What do you think?
Rate this book
The House in the Orchard
CrimeReads Best Gothic Fiction of 2022
A BuzzFeed, Good Housekeeping, and Departures Magazine Best Book of Fall
A startling gothic tale of corrupted innocence that asks—when we look closely—what it really means to know the truth.
When a World War II widow inherits a dilapidated English estate, she uncovers a diary written by an adolescent girl named Maude Gower. Looking for answers, she begins reading, only to unravel more questions about the mysterious past and many secrets hidden deep within the walls of Orchard House.
In 1876, orphaned Maude is forced to leave London, and her adored brother, Frank, to live with a stranger. Everyone—especially Frank—tells her not to trust Miss Greenaway, the enigmatic owner of Orchard House, but Maude can’t help warming to her new guardian. Encouraged by Miss Greenaway, Maude finds herself discovering who she is for the first time, and learning to love her new home. But when Frank comes for an unexpected visit, the delicate balance of Maude’s life is thrown into disarray. Complicating matters more, Maude witnesses an adult world full of interactions she cannot quite understand. Her efforts to regain control result in a violent tragedy, the repercussions of which will haunt Orchard House for the rest of Maude’s life—and beyond.
With each psychologically gripping turn, Elizabeth Brooks masterfully explores the blurred lines between truth and manipulation, asking us who we can trust, how to tell guilt from forgiveness, and whether we can ever really separate true love from destruction.
A BuzzFeed, Good Housekeeping, and Departures Magazine Best Book of Fall
A startling gothic tale of corrupted innocence that asks—when we look closely—what it really means to know the truth.
When a World War II widow inherits a dilapidated English estate, she uncovers a diary written by an adolescent girl named Maude Gower. Looking for answers, she begins reading, only to unravel more questions about the mysterious past and many secrets hidden deep within the walls of Orchard House.
In 1876, orphaned Maude is forced to leave London, and her adored brother, Frank, to live with a stranger. Everyone—especially Frank—tells her not to trust Miss Greenaway, the enigmatic owner of Orchard House, but Maude can’t help warming to her new guardian. Encouraged by Miss Greenaway, Maude finds herself discovering who she is for the first time, and learning to love her new home. But when Frank comes for an unexpected visit, the delicate balance of Maude’s life is thrown into disarray. Complicating matters more, Maude witnesses an adult world full of interactions she cannot quite understand. Her efforts to regain control result in a violent tragedy, the repercussions of which will haunt Orchard House for the rest of Maude’s life—and beyond.
With each psychologically gripping turn, Elizabeth Brooks masterfully explores the blurred lines between truth and manipulation, asking us who we can trust, how to tell guilt from forgiveness, and whether we can ever really separate true love from destruction.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 27, 2022
50 people are currently reading
12836 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Brooks
6 books168 followersElizabeth Brooks grew up in Chester. She read Classics at Newnham College, Cambridge. On graduating in 2001 she moved to the Isle of Man where she lives with her husband and their two children. Her first novel, 'Call of the Curlew' was shortlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award 2018. Her fourth novel, 'The Woman in the Sable Coat,' will be published by Tin House in March 2024.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 247 reviews
October 8, 2022
3.5 Cambridgeshire, 1945. Peggy, a recent widow, and her young son come to Orchard house, a house left by her husband's ain't, which has now become hers. She looks forward to raising her young son here, but there are things she finds eerie. Plus, her father in law Frank wants her to sell, telling her the house is haunted. Indeed, there are questions, the cellar has been bricked over and that night she hears things, has feelings that she may not be alone. Then, she finds the journal and begins to read.
What follows is Maudes story. A young girl of 13, who has lost both her parents, her only brother Frank is older and in college. A woman, unknown, but responding to her father's wishes, had agreed to raise Maude. There are many questions, things Maude is to young to understand. Who is this woman? What did she mean to her father? What follows is a young girl , confused, who is manipulated in any ways, insecure, wanting love but aware people may have ulterior motives. A tragedy ensues and everything changes, until the end when again questions abound. What is true and what is not?
I have a soft spot both for gothic novels and books written in journal or diary form. I felt the ending was rushed but kind of liked the uncertainty it produced. A slow unraveling of a young girls innocence but I was captivated by her thoughts.
The narration by Ell Potter was fantastic and really added to this story.
What follows is Maudes story. A young girl of 13, who has lost both her parents, her only brother Frank is older and in college. A woman, unknown, but responding to her father's wishes, had agreed to raise Maude. There are many questions, things Maude is to young to understand. Who is this woman? What did she mean to her father? What follows is a young girl , confused, who is manipulated in any ways, insecure, wanting love but aware people may have ulterior motives. A tragedy ensues and everything changes, until the end when again questions abound. What is true and what is not?
I have a soft spot both for gothic novels and books written in journal or diary form. I felt the ending was rushed but kind of liked the uncertainty it produced. A slow unraveling of a young girls innocence but I was captivated by her thoughts.
The narration by Ell Potter was fantastic and really added to this story.
November 11, 2022
WAIT… I feel like this book isn’t getting the recognition it deserves. After reading this book I saw quite a few negative reviews on Goodreads and I just don’t get it. I LOVED this book. I feel like if this book came out in the time period that it’s set in (1870s) then it would be considered a classic today. The writing feels classic-esque but in a very approachable manner. I absolutely loved this writing style. Most of the book is from the point of view of a 13 year old so the immaturity of the main character could be annoying to some people but I thought the childish-feel made the story even more impactful. I’ve really been loving gothic fiction lately and this gave the perfect eery/unsettling vibes.
November 10, 2022
My thanks to Goodreads, Tin House Press and Elizabeth Brooks for an Advance Reader Copy that I won in a giveaway. I’m so sorry that this review is so late.
I really loved almost everything about this book from the gothic elements to the unreliable young narrator to the dual timeline pov. I also love the diary part of the book as well. I love all of the characters and how most were morally grey. I love the Charles Dickens theme throughout the book as he happens to be one of my favorite authors. I of course love all the cats but I didn’t like it when one of the cats went missing.
However, I was surprisingly bothered by The Golden Bowl vibes even though that’s one of my favorite Henry James novels. So that’s why I’m unfortunately dnf’ing this book.
I really loved almost everything about this book from the gothic elements to the unreliable young narrator to the dual timeline pov. I also love the diary part of the book as well. I love all of the characters and how most were morally grey. I love the Charles Dickens theme throughout the book as he happens to be one of my favorite authors. I of course love all the cats but I didn’t like it when one of the cats went missing.
However, I was surprisingly bothered by The Golden Bowl vibes even though that’s one of my favorite Henry James novels. So that’s why I’m unfortunately dnf’ing this book.
January 6, 2023
I was actually given this book for free in my first Aardvark Book Club box, so it wasn't one I was really interested in reading, but a free book is a free book, so I thought I'd give it a shot. And I liked it! It was a little bit messy in terms of pacing, and the blurb is pretty misleading, but I was so angry by the end of the book, I have to give it props, because it managed to get me invested enough to provoke anger.
Our main character is Maude, a thirteen-year old girl in England in 1876 whose father has just died, and whose mother is about to. Her older brother Frank is off at Cambridge studying to be a doctor. Her story is told through her diary entries, which a woman in 1945 named Peggy (the daughter in law of Maude's brother) is reading upon inheriting the house from Maude, who has just died. Peggy is barely in this book, despite what the blurb and the reviews saying its "dual timelines" lead you to believe. Her timeline is a frame story, and 95% of the book is Maude's diary, though the end is in Peggy's timeline and is essential to understanding what story the author is wanting to tell.
The conflict of the story here is in reading Maude's writing (and she's a very engaging writer) and the reader understanding much more of what is actually going on than Maude does. This morphs into Maude's uprbrining clashing with her lived experience, when she goes to live with a woman named Miss Greenaway. I can't say more than that without spoilers.
For much of this book, I didn't really understand why it was considered "gothic," but the ending made it more clear. This isn't getting four stars from me for a couple of reasons. First, the story feels kind of unsure of itself. First you think it's going for one thing, but when the characters at the end react to Maude's diary, it seems to be going for something else. So is this a story about a young girl trying to make sense of conflicting social norms, or is this a story about, uh, something else?
Also,
I liked this better than I thought I would, and I definitely got way more emotionally involved than I expected, but it's still a 3.5 star book for me.
[3.5 stars]
Our main character is Maude, a thirteen-year old girl in England in 1876 whose father has just died, and whose mother is about to. Her older brother Frank is off at Cambridge studying to be a doctor. Her story is told through her diary entries, which a woman in 1945 named Peggy (the daughter in law of Maude's brother) is reading upon inheriting the house from Maude, who has just died. Peggy is barely in this book, despite what the blurb and the reviews saying its "dual timelines" lead you to believe. Her timeline is a frame story, and 95% of the book is Maude's diary, though the end is in Peggy's timeline and is essential to understanding what story the author is wanting to tell.
The conflict of the story here is in reading Maude's writing (and she's a very engaging writer) and the reader understanding much more of what is actually going on than Maude does. This morphs into Maude's uprbrining clashing with her lived experience, when she goes to live with a woman named Miss Greenaway. I can't say more than that without spoilers.
For much of this book, I didn't really understand why it was considered "gothic," but the ending made it more clear. This isn't getting four stars from me for a couple of reasons. First, the story feels kind of unsure of itself. First you think it's going for one thing, but when the characters at the end react to Maude's diary, it seems to be going for something else. So is this a story about a young girl trying to make sense of conflicting social norms, or is this a story about, uh, something else?
Also,
I liked this better than I thought I would, and I definitely got way more emotionally involved than I expected, but it's still a 3.5 star book for me.
[3.5 stars]
June 25, 2022
Genre: Gothic/Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tin House
Pub. Date: Sept. 27, 2022
Mini-Review
This dual narrated novel takes place within two centuries and both are filled with family tension. The story revolves around one girl and one woman who discover the mysteries of an English country house. Thirteen-year-old Maude Gower, an orphan, writes in her diary about losing her parents and having to move in with Miss Kitty Greenaway in 1876. She knows that the family hates this woman but she doesn’t know why. She is heartbroken that she cannot stay with her college-aged older brother Frank. Peggy, Frank's widowed daughter-in-law, inherits Maude's home in 1945 and considers relocating there. Frank warns Peggy that the house is haunted and he tries to persuade her to sell it. Most of the story is Peggy reading Maude’s diary and trying to piece together family secrets. The theme in the novel explores the concept of can we ever truly know what is the truth? There seems to be different truths for our four prognostics regarding the same family history. Is Miss Kitty an evil or misunderstood person? I enjoyed the gothic elements in the tale such as why is the cellar locked up. Or when Peggy believes that there is a ghost in the house, both very creepy. However, the tale couldn’t win me over. It kept my interest in the beginning but then it began to read melodramatic. I began to not care what was happening, which is never a good thing while reading any book.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list…
https://books6259.wordpress.com/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review…
https://www.facebook.com/martie.neesr…
https://twitter.com/NeesRecord\
https://www.amazon.com/
Publisher: Tin House
Pub. Date: Sept. 27, 2022
Mini-Review
This dual narrated novel takes place within two centuries and both are filled with family tension. The story revolves around one girl and one woman who discover the mysteries of an English country house. Thirteen-year-old Maude Gower, an orphan, writes in her diary about losing her parents and having to move in with Miss Kitty Greenaway in 1876. She knows that the family hates this woman but she doesn’t know why. She is heartbroken that she cannot stay with her college-aged older brother Frank. Peggy, Frank's widowed daughter-in-law, inherits Maude's home in 1945 and considers relocating there. Frank warns Peggy that the house is haunted and he tries to persuade her to sell it. Most of the story is Peggy reading Maude’s diary and trying to piece together family secrets. The theme in the novel explores the concept of can we ever truly know what is the truth? There seems to be different truths for our four prognostics regarding the same family history. Is Miss Kitty an evil or misunderstood person? I enjoyed the gothic elements in the tale such as why is the cellar locked up. Or when Peggy believes that there is a ghost in the house, both very creepy. However, the tale couldn’t win me over. It kept my interest in the beginning but then it began to read melodramatic. I began to not care what was happening, which is never a good thing while reading any book.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list…
https://books6259.wordpress.com/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review…
https://www.facebook.com/martie.neesr…
https://twitter.com/NeesRecord\
https://www.amazon.com/
October 31, 2022
I'm not sure what to say about this one. Boring. I found myself cleaing, organizing bookshelves and doing laundry to avoid picking it back up and reading. It did help me get the housework done this week!
It's a 2 part story - but just barely. There are essentially just 3 or 4 chapters. In one, 1945, Peggy is reading a journal. The main part of the book is the journay/diary of a young sheltered girl in the 1870's. She's shallow and naive. She hasn't seen much of the world and has spent most of her time trying to sabotage governesses and her cook. She's cruel at times, confused by what does and does not hurt others. She has been treated cruelly by both torture but also indifference by both parents and her one sibling until she's not sure how to feel anything.
And that's the main part of the story. It's a few hundred pages of her sorting her thoughts and having awful ideas of hurting others but also how bored she is. It's page after page after page. I kept waiting for a really big revelation where she would grow and start to understand more of the world. I thought she might meet someone or be inspired to better herself or. . .anything. But no, it's just a lot of her dull day to day and her unhappiness at not understanding adults and those around her. Wish I'd liked it.
It's a 2 part story - but just barely. There are essentially just 3 or 4 chapters. In one, 1945, Peggy is reading a journal. The main part of the book is the journay/diary of a young sheltered girl in the 1870's. She's shallow and naive. She hasn't seen much of the world and has spent most of her time trying to sabotage governesses and her cook. She's cruel at times, confused by what does and does not hurt others. She has been treated cruelly by both torture but also indifference by both parents and her one sibling until she's not sure how to feel anything.
And that's the main part of the story. It's a few hundred pages of her sorting her thoughts and having awful ideas of hurting others but also how bored she is. It's page after page after page. I kept waiting for a really big revelation where she would grow and start to understand more of the world. I thought she might meet someone or be inspired to better herself or. . .anything. But no, it's just a lot of her dull day to day and her unhappiness at not understanding adults and those around her. Wish I'd liked it.
June 4, 2022
Thank you to Tin House and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on September 27th, 2022.
Plot: 2/5 Characters: 3/5 Writing: 3/5
A story within a story — in 1941 Peggy inherits the house in the orchard (in Cambridgeshire) from her husband’s Aunt Maude (her husband died in the war). Her rather difficult father-in-law (Maude’s brother Frank) hates the place and encourages her to sell. The bulk of the book is Peggy reading Maude’s diary (beginning in 1876) — a rather horrific tale of how Maude came to own the place.
I wanted to like this book — I love English historical fiction, and there was the potential for a good story. “Victorian era girl brought up to be proper in a home devoid of warmth makes good” is the story I wanted to read but it was not to be. Instead I disliked her more and more until I thought I couldn’t dislike her any more (I was wrong). By the end, I had to ask myself what was the point of the book? What lesson should I have learned? Who was I supposed to empathize with? Was the story believable? And whose version of events should I believe?
The story moved slowly and there was a lot of description which I kind of skimmed over, but my main objection is the insidious way the story went downhill into darkness. Luckily (for me) it was not written in a melodramatic way, so I was able to finish the book with my emotional state intact, but I can’t say I gained any wisdom or enjoyment from reading it.
Plot: 2/5 Characters: 3/5 Writing: 3/5
A story within a story — in 1941 Peggy inherits the house in the orchard (in Cambridgeshire) from her husband’s Aunt Maude (her husband died in the war). Her rather difficult father-in-law (Maude’s brother Frank) hates the place and encourages her to sell. The bulk of the book is Peggy reading Maude’s diary (beginning in 1876) — a rather horrific tale of how Maude came to own the place.
I wanted to like this book — I love English historical fiction, and there was the potential for a good story. “Victorian era girl brought up to be proper in a home devoid of warmth makes good” is the story I wanted to read but it was not to be. Instead I disliked her more and more until I thought I couldn’t dislike her any more (I was wrong). By the end, I had to ask myself what was the point of the book? What lesson should I have learned? Who was I supposed to empathize with? Was the story believable? And whose version of events should I believe?
The story moved slowly and there was a lot of description which I kind of skimmed over, but my main objection is the insidious way the story went downhill into darkness. Luckily (for me) it was not written in a melodramatic way, so I was able to finish the book with my emotional state intact, but I can’t say I gained any wisdom or enjoyment from reading it.
September 4, 2022
I won this book through the Goodreads Giveaway. This story is mainly told through the diary entries of a young girl named Maude where she talks about her life, everyday events, the goings on at The Orchard House, her older brother, and her guardian Miss Greenaway. I was surprised at how intriguing Maude's diary entries were and near the end of the book, there is a twist or change in perceptions that I wasn't expecting. There is also a mysterious death that occurs and makes you question what really happened or if the diary entries were even true or just made up.
October 6, 2022
The strongest portion of this gothic, atmospheric novel involves the diary of prissy, snobbish, adolescent Maude. The weakest portion was the ending which was rather contrived.
October 18, 2022
I enjoyed The House in the Orchard but I didn’t love it because the majority of the characters are awful. One character in particular is literally the representation of toxic masculinity complete with mansplaining and misogyny. He is unable to take no for an answer. Granted this is set in 1876, so most men probably had these same views. I had more sympathy for Maude, even though she wasn’t exactly the most likable character either. But your likability on the characters will depend on the version of events you believe to be true since there is some ambiguity.
The synopsis makes this seem like it’s a dual timeline story, but the majority of the story is set in the past with a few scenes set in the present timeline. I think this was a smart decision since the past timeline is where all the action happens and the present timeline is basically the conclusion of events. Otherwise, this is your typical gothic story minus the dark and brooding atmosphere.
The synopsis makes this seem like it’s a dual timeline story, but the majority of the story is set in the past with a few scenes set in the present timeline. I think this was a smart decision since the past timeline is where all the action happens and the present timeline is basically the conclusion of events. Otherwise, this is your typical gothic story minus the dark and brooding atmosphere.
September 27, 2022
When a widow with a young child inherits a dilapidated, unkept countryside home in England, she accidentally discovers a hidden diary written by the previous owner of the property, her father-in-law, Frank’s sister Maude.
As she begins reading the diary, which was written by a very young Maude during the late 1800’s, she discovers a girl whose life was changed forever by the death of both her parents. Her father dying quite suddenly and her mother due to illness the deaths coming very close together. The lavish life she and her older brother Frank were accustomed to came crashing down as she became an orphan and her brother who was in college certainly unable not take care of her.
She was then parceled out by “the relatives” to a stranger named Mrs. Greenaway who owned an estate called Orchard House. No knowing or understanding the woman’s connection to her family, she desperately tries to like her and fit in. But she finds the house cold and is not quite sure what to make of her new guardian.
Parts of her feel Mrs. Greenaway is trying to take her under her wing and help her, but there is a side of the woman that makes Maude uncomfortable. Maude is put in a situation that she as a child is not really capable of understanding. She begins to snoop a bit and discovers adult secrets her adolescent mind finds confusing.
But when her older brother Frank suddenly comes to visit and seems to take a liking to Mrs. Greenaway, Maude is terribly jealous she will take her brother away from her and petrified at what might happen to her next. She begins to not trust Mrs. Greenaway and believes she wants her to leave.
When the three decide to travel for a few weeks in the summer, Maude believes they are trying to get rid of her. She concocts a plan to make sure Frank and Mrs. Greenaway don’t go away together with her. Instead, she will have her brother all to herself in hopes of making him love her as much as he used to.
But her plan goes terribly wrong, and the three lives will be changed forever. Maude will never be the same and will regret her actions until the day she dies.
The House in the Orchard is a tragic story about a child, too young to understand the complexities of adult life, too embarrassed to ask and sadly with no one she believes she can trust, just a lost soul.
Thank you #NetGalley #TinHouseBooks #ElizabethBrooks #TheHouseintheOrchard for the advanced copy.
As she begins reading the diary, which was written by a very young Maude during the late 1800’s, she discovers a girl whose life was changed forever by the death of both her parents. Her father dying quite suddenly and her mother due to illness the deaths coming very close together. The lavish life she and her older brother Frank were accustomed to came crashing down as she became an orphan and her brother who was in college certainly unable not take care of her.
She was then parceled out by “the relatives” to a stranger named Mrs. Greenaway who owned an estate called Orchard House. No knowing or understanding the woman’s connection to her family, she desperately tries to like her and fit in. But she finds the house cold and is not quite sure what to make of her new guardian.
Parts of her feel Mrs. Greenaway is trying to take her under her wing and help her, but there is a side of the woman that makes Maude uncomfortable. Maude is put in a situation that she as a child is not really capable of understanding. She begins to snoop a bit and discovers adult secrets her adolescent mind finds confusing.
But when her older brother Frank suddenly comes to visit and seems to take a liking to Mrs. Greenaway, Maude is terribly jealous she will take her brother away from her and petrified at what might happen to her next. She begins to not trust Mrs. Greenaway and believes she wants her to leave.
When the three decide to travel for a few weeks in the summer, Maude believes they are trying to get rid of her. She concocts a plan to make sure Frank and Mrs. Greenaway don’t go away together with her. Instead, she will have her brother all to herself in hopes of making him love her as much as he used to.
But her plan goes terribly wrong, and the three lives will be changed forever. Maude will never be the same and will regret her actions until the day she dies.
The House in the Orchard is a tragic story about a child, too young to understand the complexities of adult life, too embarrassed to ask and sadly with no one she believes she can trust, just a lost soul.
Thank you #NetGalley #TinHouseBooks #ElizabethBrooks #TheHouseintheOrchard for the advanced copy.
June 24, 2023
When @chasing.english recommends a Gothic mystery, pay attention my friends.
THE HOUSE IN THE ORCHARD by Elizabeth Brooks is like being slowly led through a maze only to find yourself all alone as the sun is setting.
I still don't quite know how to escape this story.
Maude is a young teen coming of age in 1876 and writes in her diary the events surrounding her orphaned state and being sent to live with a much shunned woman. This shunning is a bit out of Maude's naive understanding, but she begins to piece it together when ....
This diary is found by the daughter-in-law of Maude's brother Frank after the death of her husband. When she reads this captivating account, she is unsure what to think of this home she inherited or her family.
This feels like a very classically written Gothic mystery, reminiscent of DuMaurier's Rebecca (a favorite of mine). This story takes time to tell and the dread builds and builds. What is not as classical is the clear message of the repression of women in a toxic patriarchal system of abuse.
I wasn't sure about how much I would love this while I was reading. By the end, and certainly as I keep thinking about it, it will be one of those fantastic reads that I keep chewing on. I have read the end at least 3 times and still don't feel settled!
A marvel for sure.
THE HOUSE IN THE ORCHARD by Elizabeth Brooks is like being slowly led through a maze only to find yourself all alone as the sun is setting.
I still don't quite know how to escape this story.
Maude is a young teen coming of age in 1876 and writes in her diary the events surrounding her orphaned state and being sent to live with a much shunned woman. This shunning is a bit out of Maude's naive understanding, but she begins to piece it together when ....
This diary is found by the daughter-in-law of Maude's brother Frank after the death of her husband. When she reads this captivating account, she is unsure what to think of this home she inherited or her family.
This feels like a very classically written Gothic mystery, reminiscent of DuMaurier's Rebecca (a favorite of mine). This story takes time to tell and the dread builds and builds. What is not as classical is the clear message of the repression of women in a toxic patriarchal system of abuse.
I wasn't sure about how much I would love this while I was reading. By the end, and certainly as I keep thinking about it, it will be one of those fantastic reads that I keep chewing on. I have read the end at least 3 times and still don't feel settled!
A marvel for sure.
June 10, 2023
I received this from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
This started out with promise but part way in the book became bogged down in the diary musings of 14 year old Maude. I found Maude, and her brother Frank to be shallow, vain, selfish and quite unlikable. The ending was vague, but by that time I had already lost interest.
This started out with promise but part way in the book became bogged down in the diary musings of 14 year old Maude. I found Maude, and her brother Frank to be shallow, vain, selfish and quite unlikable. The ending was vague, but by that time I had already lost interest.
September 27, 2022
**Publication Day**
In 1945, World War II war widow, Peggy, inherited Orchard House, a rambling property in rural Cambridgeshire. The cellar had been bricked up, the house shrouded in dark mystery. Orchard House had been willed to Peggy's husband by his late Aunt Maude. Peggy's father-in-law, Frank, stated that the dilapidated house was "no place for anyone". Frank refused to stay overnight. "There is something off-kilter...but...Peggy indulges the thought of keeping the house". She searches..."not sure whether she's searching for reasons to stay or reasons to go."
Frank is evasive, refusing to shed light on his dislike for the house. Perhaps answers lie in Maude's teenage diary. Unable to sleep in questionable surroundings, Peggy discovers and then reads the diary cover to cover. "...things that were quite normal last week have become dark and twisted...the trains...Euston stations...since Pa died: They used to squeal with excitement and now they wail." One month later, Maude was an orphan.
"The problem of Maude". What relative would take her? She must reside with a guardian until older brother, Frank qualified as a doctor. "I, Francis Gower, hereby swear that nothing shall ever divide me from my sister, Maude", so claims Frank.
In accordance with Pa's wishes, Maude was to reside with Miss Kitty Greenaway of Orchard House, Sawyer's Fen. Maude has an "unruly clash of fears and griefs and speculations...". Frank stated, "The Feline [Miss Greenaway] is not to be trusted...a vicious predatory beast who lures foolish men to their doom."
Who was Kitty? Maude searched for clues of a manipulative, untrustworthy nature. Kitty was a scholar and classicist. She surrounded Maude with books, star gazing and long walks. "Would you rather be vulgar but interesting, or ladylike but dull?" "[Maude] was bowled over by a wave of sadness...when [she] is reminded of everything lost...but...Cambridgeshire...feels like a place of unparalleled vividness...there are colours pushing through the long grass, yellow daffodils...meadows dotted with white cows...". Despite warming up to Kitty, Maude was plagued with thoughts of Frank's disapproval. He despised Kitty. A terrible tragedy would soon rock their world. How would the siblings fare?
In 1945, Peggy read Maude's thoughts and ramblings. Was the writing an unreliable flight of fancy or Maude's true experiences? Kitty, a published author, gave Greek and Latin lessons to a local farmgirl. In lieu of reading the classics, Maude enjoyed math, history and putting pen to paper...a budding writer?
It was unclear why Peggy made a sudden, short and abrupt appearance, disturbing the flow of the narrative. After completing the diary, Peggy's decisions were in limbo. The book's ending provided no closure. Truth or manipulation, fact or fiction, reader decide!
Thank you Tin House Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In 1945, World War II war widow, Peggy, inherited Orchard House, a rambling property in rural Cambridgeshire. The cellar had been bricked up, the house shrouded in dark mystery. Orchard House had been willed to Peggy's husband by his late Aunt Maude. Peggy's father-in-law, Frank, stated that the dilapidated house was "no place for anyone". Frank refused to stay overnight. "There is something off-kilter...but...Peggy indulges the thought of keeping the house". She searches..."not sure whether she's searching for reasons to stay or reasons to go."
Frank is evasive, refusing to shed light on his dislike for the house. Perhaps answers lie in Maude's teenage diary. Unable to sleep in questionable surroundings, Peggy discovers and then reads the diary cover to cover. "...things that were quite normal last week have become dark and twisted...the trains...Euston stations...since Pa died: They used to squeal with excitement and now they wail." One month later, Maude was an orphan.
"The problem of Maude". What relative would take her? She must reside with a guardian until older brother, Frank qualified as a doctor. "I, Francis Gower, hereby swear that nothing shall ever divide me from my sister, Maude", so claims Frank.
In accordance with Pa's wishes, Maude was to reside with Miss Kitty Greenaway of Orchard House, Sawyer's Fen. Maude has an "unruly clash of fears and griefs and speculations...". Frank stated, "The Feline [Miss Greenaway] is not to be trusted...a vicious predatory beast who lures foolish men to their doom."
Who was Kitty? Maude searched for clues of a manipulative, untrustworthy nature. Kitty was a scholar and classicist. She surrounded Maude with books, star gazing and long walks. "Would you rather be vulgar but interesting, or ladylike but dull?" "[Maude] was bowled over by a wave of sadness...when [she] is reminded of everything lost...but...Cambridgeshire...feels like a place of unparalleled vividness...there are colours pushing through the long grass, yellow daffodils...meadows dotted with white cows...". Despite warming up to Kitty, Maude was plagued with thoughts of Frank's disapproval. He despised Kitty. A terrible tragedy would soon rock their world. How would the siblings fare?
In 1945, Peggy read Maude's thoughts and ramblings. Was the writing an unreliable flight of fancy or Maude's true experiences? Kitty, a published author, gave Greek and Latin lessons to a local farmgirl. In lieu of reading the classics, Maude enjoyed math, history and putting pen to paper...a budding writer?
It was unclear why Peggy made a sudden, short and abrupt appearance, disturbing the flow of the narrative. After completing the diary, Peggy's decisions were in limbo. The book's ending provided no closure. Truth or manipulation, fact or fiction, reader decide!
Thank you Tin House Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 30, 2022
When I began to read this book I was very quickly reminded of another book I read years ago. Now it’s not the same story but the feeling, the feeling is the same. That book from years ago was Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. There is a subtle off feeling that ever so slowly builds until you find you are not surprised or shocked by the final events because you know that this story has been building to only one possible end.
On the surface of the story a young girl, Maude, is strangely sent to live at Orchard House with Miss Greenaway when both her parents have passed away. This is unusual because Miss Greenaway had a questionable relationship with Maude and Frank’s father but elderly relatives have no interest in taking on the responsibility of thirteen year old Maude and her brother is at university.
This story starts out simply enough but slowly becomes more and more complicated and yes, darker and darker. The Gothic atmosphere of not only the house but the story itself begins to prepare you for what is yet to come.
I really enjoyed this book and the characters who were, in a word, unsettling. All three main characters are so well developed and yet you start to question whether or not you have really gotten to know them at all.
I won this ARC ( to be published September 27, 2022) in a First Reads giveaway. Thank you to Tin House and the author, Elizabeth Brooks.
On the surface of the story a young girl, Maude, is strangely sent to live at Orchard House with Miss Greenaway when both her parents have passed away. This is unusual because Miss Greenaway had a questionable relationship with Maude and Frank’s father but elderly relatives have no interest in taking on the responsibility of thirteen year old Maude and her brother is at university.
This story starts out simply enough but slowly becomes more and more complicated and yes, darker and darker. The Gothic atmosphere of not only the house but the story itself begins to prepare you for what is yet to come.
I really enjoyed this book and the characters who were, in a word, unsettling. All three main characters are so well developed and yet you start to question whether or not you have really gotten to know them at all.
I won this ARC ( to be published September 27, 2022) in a First Reads giveaway. Thank you to Tin House and the author, Elizabeth Brooks.
November 5, 2022
Nothing really happened during this. I spent the entire book puzzled why this was supposed to be gothic literature up until maybe the last 30 pages, and even then there really wasn't much substance. The main character was absolutely horrid, and then you're supposed to feel sorry for her actions, all for . I really had no true connection to the other characters, for that matter. I mostly liked Ms. Greenaway, but then we don't get enough time with Peggy at all for her character to be relevant. She's only there to have a "valid" reason as to why we're reading the diary in the first place, and that's hardly a great way to introduce a plot point. I really didn't like this book, and I think the only reason I finished it is because I wanted to know why tf it was classified as "gothic".
March 4, 2023
I won't forget the characters of Maud and Miss Greenaway. I especially loved Kitty Greenaway for her intelligence, bohemian ways, and nuturing, kind heart. Elizabeth Brooks has created a well-structured, atmospheric Gothic novel with the eerie, remote house in the wild garden and interesting, believable characters. The writing is beautiful. Privileged but neglected, thirteen year old Maud is orphaned, and none of her snobby, sanctimonious relatives want her, except for Kitty Greenaway, a longtime friend of her father. Maud is confused by her relatives ideas, and most of all, her older, beloved brother's derogatory comments about Miss Greenaway. Maud's emotions become convoluted, and she does not know what is real, and who can be trusted. The story becomes more and more layered as Maud tells it through her childhood diary. The ending is obscure, but it didn't ruin the story for me. I loved this book.
July 13, 2023
This should have been good but something was slightly off the whole way through....claims to be a ghost story....felt like it was borrowing ideas from other books. Child/Young Adult didn't quite seem like the age she was supposed to be....all too unlikely.
February 21, 2023
3.5. Slow start but gets interesting. Enjoyed the classic/gothic vibe.
May 10, 2024
Peggy is a recently widowed mother in 1945, that has inherited Orchard House, a sprawling country estate that belonged to her deceased husband’s Aunt Maude that they had rarely seen. Upon arrival, Peggy uncovers Maude’s diary and the vast majority of the book takes place over the course of a few months in 1876, told through Maude’s diary entries.
Sent to live with her own deceased father’s mistress, the reader follows Maude’s journey through this new adventure, not quite sure whether to trust Miss Greenaway and her notions, or to follow the guidance of her older brother Frank. A gothic, classical tale, this is truly a character-study with very little plot actually occurring. Whom should Maude trust? Is Maude a trustworthy person herself?
A few things to note:
-I feel like the ending took an interesting turn from the rest of the story and seemed a little rushed, while the vast majority of the book was slow moving in nature.
-I rather enjoyed the ambiguous ending-it made me question the entirety of the story and whom to believe.
-Maude is a complex character that I felt sorry for, but also grew so frustrated with. If this was the author’s goal, she nailed it.
-I wish we got more of Peggy’s POV in the story. I found her parts to be a bit eerie and thrilling-I wanted more of that.
I think this book could potentially be a good English literature class read: thought provoking, room for discussion and debate, and a ‘classics’ writing style.
Three and a half stars
Sent to live with her own deceased father’s mistress, the reader follows Maude’s journey through this new adventure, not quite sure whether to trust Miss Greenaway and her notions, or to follow the guidance of her older brother Frank. A gothic, classical tale, this is truly a character-study with very little plot actually occurring. Whom should Maude trust? Is Maude a trustworthy person herself?
A few things to note:
-I feel like the ending took an interesting turn from the rest of the story and seemed a little rushed, while the vast majority of the book was slow moving in nature.
-I rather enjoyed the ambiguous ending-it made me question the entirety of the story and whom to believe.
-Maude is a complex character that I felt sorry for, but also grew so frustrated with. If this was the author’s goal, she nailed it.
-I wish we got more of Peggy’s POV in the story. I found her parts to be a bit eerie and thrilling-I wanted more of that.
I think this book could potentially be a good English literature class read: thought provoking, room for discussion and debate, and a ‘classics’ writing style.
Three and a half stars
dnf
November 22, 2022dnf at 12%
December 3, 2022
Debut novel. Gothic fiction. Diary entries. Historical. Haunted house. Mystery and murder. All of these intrigued me enough to grab The House in the Orchard as one of my first Aardvark Book Club picks.
I was immediately immersed into Maude’s world, and I felt compelled to keep reading until I knew what would happen. I expected to have a bit more of the dual POV from Peggy’s side of the story. And I also expected a bit more elaboration on the ghosts and haunted house portion that was hinted at. Overall, I loved the atmosphere and seeing Maude’s character develop over time after some frankly tragic and traumatic experiences. Was she likeable? Eh, sometimes. Was she fun? Most of the time! 🤣
The ending was left for open interpretation, and I think it’s a love it or hate it choice. I personally loved it. Not everyone will!
If you’d like to get a referral for Aardvark Book Club (a new book subscription service!) for a free book, just shoot me a message! 👏🏼
Aardvark: October 2022
I was immediately immersed into Maude’s world, and I felt compelled to keep reading until I knew what would happen. I expected to have a bit more of the dual POV from Peggy’s side of the story. And I also expected a bit more elaboration on the ghosts and haunted house portion that was hinted at. Overall, I loved the atmosphere and seeing Maude’s character develop over time after some frankly tragic and traumatic experiences. Was she likeable? Eh, sometimes. Was she fun? Most of the time! 🤣
The ending was left for open interpretation, and I think it’s a love it or hate it choice. I personally loved it. Not everyone will!
If you’d like to get a referral for Aardvark Book Club (a new book subscription service!) for a free book, just shoot me a message! 👏🏼
Aardvark: October 2022
November 15, 2022
This “diary” had great potential but fell short for me. I had hopes this would have a creepy/haunting vibe to it for a great fall time read but had little suspense. Basically, this is a massive diary of a 13 year olds perspective written in more “formal” and “old” times. Maude was naïve throughout her entries which were sometimes witty but I could’ve easily not finished this book. It was a slow build up and didn’t have much character development and left a lot of plots unfinished and open ended. I felt like I finished this book with a lot of questions? … The last 30 pages was probably the most exciting aspect of the book but again, the end just ended and was very rushed. I wouldn’t recommend reading this unless you want to join the conversation of what truly happened and debate it out with friends.
No real chapters. Literally just diary entries. This would’ve been better if there had been more chapters of present and past. It was such a short book that there was room for expansion.
I did love how much Maude loves her cats, as I am a fellow cat lover myself. So I did relate to her in that capacity.
No real chapters. Literally just diary entries. This would’ve been better if there had been more chapters of present and past. It was such a short book that there was room for expansion.
I did love how much Maude loves her cats, as I am a fellow cat lover myself. So I did relate to her in that capacity.
September 16, 2024
“I was torn by contradictions: wanting to be clever and wanting to be ladylike; wishing to go unnoticed and wishing to be remarked upon and worrying I was too haughty; worrying I was not haughty enough; trying to be everything at once and failing to be anything at all”
4.5! This was fantastic. 13 year old Maude is an incredible narrator. She is so immature, so confused, so brainwashed. She is so deeply entrenched in the misogynistic upper class English society of the late 1800s and is regurgitating it even when her experiences are calling everything she’s been taught into question. I really, really enjoyed the entire story and recommend it!
I did take half a star off. I wished for more grand, gothic haunt. I know that likely doesn’t fit with the narrative of the story… but a gal does have her gothic preferences. I also wished for more time with Peggy and “present day” Frank, I think there could have been more story told there.
4.5! This was fantastic. 13 year old Maude is an incredible narrator. She is so immature, so confused, so brainwashed. She is so deeply entrenched in the misogynistic upper class English society of the late 1800s and is regurgitating it even when her experiences are calling everything she’s been taught into question. I really, really enjoyed the entire story and recommend it!
I did take half a star off. I wished for more grand, gothic haunt. I know that likely doesn’t fit with the narrative of the story… but a gal does have her gothic preferences. I also wished for more time with Peggy and “present day” Frank, I think there could have been more story told there.
February 1, 2023
I absolutely loved this Victorian drama and Elizabeth Brooks is an amazing discovery!
The story is great and it has a very engaging (and unreliable?) heroine. Its tone is flippant and often satirical/humorous, which makes it a very pleasant read. Highly recommended!
The story is great and it has a very engaging (and unreliable?) heroine. Its tone is flippant and often satirical/humorous, which makes it a very pleasant read. Highly recommended!
December 5, 2022
I want to start this review off with a thank you to Tin House for sending me this book to review. I wish I would have finished it earlier, but I'm currently back in school and I've only had a few chances to read this book. With that said what a fantastic slow burn of a read. 5 stars!
I can't remember my first reaction to the synopsis of this story. I knew when Tin House asked if I wanted to read it, that I indeed wanted to get my hands on it and that it was right up my alley, but I couldn't remember why. Did I believe this was a haunted house story? Did I just like the fact that it was a story written in diary entries? I'm not quite sure, what I can tell you is that it is definitely worth the read.
The House in the Orchard starts off with Peggy in 1945. We learn later who Peggy is, but the book is really and entirely about Maude. If I had to compare this book to something I'm familiar with I would say Atonement. (By the way, after rereading this review and then glancing at the back, a blurb also likens this story to Atonement.) There is something in the naivety. I like talking about books in the vaguest of ways to not spoil the story within, so I'll leave the comparison to that "naivety".
Maude when we meet her is 13. At first I thought she was about 8 in the way she spoke. However, the way she wrote was a lot older. I thought there is no way a child of 8 would write like this without grammatical or spelling errors. I was made aware of her age later on while reading and was taken aback by this clarification. Maude when we meet her lives in a house in London with her sickly mother. The house has a cook and live in help. Maude even has a governess. She is everything a young well to do lady should be. Quiet and simple. Her mother made it very clear that she should always be presentable and that emotions are for lowly people. Her brother made it clear that "learned" ladies are nothing to envy. So Maude has the notion that a woman with opinions or ambition is to be scoffed at.
At the start of the story, Maude's older brother Frank is away at University, studying to be a doctor. We also find out that the father has just died of a heart attack. Maude is dealing with the pain of losing her favorite parent. She decides to write in a diary to help her express her feelings since she can't talk to anyone else about it. We follow Maude's daily life over the span of about nine months and then four years later. What we have to factor in as the reader is, are we reading the truth?
Peggy is the daughter in law of Frank's only child. Peggy has inherited Orchard House in way of her husband. When we meet Peggy she is inspecting the house that she will soon live in, if she decides. She finds a diary in a drawer and the rest of the story unfolds.
If you like stories that are slow and mysterious you'll like this book. My emotions were definitely heightened many times while reading this book. Maude is a character you definitely come to root for. There are many times I was appalled by her behavior and thought her a monster and you might too. Misunderstandings are the bane of my reading preference. So there is that to look forward to. However, the end is a bit of a twist. Benign in its execution, it leaves you wanting more. What does the ending mean? I hope you take the time to find out.
I can't remember my first reaction to the synopsis of this story. I knew when Tin House asked if I wanted to read it, that I indeed wanted to get my hands on it and that it was right up my alley, but I couldn't remember why. Did I believe this was a haunted house story? Did I just like the fact that it was a story written in diary entries? I'm not quite sure, what I can tell you is that it is definitely worth the read.
The House in the Orchard starts off with Peggy in 1945. We learn later who Peggy is, but the book is really and entirely about Maude. If I had to compare this book to something I'm familiar with I would say Atonement. (By the way, after rereading this review and then glancing at the back, a blurb also likens this story to Atonement.) There is something in the naivety. I like talking about books in the vaguest of ways to not spoil the story within, so I'll leave the comparison to that "naivety".
Maude when we meet her is 13. At first I thought she was about 8 in the way she spoke. However, the way she wrote was a lot older. I thought there is no way a child of 8 would write like this without grammatical or spelling errors. I was made aware of her age later on while reading and was taken aback by this clarification. Maude when we meet her lives in a house in London with her sickly mother. The house has a cook and live in help. Maude even has a governess. She is everything a young well to do lady should be. Quiet and simple. Her mother made it very clear that she should always be presentable and that emotions are for lowly people. Her brother made it clear that "learned" ladies are nothing to envy. So Maude has the notion that a woman with opinions or ambition is to be scoffed at.
At the start of the story, Maude's older brother Frank is away at University, studying to be a doctor. We also find out that the father has just died of a heart attack. Maude is dealing with the pain of losing her favorite parent. She decides to write in a diary to help her express her feelings since she can't talk to anyone else about it. We follow Maude's daily life over the span of about nine months and then four years later. What we have to factor in as the reader is, are we reading the truth?
Peggy is the daughter in law of Frank's only child. Peggy has inherited Orchard House in way of her husband. When we meet Peggy she is inspecting the house that she will soon live in, if she decides. She finds a diary in a drawer and the rest of the story unfolds.
If you like stories that are slow and mysterious you'll like this book. My emotions were definitely heightened many times while reading this book. Maude is a character you definitely come to root for. There are many times I was appalled by her behavior and thought her a monster and you might too. Misunderstandings are the bane of my reading preference. So there is that to look forward to. However, the end is a bit of a twist. Benign in its execution, it leaves you wanting more. What does the ending mean? I hope you take the time to find out.
August 23, 2022
4.5 stars
The House in the Orchard is a story within a story. We begin in 1945, when Peggy has inherited Orchard House from her deceased husband’s aunt Maude. Peggy visits the property with her father-in-law, Frank, who seems very keen on Peggy selling the property as quickly as possible. There is a weird vibe about the house, and an ominously bricked-up cellar.
Peggy then finds Maude’s teenage diary from 1876, which helps to shed a little light on the history of the house. The bulk of the novel is from Maude’s diary, following the death of her parents, and being sent to live with her father’s mistress.
I don’t want to go into too much detail, because the plot unwinds so beautifully it really is a pleasure to read this book. It is all about human relationships and how these can deteriorate without honest communication. Maude is an immensely appealing character. She is sly and cunning, and somewhat ruthless, but she’s had an incredibly hard time of it. She desperately clings to her brother Frank, as he seems to be the only member of her family who has any time for her.
The House in the Orchard is a relatively light read. It isn’t supernatural horror; this is a primarily human story. I absolutely loved this book. Elizabeth Brooks has created a wonderful character in Maude, and Maude will now take her place alongside Mary-Katherine Blackwood in my favorite teenage protagonists.
The House in the Orchard is a story within a story. We begin in 1945, when Peggy has inherited Orchard House from her deceased husband’s aunt Maude. Peggy visits the property with her father-in-law, Frank, who seems very keen on Peggy selling the property as quickly as possible. There is a weird vibe about the house, and an ominously bricked-up cellar.
Peggy then finds Maude’s teenage diary from 1876, which helps to shed a little light on the history of the house. The bulk of the novel is from Maude’s diary, following the death of her parents, and being sent to live with her father’s mistress.
I don’t want to go into too much detail, because the plot unwinds so beautifully it really is a pleasure to read this book. It is all about human relationships and how these can deteriorate without honest communication. Maude is an immensely appealing character. She is sly and cunning, and somewhat ruthless, but she’s had an incredibly hard time of it. She desperately clings to her brother Frank, as he seems to be the only member of her family who has any time for her.
The House in the Orchard is a relatively light read. It isn’t supernatural horror; this is a primarily human story. I absolutely loved this book. Elizabeth Brooks has created a wonderful character in Maude, and Maude will now take her place alongside Mary-Katherine Blackwood in my favorite teenage protagonists.
April 16, 2023
Pros: I'm a huge fan of history and linguistics, so the way the characters were written checked both those boxes off. Our MC, Maude, has a rather... Pretentious... Air about her that initially rubbed me the wrong way, but I came to have the "nurture versus nature" conversation in my head and admired her after all.
I liked how towards the end, we don't really know the truth. Is she who she claimed, or was it all for the sake of "capturing an audience"?
As someone who's experienced significant losses myself, I easily could see delusion and fantastical stories as being a part of coping. Was that what she did? We shall never know.
Cons: I hate the ending. Maybe my brain is too fried right now, maybe it just went over my head, but I replayed it 3 times and still cannot understand. It felt like a cliffhanger and left me with more questions than an ending should. It doesn't make sense to me at all. If someone would politely explain, I'd love that.
Conclusion: If you like history and twisted minds, do try this book out for yourself. You can decide if Maude is who she says... Or if there's a more sinister side to her.
I liked how towards the end, we don't really know the truth. Is she who she claimed, or was it all for the sake of "capturing an audience"?
As someone who's experienced significant losses myself, I easily could see delusion and fantastical stories as being a part of coping. Was that what she did? We shall never know.
Cons: I hate the ending. Maybe my brain is too fried right now, maybe it just went over my head, but I replayed it 3 times and still cannot understand. It felt like a cliffhanger and left me with more questions than an ending should. It doesn't make sense to me at all. If someone would politely explain, I'd love that.
Conclusion: If you like history and twisted minds, do try this book out for yourself. You can decide if Maude is who she says... Or if there's a more sinister side to her.
February 15, 2023
This book had some good moments and other moments that were just bland. I compare this book to a piece of bland chicken. I was not expecting Peggy’s part to literally be maybe 10 pages total. We were really reading Maude’s diary, and she was just so childish and spoiled.
I don’t know really how to review this book. Again I enjoyed bits and pieces but I was also disappointed by so many moments. Why did we need to include the idea of ghosts in Peggy’s parts. It added nothing. Just more questions. And the ending! I feel like I was missing 5 more pages. It was not a satisfying ending at all. That’s all.
I don’t know really how to review this book. Again I enjoyed bits and pieces but I was also disappointed by so many moments. Why did we need to include the idea of ghosts in Peggy’s parts. It added nothing. Just more questions. And the ending! I feel like I was missing 5 more pages. It was not a satisfying ending at all. That’s all.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 247 reviews