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Pommeroy
It is the beginning of the Edwardian era and the Boer War has ended, bringing back to the great house of Pommeroy its heir, Lord Richard Devenish. He has been severely wounded in the same action which killed his lifelong friend Jack Brookes, one of the Pommeroy gardeners. Before he died, he left a message which Richard believes to be for Jack’s sister Lily, now the only remaining child of the widowed head gardener. Expecting gratitude, he is puzzled by Lily’s coolness. For Lily realizes that her brother’s words are intended for another although she cannot reveal the secret she unwillingly shares with Richard’s sisters, Leonora and Louisa, and which all three are anxious to keep from him. Leonora is being pressured into marriage by her overbearing mother and believing that she has nothing left to live for, submits to what she can no longer avoid. The consequences are disastrous. Despite his best efforts, Richard is powerfully drawn to Lily, who leaves Pommeroy on the death of her father. A chance revelation explodes the secret which has almost estranged them all and Jack’s legacy changes from one of bitter sorrow and blame to healing, redemption and a passionate love which takes no heed of class or birth.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2013
23 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Cate Charleston
7 books9 followersIf it’s sexy, sweeping romance you’re after, then the Cate Charleston brand probably isn’t for you! Instead, my books concern women facing difficult dilemmas such as we all do when heart and head lead down different paths and hard choices must be made. But there is always a love story, and love in its many forms is ever-present.
I live with my long-term partner amid the glorious countryside of Mid-Wales which provides inspiration for the natural description always to be found in my stories. If you’d like to contact me about them, please feel free to do so through the charlestonslade website. I promise to reply!
I live with my long-term partner amid the glorious countryside of Mid-Wales which provides inspiration for the natural description always to be found in my stories. If you’d like to contact me about them, please feel free to do so through the charlestonslade website. I promise to reply!
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 1, 2015
Beautifully written historical. The story is set in the Edwardian England of 1902 and continues for a couple of years. The main location is Pommeroy, a magnificent estate of Lord Arthur Devenish, Earl of Glenmoor. At the beginning , the estate is ablaze with activity, the long absent son Richard is coming home at last. He was injured in the Boer War, the same war and the same battle that killed Jack Brooks, son of head gardener of the estate. Richard had considered Jack the very best man and, despite their social differences, they were friends. Richard blames himself for Jack's death. He is convinced that Jack went to war because of him, to protect him and now he's dead. And the first thing Richard wanted to do is to relay the last message Jack gave him to pass along to Jack's sister Lily. But the frosty and angry reception Richard got from Lily was totally unexpected. Lily Brooks is a very interesting character. Daughter of the head gardener, she is bright and educated (thanks to the efforts of her father and aunt). Her compassion for a plight of civilians caught in the Boer War, made her travel to South Africa and worked as a relief aid in the detention camp. She was also looking forward to study in college to be a teacher. But Jack's death affected her life even more than Richard's. "Whereas he could justly claim that Jack's death had marked him forever there would be no outward change in his existence, while for her nothing less than the sacrifice of all her ambition was the result."
On his return, Richard finds it's hard to adjust to the privileged life at home. There is his mother, Lady Edith, the countess who can't think of anything but entertainments, parties, herself. There is the Earl himself, distant, reserved man who, it seems, totally blind to his wife's flighty and narcissistic nature. Richard's two siblings: the oldest sister Louisa - kind, on-the-shelf spinster and the object of their mother constant barrage and irritability. The youngest sister Leo whose beauty everyone acknowledged but who took the news of Richard's injury very hard and only now recovered from a nervous breakdown. Or was Richard's injury a cause of it? Did Jack really go to war because of Richard? Was Richard's guilt misplaced? Why is Lily so resentful of Richard? There were secrets that characters kept to protect the loved ones, ironically, the same secrets that brought pain and anguish to the people they try to shield.
The story unfolds slowly (too slowly for me, hence the lower rating). It's more of a characters study than romance. In fact, even though a deep love and its consequences is very important part of the narrative, the romance itself is of a light variety. Where the story shines for me is in amazing writing, meticulously researched historical setting, multidimensional characterization. I have not read many historicals set in that time period. This book provided me with a wonderful opportunity to immerse in the atmosphere of the times.
On his return, Richard finds it's hard to adjust to the privileged life at home. There is his mother, Lady Edith, the countess who can't think of anything but entertainments, parties, herself. There is the Earl himself, distant, reserved man who, it seems, totally blind to his wife's flighty and narcissistic nature. Richard's two siblings: the oldest sister Louisa - kind, on-the-shelf spinster and the object of their mother constant barrage and irritability. The youngest sister Leo whose beauty everyone acknowledged but who took the news of Richard's injury very hard and only now recovered from a nervous breakdown. Or was Richard's injury a cause of it? Did Jack really go to war because of Richard? Was Richard's guilt misplaced? Why is Lily so resentful of Richard? There were secrets that characters kept to protect the loved ones, ironically, the same secrets that brought pain and anguish to the people they try to shield.
