The Legacy of Foulstone Manor

by J.C. Briggs

An intriguing Gothic house mystery novel you don’t want to miss! Perfect for fans of Sarah Burton, Stacey Halls, Jessie Burton and Kate Mosse.

What secrets have been taken to the grave…?

Westmorland, England, 1970

Dark and imposing in a bleak landscape, Foulstone Manor stands abandoned on the edges of the Lake District.

Reclusive Joan Goss inherited Foulstone, but her fragmented memories of her childhood there still disturb her and she keeps her distance in a cottage on the outskirts of the land.

Joan was brought up by adoptive parents after her mother died and her father abandoned her.

And she has spent her adult life haunted by the dark rumours of her past.

When Joan’s goddaughter Amanda comes to stay with her, she is finally forced to confront the secrets behind Foulstone Manor.

Records show that Joan’s father committed suicide. But what happened to her mother? And why was Joan never told the truth about her childhood?

As Joan uncovers her mother’s diary, the full truth of her parents’ marriage is revealed.

Did his traumatic experiences in the First World War force her father into an early grave? What caused Joan’s mother’s untimely death?

Can Joan come to accept the inheritance that she has always rejected…?

THE LEGACY OF FOULSTONE MANOR is a dual timeline Gothic mystery set in England between the 1970s and the 1920s, exposing family secrets and the legacy of trauma from the First World War.

Genres: Gothic, Historical Fiction, British Literature

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 16, 2024

About the author

Jean Briggs taught English for many years in schools in Cheshire, Hong Kong and Lancashire. She now lives in a cottage in Cumbria, a non-metropolitan county in North West England.

Reviews

[Cait Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was somehow weird and chaotic but also kind of boring at the same time? Not sure I really get the full hype of the reviews

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked from the very beginning, twists and turns I never expected, although I tried to guess. I didn't expect the pov change and the change from first to third person was something I found quite jarring. The plot and the mystery element was addictive and I found myself thinking about what might be happening when not reading the book. The ending bought a little tear to my eye, and I think I'll be thinking about this for a little while. I loved Amanda and Joan, two incredible female characters.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little gothic mystery. Held my attention throughout. I would enjoy reading more by this author.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars for a good try. I enjoyed getting to know Amanda and Joan but became tired and bored of their mystery solving efforts. The book became ridiculously confusing and convoluted. The ending was disappointing.

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having enjoyed the most recent novels in Briggs’s series involving Charles Dickens and Victorian London, I was very interested to receive The Legacy of Foulstone Manor, what I assume is a stand-alone story set on the edge of the Lake District where the author lives.

Foulstone Manor is a now abandoned house inherited by Joan Goss’s father, Gerard Revell, in the 1920s from the father of a close friend who died alongside him during the First World War in particularly distressing circumstances. Joan was left Foulstone by her father. She was brought up by her adoptive parents after her mother died in childbirth and her father thereafter showed no interest in her. He committed suicide a few years later. The novel is set in 1970 and Joan, by now middle-aged and relatively reclusive (occasionally she laments her ‘wasted life’), lives in a cottage on the edge of the house’s land. She has only vague memories of her childhood, but what she remembers haunts her as do the rumours of her family history.

When Joan’s goddaughter Amanda comes to stay in the adjacent cottage before beginning her studies at Lancaster University, Joan is encouraged to delve into her past. Amanda succeeds in persuading her to enter decaying Foulstone and look for answers. What was the truth of her parent’s marriage? What really happened to her mother? Joan’s father was a poet who was deeply affected by his experiences in the First World War, but was that the reason he committed suicide? Why was Joan never told the truth about her childhood?

Joan’s mother’s diary is found and brought to life by flashbacks to 1919 and the early 1920s. The diary answers some questions but raises many others. Why did Gerard Revell disappear to London from time to time? Was the person half-remembered in the garden years ago real, and if so, who was he? Who is telling the truth, and are people who they claim to be? A missing soldier lurks in the background. The wider implications of adoption are also an issue as Joan and Amanda look into Joan’s adoptive parents. The smell of damp in Foulstone pervades everything and haunts Joan. Is there any significance in that? Amanda and Joan track down people who knew Joan’s parents and others connected to them, and this leads the pair to leave Foulstone now and then to visit places such as London to pursue their investigation.

This is a very atmospheric novel with a well-paced and intriguing plot. It is also a very intelligent book, with mentions of poetry (Wilfred Owen, for instance) and Shakespeare, although this learning is worn lightly. It is always fascinating and at times touching, with hints of menace now and then, and it reaches an entirely plausible conclusion. As always with Briggs’s work, there are informative appendices of Historical Notes and A Note to the Reader.

The Legacy of Foulstone Manor is highly recommended.
------
Reviewer: David Whittle
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery with a gothic vibe is split between two times: 1970 and 1922. The main character viewpoints are Joan and Amanda in the present (1970), and Joan's mother Helena in the past. When the story opens, Joan is in her forties, a reclusive spinster who was removed from Foulstone Manor when only three years old by two family retainers. Her father, who had a reputation for madness, subsequently shot himself, and although she inherited the house, she never subsequently lived there. However, following the deaths of her substitute parents (who never officially adopted her unless I've misunderstood), she moved back to one of the two cottages near the manor. Her 'parents' were secretive about the circumstances of her childhood, her mother's death and her father's subsequent behaviour, and until now Joan has preferred not to pry into the vague memories that she does have.

Things change when Amanda, daughter of a friend, comes to stay and moves into the other cottage. She encourages Joan to delve into the past and gradually, through discoveries of paperwork in the manor, more comes to light and the two women become investigators, travelling to London and elsewhere to talk to those still alive who knew her parents. There are ghosts at Foulstone, but they are more ghosts of the past and painful memories although what happens at the end of the story is rather ambiguous, and I would have preferred a different ending. I didn't enjoy this as much as the author's Dickens novels and overall would rate this at 3 stars.

[Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exquisitely written and meticulously plotted novel that keeps the reader riveted throughout. J C Briggs research is undoubtably extensive and comprehensive allowing the story to effortlessly bridge the fifty or so years of the twentieth century that saw the greatest changes in social attitudes. A story of “family secrets and lies” as the book jacket says but also a thriller that relies upon 1970s era detective legwork rather than twenty-first century science and technology. This is storytelling at its very best, a must read.

[Siesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow.
The last in the line of Revell’s plucks up the courage to investigate the misteries surrounding her parents, the family estate, and the events leading to her being adopted aa a young child.
Joan is not an exciting MC, and the mysteries are relatively mundane, bigged up by the potential for scandal to cause people to judge her badly. Amanda has more life and ingenuity to her, but it’s not really about her. The period and historical detail was good, though.
Reminiscent of the equally slow and ultimately underwhelming “classic” A Turn Of The Screw.

[Pamela Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS IS FIRST TRILOGY OF FOULSTONE MANOR FROM 1875--1970

ABOUT 200-300 PAGES NICE SIZED BOOK EASY BREEZE STORY LINE WITH BASIC ENGLISH LANGUAGE 6TH TO 8TH GRADE READING VOCABULARY NOTHING HIGHER THAN THAT!?!RATED PG FOR READING!?!I DO FEEL THIS STORY LINE IS A DATED TIME LINE OF HISTORY FOR THE NEXT INTRODUCTION INTO THE SECOND BOOK TO GET PREPARED!? THIS AUTHOR REMINDS ME OF THE OLD GOTHIC WRITERS BARBARA MICHAEL'S VICTORIA HOLT ECT.

[Louise Mullins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was absorbed by this story from the first page to the last. It's both a historical mystery and a novel about hope and friendship, reminding us that no matter how old we are we are never too old to start again or to learn new things. Even things about our own past. It's both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and I finished the book feeling as though I'd truly met the two main characters and had drunk a cup of tea with them. The dark foreboding atmosphere and the gothic décor descriptors added a great vibe to this crime story, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled to follow all the different characters, apart from the main two. Jumped around too much and felt chaotic, but extremely boring and nothing to keep me turning the pages. Almost a DNF, but skimmed through to get to the end. It could have been something fantastic with the big old creepy house, the atmosphere/setting/surroundings, but it lacked any real story. 😔

[antoinette Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing from the first few pages

Loved the way the characters were developed....loved that each told their own story...looking forward to finding more books written by this author

[peter david mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family secrets revealed.

An excellent novel, well written and with a gripping plot. The dual time lines work seamlessly and the prose is very atmospheric, dripping with foreboding. The author is one of my favourites and a master of historical crime and mystery books.

[Mrs Leigh Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One more page...

It is how I read this..just one more page, excellent, very difficult to put down. Keeps you enthralled, horrified and grieving. Wonderful characters and depth of research in the aftermath and effects of war. I'm off now to read J.C. Briggs next book. Hurrah!

