing himself on her, despite her pleas to stop, is all forgiven almost as soon as it happens. (?????)

At least, Grey was immediately remorseful, kept his distance and wrote her a letter apologizing for his horrible behavior, and not expecting her to forgive him. He gets few begrudging points for that.

And I give myself points form figuring out (there's a mystery/suspense theme to the story) who the guilty party was. Talk about an obsessive psycho!

The best part of the book was Brandy's relationship with Grey's troubled five year old daughter. I won't give away any details, but the book's worth reading just for that.
24 reviews
November 14, 2017
Ik vond het menseninzicht van Brenda, hoe ze met Missy omgaat en haar helpt heel mooi en inspirerend.
Het boek is goed geschreven, boeiend en leest als een trein.

Wat ik minder vond is dat het wordt goedgekeurd als iemand een misdaad begaat. In het boek wordt meerdere malen door de personages de motieven als voldoende beschouwd om gruweldaden te begaan. De personages stemmen ermee in dat bijvoorbeeld moord met bepaalde redenen een gerechtvaardigde daad is. Ik ben het daar zodanig niet mee eens dat het boek twee sterren aftrek van mij krijgt.
Profile Image for Cath.
95 reviews1 follower
January 21, 2018
This was a difficult book to get through, somehow I thought it boring.
There was little to no passion in it and there was little depth to the characters.
It read like a gothic novel.
No more Celeste De Blasis for me...
8 reviews2 followers
January 17, 2020
I thought this was a wholesome and thrilling story, but I was so wrong! I can't believe how the story ended up pretending murder and rape are acceptable. Really wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It made my blood boil!
Profile Image for Kate H.
1,684 reviews1 follower
June 3, 2021
An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.
58 reviews
April 11, 2024
een erg mooi verhaal.
over een klein meisje melissa (missy) die een groot verlies heeft geleden.
daardoor zit ze op haar kamer alleen maar voor zich uit te staren.
als brenda haar gouvenante/lerares word veranderd heel langzaam het kleine meisje.
6 reviews
February 26, 2021
Loved the mystery and depth of emotions within this book, clearly written by an a passionate author
Profile Image for Trisha.
663 reviews48 followers
Read
October 13, 2024
Inhoud:
Wanneer een Amerikaanse gouvernante na de Burgeroorlog probeert te ontdekken waardoor haar vijfjarige pupil niet spreekt, zet ze haar eigen leven op het spel.

Het is 1869. Brenda Claybourne, een jonge, onstuimige lerares, dient woedend haar ontslag in bij de ouderwetse directeur van een strenge kostschool in Boston.
Gelukkig vindt ze al snel een nieuwe baan, als gouvernante van het vijfjarige dochtertje van de arrogante Grey King.

Grey, heer en meester van een afgelegen landhuis in de ruige wildernis van het Amerikaanse noorden, is getekend door een tragisch verleden. Sinds de geheimzinnige dood van zijn beeldschone vrouw Jasmine is hij nooit meer de oude geworden. Sinds de nacht van de brand, waarbij Jasmine om het leven kwam, heeft Grey's dochtertje Melissa nooit meer gesproken en nooit meer gespeeld. Ze wiegt heen en weer en staart in de verte.

Het is Brenda's taak om het stilzwijgen van het angstige kleine meisje te doorbreken. Brenda vecht met inzet van al haar krachten om Melissa's vertrouwen te winnen en de waarheid over het duistere verleden van haar werkgever aan het licht te brengen. Dan vindt Brenda het geheime dagboek van Jasmine. Een vondst die haar eigen leven in gevaar brengt.

Waardering:
Omdat ik, toen ik het boek las, nog geen beoordelingen en mening gaf over boeken is het voor mij niet mogelijk om nu een juiste waardering aan het boek te geven. Ik hoop in de aankomende jaren tijd te vinden om het boek weer op te pakken om opnieuw te lezen, zodat ik ook dit boek een waardering kan geven.

Boekinformatie:
Uitgeverij: Bantam Books
ISBN: 90.5112.516.x
224 pagina's; Hardcover
Profile Image for Hafiza.
629 reviews12 followers
December 24, 2016
All my favorites every gothic tropes
- brooding hero whom everyone suspects murdered his beautiful wife
- governess heroine
- hero's daughter is silent after witnessing mother's death in fire
- second love interest is hero's charming younger bro
- mansion in secluded Maine
But....
Heroine feels too modern for the time period. She wears jeans, rides horses astride, talks back to hero and is way too sassy. Basically she was really annoying

Scanned and uploaded paper back version available to borrow on Open Library
137 reviews
July 16, 2016
NOPE. Nope nope nope nope. This was really not okay. I don't care how old-fashioned this is supposed to be. If you like books in which murdering your wife because she was cheating on you is perfectly acceptable and raping someone is just a "bad start of the relationship", then this is for you!!
Profile Image for Teea.
394 reviews2 followers
July 19, 2010
Meh. I really felt no connection to these characters. I also find it very difficult fall in love with the hero when he RAPES the heroine.
Profile Image for Jessica.
17 reviews2 followers
July 21, 2013
I read this book in my early adult life, it's one of the few I remember reading more than once and stuck with me.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.