The story unfolds slowly (too slowly for me, hence the lower rating). It's more of a characters study than romance. In fact, even though a deep love and its consequences is very important part of the narrative, the romance itself is of a light variety. Where the story shines for me is in amazing writing, meticulously researched historical setting, multidimensional characterization. I have not read many historicals set in that time period. This book provided me with a wonderful opportunity to immerse in the atmosphere of the times.
June 22, 2020
This is a wonderful love story, but not in the traditional way you might think of a historical romance. There was love born out of friendships, love between a brother and his two sisters, love of a father for his children, a fierce young love shattered by class issues and war, and a more traditional love between one of the main characters, Richard, and Lily, woman he fell in love with. This is not a hot and steamy story either...I think there was one meaningful kiss in the whole book. This is not a book for someone who enjoys witty, lighthearted banter in their books. It is drama, pure and simple. In many ways, it reminded me of PBS drama Downton Abbey for the setting and time were almost identical. No matter to me though because I loved that show. I fell in love with all the characters (other than the over the top self centered Lady Edith, mother to Richard and sisters Louisa and Leonora) and was full immersed in their stories and lives.
This book brought tears to my eyes a couple of times. It may be the first time (in my experience)that one of the main characters, Jack Brooks, was dead before the book even began. But it was Jack, and how his life interwove with Richard, Leonora, Lily and even Louisa and indirectly by way of Jack's father, the Earl himself. His presence was felt throughout the book and the scene when Richard described the extent of Jack's injuries and the message Jack tried to convey was heart wrenching to me.
This is a book that is going to stay with me for a few days and I'm going to have to find something really, really good as a follow-up. This is a new to me author and I'm looking forward to reading
soon as it features one of the secondary characters in this book.
edit June 2020: re-read from 2017. Look at the cover...to me this book is as beautiful as that cover. I don't often cry over the books I read but this book brought me to tears several times (again). It's weird how that contributes to my liking of the book...can't explain that I guess. It is a slower, complex book with several enterwined relationships but if you are looking for something to make you "feel", this might be that book.
This book brought tears to my eyes a couple of times. It may be the first time (in my experience)that one of the main characters, Jack Brooks, was dead before the book even began. But it was Jack, and how his life interwove with Richard, Leonora, Lily and even Louisa and indirectly by way of Jack's father, the Earl himself. His presence was felt throughout the book and the scene when Richard described the extent of Jack's injuries and the message Jack tried to convey was heart wrenching to me.
This is a book that is going to stay with me for a few days and I'm going to have to find something really, really good as a follow-up. This is a new to me author and I'm looking forward to reading
soon as it features one of the secondary characters in this book.edit June 2020: re-read from 2017. Look at the cover...to me this book is as beautiful as that cover. I don't often cry over the books I read but this book brought me to tears several times (again). It's weird how that contributes to my liking of the book...can't explain that I guess. It is a slower, complex book with several enterwined relationships but if you are looking for something to make you "feel", this might be that book.
May 30, 2019
This is a sprawling, dreamlike book, like one has opened a door into the life of a stately Edwardian manor and is not in a hurry to find the way out. I had a hard time in the beginning connecting and getting a sense of the narrative thread in the beginning, but once I did, I was completely hooked. There is a gravity to the book coming out of the tragedy of the Second Boer War that has altered their lives that appealed to me immensely, and the sensitivity is so finely tuned. One of my favorite (although painful) scenes, is Lord Richard entering the head gardener’s cottage to retrieve a book he has loaned and briefly sitting in a chair by the fire wondering if he will be offered tea. When tea is not forthcoming, he leaves. That’s the surface level. Underneath, he is realizing with dawning horror that in his desperation to see the woman he loves he has forced his presence on her because she can’t, because of her lower social status, tell him to leave or even indicate that she is uncomfortable being alone with him. It’s an absolutely gorgeous book in its restraint. By the end, I was turning pages, feeling my heart beat fast because I had fallen so in love with these characters, I had to find out what happened next.
February 9, 2018
Wonderful
Remarkable story with in depth characterization. This author took the time to flesh out all the main characters and details.
Remarkable story with in depth characterization. This author took the time to flesh out all the main characters and details.
May 3, 2025
I buddy read this over on StoryGraph, so a quick wrap-up here,
I'm not sure I would label this romance genre, it's more along the lines of a Heyer and what I, think, is called Traditional.
You're going to get povs from ALL the characters, it actually reminded me more of a PBS period piece tv series.
You're also going to get solid, almost impregnable, walls of text. We spend a vast amount of time in the characters' heads during their povs, only broken up occasionally by dialogue, and for me, it made it hard to read and stay engaged. The pov changes also had no warning, just flowing one into the other so that I'd read a couple sentences before I realized I was in another character's head.
If you can handle the formatting, and don't mind a Traditional(?) romance that felt like reading a PBS show, the characters and story had some highlights.
The commentary on the Boer War, one of the characters fought in it, was really good and a historical event I don't usually read in romances.