[Joan Grejtak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting

Very hauntingly gothic, with hints of Daphne Maurier's "Rebecca." It was a page turner for me. I could feel the chill in the air, the fire in the hearth, the smell of the rot.....

[Lesley Anne Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly absorbing read

I am sad that I have finished this book, I enjoyed it so much! I have read all of the author's Charles Dickens mysteries and I love her style of writing. Off to find the next intriguing historical mystery. A brilliant way to get through January!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Such a great mystery and gothic overtones, It was a real pleasure to read and chill out with, I recooend it

[Jane Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grey area

Love ghost stories and stories about ww1.loved this story.Enjoyed the friendship between Amanda and Joan I will read this Author again

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable gothic read.. superb sense of place, great characters.. Well constructed plot meant that i was hooked from the beginning.. plus beautifully written. Highly recommended..

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling Shadows

Excellent storytelling by two voices. I was drawn right along through the last word & loose ends quite gathered up.

[Terri Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Story!

This was my kind of ghost story. I was hooked from the start to the finish. The plot kept me turning pages, and the characters carried it along smoothly.

[Meg Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was completely immersed and absorbed! War time novels are not usually my jam so i was surprised to find how much I adored this book

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. Mystery after mystery, but cold cases. Very well written

[Beckysightglassmgmt.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read very intriguing

This was a great book. It was very mysterious and had many twists and turns. I liked the way it all came out.

[Debbie Shoulders · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is entertaining enough to want to finish, but there are some inconsistencies in plot devices and characterization.

[Lynn H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

The Legacy of Foulstone Manor is an enjoyable read from start to finish. The characters are nicely drawn and the intricate plot hangs together well.

[Ella Beales · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Legacy of Foulstone Manor is a dual timeline Gothic mystery that explores family secrets, lies, and how the past can haunt and trap you. In 1970, we encounter forty-something-year-old Joan, who has inherited Foulstone, the family home she was taken away from at the age of three when she was adopted. Whilst she remembers little of her childhood at Foulstone, Joan feels unsettled by the house, and chooses instead to live in a cottage nearby. Becoming increasingly reclusive and paranoid, Joan’s life changes forever when her goddaughter Amanda visits, forcing her to confront her past and the secrets that seem to lie just out of reach, taunting and haunting her. As Joan and Amanda dig deeper into the secrets hidden at Foulstone Manor, they uncover the diary of Helena, Joan’s birth mother. Meanwhile, in the 1920s we witness Helena’s increasingly concerning relationship with Joan’s father in the house she has been told to call home.

J.C. Briggs writes beautifully descriptive pastoral scenes, bringing to life the landscapes and buildings that Joan, Amanda and Helena encounter. Briggs is particularly clever in the way her narrative style reflects the characters she is writing about: both Joan and Helena’s perspectives lovingly (and longingly) focus on the peaceful openness of the nature that surrounds them, reflecting their desire for freedom, whilst their descriptions of Foulstone Manor are largely centred around decay and entrapment. Meanwhile, Amanda’s perspective initially focuses on describing buildings and documents, reflecting her fascination with history and her desire for information. Amanda acts as a catalyst to show readers an appreciation of archives, libraries and historical research. Briggs’ atmospheric narrative style is further enhanced through her clever use of the senses as a means of connecting readers to the protagonists, and invoking menacing memories. This is most evident in her intriguing use of smell as a lingering, sinister reminder of un-faced truths.

Much of The Legacy of Foulstone Manor is centred around the enduring impact of war, both for those who fought and those who lost loved ones or were left behind. Briggs cleverly references First World War poetry, as well as other literary texts, to evoke the horrors of war. Whilst this novel is undoubtedly about war, suffering, ghosts and the Gothic, it is arguably more about ‘living ghosts’ than anything else. This is particularly apparent with Gerard, whose traumatic memories of war shape all his future decisions, and with Joan, whose lack of knowledge of her past has impacted all aspects of her life: her lack of identity has resulted in her living a static life, fearful of change. Her blossoming friendship with Amanda helps her find the courage to accept her past, ultimately allowing her the opportunity to accept herself so that she no longer lives in the shadows of her family’s secrets.

The Legacy of Foulstone Manor is a story of manipulation and madness, ghosts and the Gothic. But ultimately, it is a story of courage, self-acceptance, friendship, hope and learning to let go.

- Review for Aspects of History magazine