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Shadows of the Manor: A Victorian Mystery of Love and Deception
A governess with a haunted past. A brooding widower with dangerous secrets. At Blackwood Manor, love is as perilous as the shadows that haunt its halls.
When her father’s scandal leaves her penniless, Beatrice Hale accepts a position as governess at the isolated and mysterious Blackwood Manor on the Yorkshire moors. Her new charges, two troubled children, are as strange and secretive as their home. But it is their father—Edward Blackwood, a grieving widower and master of the house—whose cold command hides both desire and despair.
Forbidden from entering the locked west wing and warned never to ask about his late wife, Beatrice soon senses that the manor itself keeps dark secrets. Whispers echo through the corridors, ghostly figures move beyond the candlelight, and the truth about the late Mrs. Blackwood may be more terrifying than any haunting.
As her slow-burn attraction to Edward deepens into a dangerous love, Beatrice must choose between safety and passion, reason and the supernatural, and decide whether love can survive where tragedy once lived.
Perfect for readers who love gothic historical romance filled with mystery, danger, and redemption, Shadows of the Manor delivers everything fans
• A haunted Yorkshire manor full of forbidden doors and whispered secrets
• A slow-burn Victorian romance between a strong governess and a tortured widower
• Ghostly suspense, hidden grief, and atmospheric Gothic mystery
• Dark family secrets, redemptive love, and a heroine who refuses to surrender
Step into Blackwood Manor, where passion defies propriety, love walks among ghosts, and only the brave dare unlock what waits in the dark.
When her father’s scandal leaves her penniless, Beatrice Hale accepts a position as governess at the isolated and mysterious Blackwood Manor on the Yorkshire moors. Her new charges, two troubled children, are as strange and secretive as their home. But it is their father—Edward Blackwood, a grieving widower and master of the house—whose cold command hides both desire and despair.
Forbidden from entering the locked west wing and warned never to ask about his late wife, Beatrice soon senses that the manor itself keeps dark secrets. Whispers echo through the corridors, ghostly figures move beyond the candlelight, and the truth about the late Mrs. Blackwood may be more terrifying than any haunting.
As her slow-burn attraction to Edward deepens into a dangerous love, Beatrice must choose between safety and passion, reason and the supernatural, and decide whether love can survive where tragedy once lived.
Perfect for readers who love gothic historical romance filled with mystery, danger, and redemption, Shadows of the Manor delivers everything fans
• A haunted Yorkshire manor full of forbidden doors and whispered secrets
• A slow-burn Victorian romance between a strong governess and a tortured widower
• Ghostly suspense, hidden grief, and atmospheric Gothic mystery
• Dark family secrets, redemptive love, and a heroine who refuses to surrender
Step into Blackwood Manor, where passion defies propriety, love walks among ghosts, and only the brave dare unlock what waits in the dark.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 17, 2025
6 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Eva Lyndale
37 books1 followerEva Lyndale is a historical fiction author and lifelong explorer whose curiosity has carried her to more than forty countries. Her writing blends meticulous historical research with vivid storytelling, offering readers a window into distant eras and the lives shaped within them.
From crumbling coastal ruins to bustling cities layered with centuries of change, the places Eva visits often spark the settings for her novels. She is especially drawn to overlooked moments in history—those quiet, human stories that unfold in the shadows of larger events. Through richly drawn characters and immersive environments, her work explores themes of connection, transformation, and the passage of time.
Eva approaches each project with the mind of a researcher and the heart of a traveler, weaving cultural detail and atmospheric depth into every page. When she’s not writing, she can often be found exploring local archives, wandering through museums, or sketching story notes in a tucked-away café somewhere new.
From crumbling coastal ruins to bustling cities layered with centuries of change, the places Eva visits often spark the settings for her novels. She is especially drawn to overlooked moments in history—those quiet, human stories that unfold in the shadows of larger events. Through richly drawn characters and immersive environments, her work explores themes of connection, transformation, and the passage of time.
Eva approaches each project with the mind of a researcher and the heart of a traveler, weaving cultural detail and atmospheric depth into every page. When she’s not writing, she can often be found exploring local archives, wandering through museums, or sketching story notes in a tucked-away café somewhere new.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 19, 2025
This book is SO GOOD.
Beatrice is a pastor's kid who buried her disgraced father 3 months ago. She's hired as a governness for a widow's two children. She's a woman who commands authority -- think Mary Poppins but with a lot more strucutre and adhernce to rules and safety.
Clara and Henry are headstrong children, still mourning over the supsicious and secretive death of their mother. They explain that the west wing is where mama Victoria died, where the ghost lives, and Beatrice empathizes with their loss. She lost her mother at 13 (and of course her father more recently), and the children love her for her honesty and openness, something even their father, Edward, hasn't fully done.
She promises to try to not leave, not promises to leave. There are a lot of good quotes in here.
While on a not-so-ghost hunt due to strange noises, the three head to the forbidden west wing where Beatrice finds Victoria's journal and some letters. The mystery over the death begins to clear as Edward, first angry then more understanding of why they broke his rules, explains to Beatrice what happened to his wife, who never truly loved him and died of suicide.
he also explains that her former lover was never former, and will be coming to visit.
Beatrice is more about honesty and uncomfortable truths over pleasant lies. She is quite observant and able to peel back the layers of why Clara is caustic, Henry draws disturbing images, and Edward's cold shoulder. She teaches the children beyond academics and encourages them to embrace the arts and ways to not only see the world but investigage & question it.
Then Thorne, Victoria's lover, comes to visit, and spreads vitriol encased in truth througout not only the household but also Edward's mill workers. Despite the relationship blooming between Edward and Beatrice, the two recognize the danger they're in. Maybe it's not physical, but Thorne is out to destroy Edward's reputation, which would shut down his mills and leave his family destitute.
Thomas Grieves, the mill's foreman, recognizes that Edward is a man who is building his wealth on others' suffering while trying to make reforms in a system that resists reformation. The oppressive nature of society is evident and there are some hard hits that remain relevant no matter the decade or century.
The great thing is that Edward's employees almost all want him and Beatrice to be together.
Thorne wants to destroy Edward though, both through business and legalities. It gets rough, and I love that Beatrice recognizes that though the children are 10 & 7, they are still essential parts to the family.
I just don't understand though how people feel like with Victoria 2 years dead, the relationship is scandelous. I understand gentry/governness being a no-no, but barely waiting for Victoria to die just to pursue a governness who only recently came? That makes no sense.
The end is predictable, but in a good way. I like how we get there.
Beatrice is a pastor's kid who buried her disgraced father 3 months ago. She's hired as a governness for a widow's two children. She's a woman who commands authority -- think Mary Poppins but with a lot more strucutre and adhernce to rules and safety.
Clara and Henry are headstrong children, still mourning over the supsicious and secretive death of their mother. They explain that the west wing is where mama Victoria died, where the ghost lives, and Beatrice empathizes with their loss. She lost her mother at 13 (and of course her father more recently), and the children love her for her honesty and openness, something even their father, Edward, hasn't fully done.
She promises to try to not leave, not promises to leave. There are a lot of good quotes in here.
While on a not-so-ghost hunt due to strange noises, the three head to the forbidden west wing where Beatrice finds Victoria's journal and some letters. The mystery over the death begins to clear as Edward, first angry then more understanding of why they broke his rules, explains to Beatrice what happened to his wife, who never truly loved him and died of suicide.
he also explains that her former lover was never former, and will be coming to visit.
Beatrice is more about honesty and uncomfortable truths over pleasant lies. She is quite observant and able to peel back the layers of why Clara is caustic, Henry draws disturbing images, and Edward's cold shoulder. She teaches the children beyond academics and encourages them to embrace the arts and ways to not only see the world but investigage & question it.
Then Thorne, Victoria's lover, comes to visit, and spreads vitriol encased in truth througout not only the household but also Edward's mill workers. Despite the relationship blooming between Edward and Beatrice, the two recognize the danger they're in. Maybe it's not physical, but Thorne is out to destroy Edward's reputation, which would shut down his mills and leave his family destitute.
Thomas Grieves, the mill's foreman, recognizes that Edward is a man who is building his wealth on others' suffering while trying to make reforms in a system that resists reformation. The oppressive nature of society is evident and there are some hard hits that remain relevant no matter the decade or century.
The great thing is that Edward's employees almost all want him and Beatrice to be together.
Thorne wants to destroy Edward though, both through business and legalities. It gets rough, and I love that Beatrice recognizes that though the children are 10 & 7, they are still essential parts to the family.
I just don't understand though how people feel like with Victoria 2 years dead, the relationship is scandelous. I understand gentry/governness being a no-no, but barely waiting for Victoria to die just to pursue a governness who only recently came? That makes no sense.
The end is predictable, but in a good way. I like how we get there.
Displaying 1 of 1 review