There were also some good turns done by the slow burn (I'm talking sloooooooooow and I'm not sure the heat for a burn ever came):
He was aware of Lily’s skirts brushing the shoe on his outstretched leg as she passed in front of him, and of an odd tightening of his throat and chest.
I love its hitting them moments like this. All it takes is a brush of skirts on shoe and the man's lost!
There was also some classism and the cultural and societal changing from the Victorian to Edwardian era.
Basically, this felt like it wanted to focus on everything but the romance between the two characters I thought were supposed to be leads, everyone was much too restrained for my modern sensibilities self, and the walls of text formatting about broke me. I like watching PBS period shows but my brain is not about reading them, your brain mileage may vary.
I'm not sure I would label this romance genre, it's more along the lines of a Heyer and what I, think, is called Traditional.
You're going to get povs from ALL the characters, it actually reminded me more of a PBS period piece tv series.
You're also going to get solid, almost impregnable, walls of text. We spend a vast amount of time in the characters' heads during their povs, only broken up occasionally by dialogue, and for me, it made it hard to read and stay engaged. The pov changes also had no warning, just flowing one into the other so that I'd read a couple sentences before I realized I was in another character's head.
If you can handle the formatting, and don't mind a Traditional(?) romance that felt like reading a PBS show, the characters and story had some highlights.
The commentary on the Boer War, one of the characters fought in it, was really good and a historical event I don't usually read in romances.
There were also some good turns done by the slow burn (I'm talking sloooooooooow and I'm not sure the heat for a burn ever came):
He was aware of Lily’s skirts brushing the shoe on his outstretched leg as she passed in front of him, and of an odd tightening of his throat and chest.
I love its hitting them moments like this. All it takes is a brush of skirts on shoe and the man's lost!
There was also some classism and the cultural and societal changing from the Victorian to Edwardian era.
Basically, this felt like it wanted to focus on everything but the romance between the two characters I thought were supposed to be leads, everyone was much too restrained for my modern sensibilities self, and the walls of text formatting about broke me. I like watching PBS period shows but my brain is not about reading them, your brain mileage may vary.
November 20, 2017
Gentle romance
This book is difficult for me to review. I did very much like the plot and characters, but the cadence of the writing us very slow and genteel. I don't know another way to describe it. I was almost bored in the first five chapters, but something about the story made me want to continue and I'm pleased I did. Given the writing style of the author, I began to appreciate it as I went on.
As I said previously, the characters were good, well described and very well developed. This beginning of the end of the social caste system in England circa late 1800's is the subject matter dealt with in-depth here. All sides of the question of marrying beneath one's station as well as other questions relating to the servant's class compared to the aristocracy are depicted as souls are searched and the public "face" is unmasked. I found the awakening and examining of emotions as situations arose to be highly interesting and worth the long road in telling.
I would highly recommend this book to readers of historical romance fiction. Very well done. Lovely story once you get into it.
This book is difficult for me to review. I did very much like the plot and characters, but the cadence of the writing us very slow and genteel. I don't know another way to describe it. I was almost bored in the first five chapters, but something about the story made me want to continue and I'm pleased I did. Given the writing style of the author, I began to appreciate it as I went on.
As I said previously, the characters were good, well described and very well developed. This beginning of the end of the social caste system in England circa late 1800's is the subject matter dealt with in-depth here. All sides of the question of marrying beneath one's station as well as other questions relating to the servant's class compared to the aristocracy are depicted as souls are searched and the public "face" is unmasked. I found the awakening and examining of emotions as situations arose to be highly interesting and worth the long road in telling.
I would highly recommend this book to readers of historical romance fiction. Very well done. Lovely story once you get into it.
August 10, 2018
4.5 out of 5 stars
May 5, 2020
Che lettura sontuosa! L'autrice scrive generosamente, tratteggiando situazioni, personaggi, ambienti con un'implacabile penna sottile, innamorandosi lei per prima della sua storia.
Avevo già letto Romilly, il secondo romanzo di questa serie, che mi aveva completamente conquistato, e quando ho finito la lettura di Pommeroy sono corsa riprenderlo in mano, per collocare nella giusta luce i vari personaggi che attraversano le due vicende.
Ho comprato tutta la produzione di Cate Charleston reperibile su e-book; ma mi chiedo se quelli ambientati in epoca regency/vittoriana possano raggiungere lo stesso livello di attrattività, privati della sofferta atmosfera di 'fin de siècle' che caratterizza questi due romanzi.
Avevo già letto Romilly, il secondo romanzo di questa serie, che mi aveva completamente conquistato, e quando ho finito la lettura di Pommeroy sono corsa riprenderlo in mano, per collocare nella giusta luce i vari personaggi che attraversano le due vicende.
Ho comprato tutta la produzione di Cate Charleston reperibile su e-book; ma mi chiedo se quelli ambientati in epoca regency/vittoriana possano raggiungere lo stesso livello di attrattività, privati della sofferta atmosfera di 'fin de siècle' che caratterizza questi due romanzi.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews