Lord Oakburn's Daughters

by Mrs. Henry Wood

Excerpt from Lord Oakburn's Daughters

The omnibus was not given to dashing, however. It drove into High Street by the accustomed Opening, turned short round to the left, and pulled up a few yards further at its usual halting-place, the Red Lion Inn. Mrs. Fitch, the landlady, an active, buxom dame, with a fixed colour in her cheeks and a bustling, genial manner, came hastening out to receive the guests it might have brought. It had brought only a young lady and a and the moment Mrs. Fitch cast her eyes on the lady's face, she thought it the most beautiful she had ever looked upon....

516 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1889

About the author

Ellen Wood (née Price) was an English novelist, better known as "Mrs Henry Wood". She wrote over 30 novels, many of which (especially East Lynne), enjoyed remarkable popularity. Among the best known of her stories are Danesbury House, Oswald Cray, Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles, The Channings, Lord Oakburn's Daughters and The Shadow of Ashlydyat. For many years, she worked as the proprietor and editor of the Argosy.

Reviews

[Sobriquet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lord Oakburn’s Daughters (1889)

The small country town of South Wennock has long been the residence of the doctors Grey, that being Mr John and Mr Stephen Grey, nice, pleasant gentlemen and very much liked and respected in the place. But there is another doctor there now, Mr Carlton, a fine dashing young gentleman as ever you saw. He came suddenly a few months ago and set up against the Greys. He’s not above thirty at the most and some say he has a private income. Anyway, Mr Carlton is getting into practice and it is said that he is liked. There is a family on the Rise where he attends constantly, and I’ve heard they think a great deal of him. It’s a Captain Chesney, an old gentleman, who has the gout perpetual. They came strangers to the place and settled there; very proud exclusive people, it’s said. There’s three Miss Chesneys; one of them beautiful; the other one’s older and the little one is but a child.

A mysterious stranger arrives in the town and after talking a composing draught drops down dead. But who is responsible? Was the bottle tampered with? And what of the ghastly figure seen outside the patient’s room? What follows is a tale of murder, love affairs, deceit, and dark secrets.

I very much enjoyed this novel. I felt during the first half of the book that the plot was moving too fast at the expense of character development however the second half is more leisurely and the characters are further developed. It was great fun to try and puzzle out the culprit, but as this is a pre-detective novel book the investigations are private rather than police driven. The court scenes were also very interesting. There are several characters that have shared focus in the story rather than a main character. This is a sensation novel; I would recommend it to people who like Wilkie Collins or Mary Elizabeth Braddon novels.

[David Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining sensation novel, published in 1864. Everything one would expect is here: murder, jealousy, lost heirs, missing persons, etc. This edition has some helpful annotations.

[Vincent de l'Epine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très bon roman, avec une intrigue solide et quelques beaux personnages.
Un mystère familial complexe. La façon dont les différents personnages parviennent progressivement à démêler les fils de l'intrigue, est jubilatoire ! Comme bien souvent dans les romans victoriens, ce qui est intéressant n'est pas de voir ce processus de découverte de la vérité chez les personnages.

Et en évitant le prosélytisme religieux ou moral parfois pesant dans quelques-unes des oeuvres de cet auteur.

Une très bonne lecture que je recommande !

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read and one of Mrs Wood's less "preachy" novels. There is perhaps too much shift in focus and if there is a main character it is Lady Jane, who isn't particularly interesting.