Fairfield Hall

by Margaret Dickinson

Ruthlessly ambitious Ambrose Constantine is determined that his daughter, Annabel, shall marry into the nobility. A fish merchant and self-made man, he has only his wealth to buy his way into society.

When Annabel’s secret meetings with Gilbert, a young man employed at her father’s offices, stop suddenly, she learns that he has mysteriously disappeared. Heartbroken, she finds solace with her grandparents on their Lincolnshire farm, but her father will not allow her to hide herself in the countryside and enlists the help of a business connection to launch his daughter into society.

During the London Season, Annabel is courted by James Lyndon, the Earl of Fairfield, whose country estate is only a few miles from her grandfather’s farm. Believing herself truly loved at last, Annabel accepts his offer of marriage. It is only when she arrives at Fairfield Hall that she realizes the true reason behind James’s proposal and the part her scheming father has played.

Throughout the years that follow, Annabel experiences both heartache and Joy, and the birth of her son should finally secure the future of the Fairfield Estate. But there are others who lay claim to the inheritance igniting a feud that will only reach its resolution in the trenches of the First World War.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical

483 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2014

About the author

Born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Margaret Dickinson moved to the coast at the age of seven and so began her love for the sea and the Lincolnshire landscape. Her ambition to be a writer began early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. This was followed by many further titles including Plough the Furrow, Sow the Seed and Reap the Harvest, which make up her Lincolnshire Fleethaven Trilogy. She is also the author of Fairfield Hall, Jenny's War and The Clippie Girls. Margaret is a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.

Reviews

[Julie]

"What ARE you reading? It looks very old-fashioned and dreary!" How wrong was my relative who stated this... I loved it! Yes, the protagonist maybe was a bit of a goody-goody but hey, sometimes in this world, where life isn't all roses, it's nice to read an uplifting story.
Didn't quite make 5* but not far off!

[Christina Rochester]

This is a beautiful, slow moving story about Annabel Lyndon. Annabel Constantine, as she was born, marries into the Lyndon family after her father's scheming and she becomes Lady Annabel. Her new family make her feel ostracised, and she discovers that all the villagers on the estate are starving. As Annabel strives to improve the lives of everyone, she is accused of having an affair after she gives birth to a son. From that moment the family feud only grows bigger, finally reaching its conclusion in the First World War.

Personally I felt the ending, once Theo, Bertie and Charlie were all a little older was very rushed. It could easily have covered another hundred pages; and when Charlie eventually meets James I was screaming in frustration because there were so few pages left in which matters could be resolved.

That said I really did enjoy the story, even if it felt very slow moving at times. I've seen a few reviews criticising Annabel, even calling her a Mary Sue, but I really liked her character. And whilst Dorothea is a despicable person, her character is really quite good.

I would definitely recommend this to other readers.

[anthropomorphism]

To summarise:

- Annabel is a Mary Sue

- Most people are a tad too excessively grateful

... but, like me, I doubt you will care since this book is a very pleasant easy-to-read novel that will satisfy you, make me smile, and is the stereotype of the kind of book you cosy up with in a blanket with hot chocolate.

If novels written around that time (just before WW1) interest you- then this is seriously worth a shot.

[HattieB]

The biggest problem is its pacing. This should have been two books. Also, Annabel is a Mary Sue.

[Elisabeth]

Annabel Constantine is the only child of the wealthy and ambitious fish merchant Ambrose. Ambrose has aspirations not only for himself but for his daughter and any grandchildren he may have. Launching his daughter into London society – only made possible by his connections, the one ambition of Ambrose is to secure a title for his daughter and any future grandchildren. To what lengths will the scheming Ambrose go to in order for him to get what he wants?
The book moves through the years charting Annabel’s rise and fall but only in the fields of Flanders will things finally be decided.
This was a good read but it was a shame that the book did not move between the past and present day. Also more of the book dedicated to the time during the First World War would have been good. The end felt rather rushed almost as if a deadline had be reached and all the ends had to be quickly tied up.

