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The Artist's Daughter #1
The Artist's Daughter
A compelling tale of romantic suspense set in Victorian England, THE ARTIST'S DAUGHTER moves from the bohemian London of famous artists and writers to the stark and threatening countryside near Dartmoor.
Nora Woburn, daughter of the well-known painter Ivor Stokes, never dreamed what her future held when in 1860 she married the handsome, charming, and seemingly loving Oliver Woburn. Three years, numerous brutal beatings, and a miscarriage later, this spunky young woman, once the special friend of poets and painters like Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris, finds herself lonely, disinherited, and desperate. Pursued by her cruel husband, Nora escapes to Devonshire. There she finds employment at Raven's Chase, the vast estate of Sir Mark Gerrick, a man who seems to be haunted by his past. Her discovery of a long-lost portrait of herself leads her into new and far more serious danger. As Nora begins to learn of the depraved, violent underside of Victorian England's cultured facade, she must brave a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy both her and those she loves.
Nora Woburn, daughter of the well-known painter Ivor Stokes, never dreamed what her future held when in 1860 she married the handsome, charming, and seemingly loving Oliver Woburn. Three years, numerous brutal beatings, and a miscarriage later, this spunky young woman, once the special friend of poets and painters like Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris, finds herself lonely, disinherited, and desperate. Pursued by her cruel husband, Nora escapes to Devonshire. There she finds employment at Raven's Chase, the vast estate of Sir Mark Gerrick, a man who seems to be haunted by his past. Her discovery of a long-lost portrait of herself leads her into new and far more serious danger. As Nora begins to learn of the depraved, violent underside of Victorian England's cultured facade, she must brave a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy both her and those she loves.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Leslie O'Grady
15 books5 followersWhen Leslie O'Grady was in fifth grade, her teacher predicted that one day, she would become a writer. Sounded like a plan, so Leslie kept writing, then collected a depressing number of rejection slips until her first novel, The Artist's Daughter, was published. Since that success, she's written gothic novels, and historical romances.
In a change of pace, she wrote The Grateful Undead, a humorous cozy mystery, and is working on another.
A graduate of Central Connecticut University, Leslie worked in public relations for a television station and a hospital, where she wrote pulse-pounding articles about renal dialysis and diagnostic imaging. Writing fiction was definitely more creative, so she left the corporate communications field to pursue a full-time writing career,
She's a member of the Authors Guild, Novelists, Inc., and Sisters in Crime.
In those rare times she's not writing, Leslie enjoys reading, movies, attending art exhibits, and exploring her native New England.
She lives in southeastern Connecticut with her husband and their rescue cat.
In a change of pace, she wrote The Grateful Undead, a humorous cozy mystery, and is working on another.
A graduate of Central Connecticut University, Leslie worked in public relations for a television station and a hospital, where she wrote pulse-pounding articles about renal dialysis and diagnostic imaging. Writing fiction was definitely more creative, so she left the corporate communications field to pursue a full-time writing career,
She's a member of the Authors Guild, Novelists, Inc., and Sisters in Crime.
In those rare times she's not writing, Leslie enjoys reading, movies, attending art exhibits, and exploring her native New England.
She lives in southeastern Connecticut with her husband and their rescue cat.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 8, 2011
Nora Woburn is on the run from an abusive husband. Despite her classical education & friendship with the Pre-Raphaelite crowd, she's been supporting herself for three years -- not by painting, but by writing scandalous novels & ghost stories. Her hard work has brought few material comforts, but enough for survival...until Oliver shows up to demand his financial & physical rights. But though Nora is rescued from rape, she can't do anything about his taking her authorial earnings. Desperate for better circumstances -- and disgusted at social pressures that face a woman who abandons her husband -- she accepts an offer from the less-than-reputable Lord Raven, Sir Mark Gerrick. Nora will move to Gerrick's estate, receive a salary under the table, & write as the mood strikes. In exchange she will be companion to Mark's younger sister.
The job seems easy at first, though Amabel Gerrick is spoiled, temperamental, & graced with a year-old lovechild. But while Nora is perfectly willing to accept Amabel's social decline, she can't understand the family friction. Soon Nora discovers the fate of a third sibling -- Mark's younger brother, Damon, who has been locked in a posh asylum -- and becomes tangled in a revenge plot against the remaining Gerrick siblings...who do an awesome job of pissing each other off. And why does Mark keep one of Nora's father's paintings in his study -- the same painting that posed her as a blushing maiden on the verge of meeting a lover? In the middle of this, her husband returns. Of course Nora refuses to go back...but is her stubbornness out of hatred for Oliver, or has she fallen for Mark?
Illegimate children, suicides, ghostly ruins, baby kidnapping...that's a lot for 216 pages, but it didn't seem overdone. It was a good gothic romance -- comfortable with tradition (honestly, there's no doubt of a HEA), but enough convention-twisting to keep things interesting. Nora is afraid of love...because she's too experienced, not an innocent. Amabel is a spoiled younger sister...but she adores her baby son. The villainous mistress is a stuck-up bint...but you can't help feeling sorry for her circumstances. For such a short book, the characterizations were surprisingly good. Nora also pokes fun at several gothic cliches during her adventures; this makes for an extra layer of humor because Nora (& her author) are so proudly crafting the sensational romances where such cliches are common.
Overall, this was a keeper -- similar to Carola Salisbury & Victoria Holt. The narration was smooth; Nora has a dry sense of humor & is frustrated by convention, but she's not an anachronism. Bonus: very little adverb flogging. :)
4 stars.
The job seems easy at first, though Amabel Gerrick is spoiled, temperamental, & graced with a year-old lovechild. But while Nora is perfectly willing to accept Amabel's social decline, she can't understand the family friction. Soon Nora discovers the fate of a third sibling -- Mark's younger brother, Damon, who has been locked in a posh asylum -- and becomes tangled in a revenge plot against the remaining Gerrick siblings...who do an awesome job of pissing each other off. And why does Mark keep one of Nora's father's paintings in his study -- the same painting that posed her as a blushing maiden on the verge of meeting a lover? In the middle of this, her husband returns. Of course Nora refuses to go back...but is her stubbornness out of hatred for Oliver, or has she fallen for Mark?
Illegimate children, suicides, ghostly ruins, baby kidnapping...that's a lot for 216 pages, but it didn't seem overdone. It was a good gothic romance -- comfortable with tradition (honestly, there's no doubt of a HEA), but enough convention-twisting to keep things interesting. Nora is afraid of love...because she's too experienced, not an innocent. Amabel is a spoiled younger sister...but she adores her baby son. The villainous mistress is a stuck-up bint...but you can't help feeling sorry for her circumstances. For such a short book, the characterizations were surprisingly good. Nora also pokes fun at several gothic cliches during her adventures; this makes for an extra layer of humor because Nora (& her author) are so proudly crafting the sensational romances where such cliches are common.
Overall, this was a keeper -- similar to Carola Salisbury & Victoria Holt. The narration was smooth; Nora has a dry sense of humor & is frustrated by convention, but she's not an anachronism. Bonus: very little adverb flogging. :)
4 stars.
September 16, 2013
Another Gothic classic from the 70's now in ebook format on Open Library
August 6, 2013
Quick read. Motherhood, family of origin issues, and spirituality themes. Felt a little heavy.
June 17, 2024
Everything you could want and more if you're a classic gothic mystery person. Also a bit of romance too. A "who done it" til the end.
March 11, 2023
This book has silly scooby doo energy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2018
This was a delightful who-dunnit to go between my usual 800+ page books.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews