The Adulteress

Daughters of England #9

by Philippa Carr

Georgian England teems with unexpected passion and unforgivable sins in this “juicy” historical romance from the New York Times–bestselling author (Kirkus Reviews). Is it possible for people to be possessed? That’s the question happily married Zipporah Ransome asks herself when she journeys from Clavering Court to her family’s ancestral home in Eversleigh. At nearby Enderby House, a mysterious place connected to her notorious grandmother Carlotta, Zipporah discovers the power of her untapped desires—and the price of their fulfillment. Enigmatic Frenchman Gerard d’Aubigné changes Zipporah’s life forever. Unable to resist his sensual charms, Zipporah embarks on an illicit affair that leaves her with a haunting secret. Soon her life begins to mirror Carlotta’s, as scandal, violence, and deception threaten to destroy her home. No one, especially not Zipporah and her daughter, will be left unscathed.  

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Historical Romance, British Literature, Gothic

541 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Anna Percival and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[V H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually read the back cover of this book until I had finished reading the book. I had never heard of the author of the book before, and I picked it up at the library only because I thought the title sounded exciting.

Zipporah get's invited to Everleigh by a distant relative, and learns that this relative, Uncle Carl, has a "special" relationship with his much younger housekeeper Jessie. Zipporah can sense there is something more going on there and decides to find out what it is. While Zipporah is at Eversleigh she also meets a very charming French gentleman, whom she after only a short while have an affair with. After being with the Frenchman Zipporah also get's pregnant for the first time.

I'm very much against cheating, and I can't really forgive Zipporah for cheating on her husband with the French guy, but I can kind of understand the way she acts afterwards. I also enjoyed reading about the other characters, although some of them annoyed me, the way they would have annoyed me if they were real.

My favorite part of the book was the parts with Uncle Dave in them. He was a really interesting character. I also liked the parts with Jessie, as I wanted to know what she would come up with.

Several times during the book it kind of felt like the book could have just ended at that point and it wouldn't really have mattered, but I'm glad it didn't. There were new people and plots woven into the story all the time, in a way that made it more exciting and also made me wonder how it all would end.

This book is actually the ninth novel in a series called Daughters of England. I didn't know this when I started reading. Maybe I would have known a little bit more about some of the characters in the book if I had read the other books in the series, but I honestly didn't feel like any information or anything was "missing" from the book when I read it. It was perfectly fine to read on it's own.

This is not the kind of book I would normally read. It wasn't a great book, but it was okay. I don't feel like I need or want to read the other books in the series, but at the same time if I got one of them I wouldn't mind reading it.

[Rebecca Jaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the risqué title, this book is less about adultery and more about the mystery surrounding Zipporah Ransome’s family. Has there ever been a more gothic name? 🥰 Highly doubtful! Why are authors far better at naming people than mothers?!
This is a gothic before it is a romance. There is unsettling atmosphere, a pervasive sense of dread, and a mystery. I really enjoyed this book overall, and I would read another Philippa Carr (or Victoria Holt or Jean Plaidy, if you’re savvy) in second!

Zipporah Ransome is pretty standard: beautiful, well-to-do, and happy. Over and over she repeats how happy she is in her marriage. It was always expected she would marry her husband, Jean-Louis. She’d known him since she was child, so she was comfortable with him.
Carr wants us to know Zipporah is mistaken about her happiness with he husband. Zipporah sees comfort and happiness as synonymous. However, her marriage to Jean-Louis is nothing like the few weeks she spends with Gerard d'Aubigné. Zippporah falls in love with Gerard. The feelings come fast, and they run deep. With Gerard she is truly, definitionally happy. But she is married, so Zipporah leaves the otherworldly realm that is her ancestral home of Eversleigh estate and returns to her husband.

Poor Jean-Louis Ransome has it the worst in this story. He’s a loving and devoted husband, but Zipporah cuckholds him. His leg is broken and his spine is injured, causing him to need walking stick, right at the beginning of the story. And that’s not all he must endure! Zipporah falls pregnant by Gerard, and she passes the baby off as Jean-Louis’s. It seems they are happy again. Zipporah feels guilt over her affair, but surely their daughter is something good that came out of her indiscretion.
In the end, Jean-Louis falls from his horse, becomes paralyzed from the waist down, and can’t stand the pain anymore. I truly felt sorry for his character. From my perspective, his only sin was marrying into Zipporah’s family, and it brought him a lot of misery.

Dickon is the villain of the story: avaricious, ever-scheming, and evil to his core. His mother and aunt (Zipporah’s mother) are total enablers and he can do no wrong in their eyes. If you can’t imagine what kind of person is produced from that upbringing, Dickon’s character is illuminating.
From the outset, he causes life-altering accidents, seeks twisted revenge, and aims to take what he wants by any means. He even grooms Zipporah’s daughter! He is the stuff nightmares are made of!

Ultimately, it becomes pretty clear what is haunted isn’t an estate, but Zipporah’s family. It’s a family littered with sinners of all sorts, and their actions, or inactions, have severe consequences that rippled throughout generations. Of course, this is a romance, so Zipporah’s going to end up where she should be with the man she loves. With many twists and turns along the way, Zipporah realizes what she must give up in order to protect her daughter and get her happily ever after.