[Carol]

I enjoyed the way Lady Bountiful resurrected the estate and rescued the tenants from the workhouse. I enjoyed some of the themes such as new and old money, the plight of the poor, the class system. I even enjoyed descriptions of the farms. But the whole story is just that, a story. No subtlety, no sense of social comment and no sense of authenticity. Modern, bland and clunky style spoiled what could have been a good read.

[Tania]

This is part of next months book club.

[Tracie]

Didn't interest me at all, so consequently didn't finish the book.

[John Milliner]

A tremendous book, could have been improved by expanding the middle section and finishing in 1913. My father was part of that lost generation, of his intake of 33 in May 1916 3 came home. He was lucky to be sent to Egypt to fight the turks, so missed flanders, the rest of his intake went into the Somme Battles and never came home. The earlier parts of the book about revitalising the estate were wonderful.

[Cheryll]

A really enjoyable holiday read (when you have time to read 484 pages!) The protagonist, Annabel is a 'too good to be true' character but you really feel for her in the predicament she finds herself in. She certainly seemed to have a lot of money to be able to sort out the problems of Fairfield Hall, the estate and the farms! It was nice to get back to Historical Fiction and I'll be reading more from this author.

[amy hartley]

A sad tale of love and inheritance. Sold to the highest bidder like cattle, can she make her marriage work. Will her sister in law ruin her forever when all she is doing is saving her people.
3 cousins
3 claims
Will anyone actually win.

[Marie]

It's okay, very readable but not all that believable. The last few chapters were incredibly rushed, before that it was well paced but then she jist threw that out the window. I liked and felt for the characters, except James.

[June Jones]

What a wonderful story, I am sure Annabel must have been an angel, the good works she did was endless, and her pockets never seemed empty. Would recommend, great book.

[Sandra]

Brilliant enjoyable and set in the local area I grew up in.

[Patrice]

Is alright but got bored half way through but did read till the end

[Katie]

3.5 stars

[Susan Watts]

A delightful book but a little rushed at the end. Would have made a great trilogy

[Barbara]

This book was a little slow in the beginning but fortunately I kept with it and was soon engrossed in the story. I listened to it on Chirp and really enjoyed it.

[A]

Lovely story. Easy read. Like the strong female characters.

[Sandra]

A wonderful book. The strength of the characters, the wonderful determination of doing what was right. I really enjoyed this book.

[Dave]

This was a great book really got into it

[Heather]

Such a great book, from start to finish. Philanthropic, endearing and true selflessness. 👍

[Jo Larsen]

Beautiful

[Laura]

A very absorbing read, I was slightly sad to finish it as I loved all the characters especially the young boys.

[Lucy Brown]

Absolutely loved this, she really makes the story come to life

[Corrina]

Very good full of twists and turns

[V.E. Lynne]

Ambrose Constantine is a ruthless, self made man determined that his gentle daughter Annabel will marry into the aristocracy - Ambrose wants a grandson with a title. To that end he engineers a romance between Annabel and James Lyndon, Earl of Fairfield. The Fairfield estate is in huge financial trouble and Ambrose undertakes to clear the debts of the estate if James agrees to marry Annabel. They reach a deal and the only person who knows nothing about it is Annabel herself. She arrives at Fairfield to find the farms derelict, the villagers starving and James's family, especially his sister Dorothea, full of hostility. Dorothea wants the estate, and the title, for her own son Theodore. She thought that her brother understood, and supported, that but once she finds out that Annabel is pregnant Dorothea decides to take matters into her own hands, with devastating results. 'Fairfield Hall' is an absorbing 19th century saga that keeps you engaged from the first page to the last. The last part of the story is perhaps a little rushed but other than that I can make no criticism of it. I have enjoyed all of Margaret Dickinson's books and this one is no exception.

[Emma]

Another brilliant story, poor annabel - such a lovely person but so much heartache from her own family and tht of the lyndons but she found happiness in the end with Ben. Coming from Lincolnshire it's nice to read these stories because I know the places mentioned - and I live only a few miles from gunby hall which is where Fairfield hall is based on

[Hannah]

Best book I have read in a long time!

[Sneha]

Breezed through this book in a day. Lovely read!