Midsummer Masque

by Jill Tattersall

ROWEN A MANVILLE WAS DESPERATELY IN SEARCH OF A NEW LIFE....

In a matter of months she had been orphaned and left penniless. Now destitute and alone, she came to the old mansion — Gryphons — to fill the post of companion to the elderly Mrs. dune, mistress of the estate.

It seemed the only road open to Rowena. The position meant a new home and a new family. Maybe even a little happiness.

But Gryphons quickly showed itself as something other than gracious and charming. There was something sinister trapped in the house. A mysterious tension and foreboding that made Rowena feel like an intruder.

Then, one day. Mrs. Clune was found dead — murdered. Rowena no longer was an intruder. She was part of Gryphons' secret. And for her there seemed no escape.

Genres: Gothic, Gothic Romance, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Fiction

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-born but poor, intelligent but naive, Rowena Mandeville takes a position as companion to a difficult old woman and gets involved in family secrets and murder. Tattersall enlivens a very familiar Gothic set-up by placing it in the Regency and overlaying it with social observation, satire, and accurate historical detail. The mixture would become unwieldy later in her career; here, it works just fine, as if Georgette Heyer and Victoria Holt collaborated on a novel.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tattersall is the best pulp gothic writer EVER. She really gets it. Complete with much more interesting Mr Darcy type and decent enough mystery that the story isn't completely meaningless.

[Ruth Schlegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been desperately trying to find a good Gothic mystery romance. Looking through my own personal library of Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt and many other Gothic books I have collected, I found one title by Jill Tattersall, Midsummer Masque. At last I had found a good Gothic author I had forgotten about! This has all the elements of a good read: a beautiful, penniless heroine who ends up at an old haunted mansion as a companion to a mean-spirited old lady; and an enigmatic, handsome hero whose sanity is in question and who is distrustful and disdainful of our heroine. The author describes the English countryside and the characters vividly. Midsummer Masque is a very satisfying read for those of us who love Gothic mystery romances of the '60's and '70's. I am now in the process of collecting and reading all of Tattersall's books and adding them to my large collection of other Gothics!

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather pedestrian attempt at a gothic suspense. The hero is consistently brutal to the heroine (so of course she falls in love with him) and the threadbare plot is filled in at the end by a lo-o-ot of expository dialogue, but it mostly held my interest.

[Christine Honsinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one by Jill Tattersall. For one thing, it takes place in the Regency era, as I believe all of Ms. Tattersall's gothic novels do, instead of in the Victorian era which is much more common. So imagine Jane Austin on gothic steroids...that is what you get with her books. True, there is usually a lot of thinking necessary when reading one of her novels...the plot line as well as just keeping all her characters straight can be confusing, the mystery so complex it really can drain you trying to figure out what the heck is going on...but if you make it to the end, and I did pretty quick, as I had a hard time putting it down, you will be rewarded with a unique, interesting ending, as this resourceful heroine will surprise you. I think that Tattersall's Dark at Noon and Lady Ingram's Room were both better books overall, but this one came close to matching those, in my opinion.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one really worked my brain, trying to figure out everybody's secrets, "whodunit," and "when are those two gonna hook up?!?" Set in the Jane Austen era, this book reviewed some of the social norms of the time, while constantly bringing new questions to the reader's mind. I couldn't put it down, though mentally exhausted. Excellent ending.

[Misti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I snatched this up recently at a library book sale. I used to love Jill Tatersall's gothics and hadn't read this one. It's good and suitably atmospheric. You just have to remember it was written in 1972 and the type of book it is.