[CLAUDIO ARAYA · Rating 4 out of 5]

La Adultera

Novela romántica cuya mayor atracción es su título,sin embargo esta muy bien escrita por que la autora entremezcla con mucha inteligencia lugares,personajes y conductas de los mismos.Estimo que a las mujeres les debe gustar por los diversos coloquios amorosos.
Gusta por ser una novela activa sin muchas descripciones de personajes y lugares y estimó que ahí está el mérito de la autora

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tedious. Annoying. Cliche. I skipped the middle of the book and had to force myself to finish it. As soon as she had the affair I knew it would be used against her, this book was about 500 pages too long. I usually love historical fiction, but I had a very hard time liking Zippora, in fact I found her weak and selfish. The only thing that kept me awake with this book was my annoyance with her. Otherwise a big YAWN.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author doesn’t often write fast-paced narratives, but she does so here.

Yes, there’s the usual repetition of specific themes, which I believe comes from not redrafting her novels enough times, but I favour dialogue-heavy stories like this that don’t meander.

I consider this one of the better episodes in the Daughters of England series. Although certain outcomes were predictable, this didn’t spoil things.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me begin with how much I adore Victoria Holt aka Mrs. Carr. I haven't read her books in a decade so when I found this picked it up immediately. I love her books-the settings, the character development, etc. This one was a little slower than I like but was so well developed. I had no idea was part of a series so will look for the others now.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really understand Zipporah (What a name!) when she had such a sweet husband at home. (Dickon) That being said, the story is full of intrigue and interesting details, and how she managed her gulty conscience.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of a series of mother to daughter generations stories telling the history of England from Henry VIII to WW II. Fabulous to read them all in order. Each one is a gem; each is surprising and well written.

A bit guilt ridden but still a good read about this time in history.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't one of my favorites in the series. Not when I first read them and not now. I just could not connect with Zipporah. And by golly I hated Dickon. What an evil little monster. I know that he is in the next book too so I am not looking forward to that.

[Tammie Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

book 9

[Vmontgzz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me pareció bastante repetitivo y algo aburrido.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading all of these Daughters of England series. Wish I had read them in order but with the genealogy chart at the front of the book it's not hard to figure out what time frame it is in.

[Chon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure what to make of this book. I did not like the ending. It felt unjustified. I could not help but hate Dickon and his doters throughout the entire book. Interesting array of characters.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not get into this book and wasn't very interesting

[Gary Branson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit slower than the others in the series, plot seemed to meander. Surprising ending, did not see it coming at all. Villain was well developed. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Delores Alger · Rating 3 out of 5]

pseud Victoria Holt

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting story to say the least. I thought I would find it more intriguing then what I did, I mean with such a title “the adulteress”, I found myself almost bored halfway through which made it take longer to finish the book than what I would have preferred. Obviously the title shows some infidelity may happen in the story, the way it happened made it so hard to like the main character zipporah. Yes life will throw temptations at you, but if you act on them do you truly love the person you are with? Probably not. If you really love the one you are with, you will not feel the need to engage in sexual activity with others. Point is don’t cheat it’s disgusting, I did not care for zipporah so much because that’s what she is an -adulteress, she didn’t do it once she kept going back! Then she claims to love all three men she has lain with! The ending was so predictable it almost disgusted me. All of a sudden her other two lovers die (her poor husband jean-Louise, doctor Charles who magically sparked a romance with zipporah while her husband lay ill) and she solves her problem with the twisted and very annoying Dickon, and gets to marry the one mysterious lover who unknowingly gave her a child, and I’m assuming they all live happily ever after.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zipporah Ransome has spent the first three decades of her life doing everything expected of her. But when she is summoned to her family's ancestral home, Eversleigh Court, which first appeared in Philippa Carr's "Daughters of England" series in book 5 ("Lament for a Lost Lover"), her life changes thanks to a brief, intense affair (no spoiler there: the title of the book gives it away). The repercussions of that lapse play out in the 1750s-1760s, while Zipporah untangles the dangerous situation that she finds at Eversleigh and comes into frequent conflict with Dickon Frenshaw, her second cousin. Although she at times wears a bit of a hair shirt, considering the shenanigans her forebears have gotten up to in previous volumes of the series, Zipporah makes for a less-naive and rather more tart heroine than Carr previously writes, making a pleasant change to the series.

[Alison Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the best of the series so far. I found the first 3 or 4 books very repetitive with similar themes but after that they get more Interesting and I was actually surprised by some of the plot points in this one! Makes me look forward to the remainder of the books more.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel bad about this rating because she is a wonderful writer but I found myself hating the protagonist and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the author's intent

[Marie Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was fantastic and I am very excited to see how the next book plays out! Dickon the Destroyer!

[MV · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good one in the series.

[Dominik Golob · Rating 4 out of 5]

139

[Michelle "Champ" · Rating 5 out of 5]

The was the first book that I read in the series in the 80's and fell instantly in love with the writing, the stories, and the author. I immediately started seeking out all of the books to own. It took about 20 years to find all of the books because many were out of print. They are back now in paperback and ebooks so you should have no issues. No excuses.

The one features Zipporah a beautiful woman. Folks say she looks a bit like her grandmother Carlotta (see Song of the Siren). She acts nothing like her, however. She marries a man who is kind to her and devoted 100%. She meets a Frenchman and everything changes. EVERYTHING. Until this point she and her husband had failed to conceive a child; so she and her husband both know how they are now having a child. Once Lottie is born she is just perfect. She is giving her to her mom and a caretaker for her father. She falls in love with her cousin. Her mother hates the cousin and plots to keep him away from her child. Then Zipporah's husband dies. You need to read how he dies. You need to read what Dickon does. You need to read how Lottie grows up. This is what Carr does well....intrigue.

[Kit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ableist and featuring one of the foulest characters in literature who becomes the hero of the next book.