Snare of the serpent

by Victoria Holt

Seeking to escape accusations that she had something to do with her father's death, Davina Glentyre flees Edinburgh for Africa, where she meets handsome Roger Lestrange and his ailing wife and is swept up in the Boer War

Genres: Romance, Gothic, Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical

419 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snare of Serpents is pretty much your usual Victoria Holt suspense novel with heroine in peril, etc. etc. Davina Glentyre's peaceful life in Edinburgh is rocked when her beloved governess is fired for stealing and in comes a younger, prettier governess. A governess who ends up marrying her widowed father. A widowed father who ends up dead from arsenic poisoning. Being a typical Holt novel, Davina is the one who gets the blame ('course she's innocent), put on trial and found "Not Proven" - a stigma that's not so easy to live with. FF and Davina eventually decides to start life again in South Africa where no one will whisper those dreaded words behind her back. Hah.

This was an OK read, but it did lag at times when the storyline could have moved along a bit faster. Most of the twists and turns were fairly easy to guess well before the big reveal, and it took waaaaaaaaay too long to wrap things up at the end.

[yolanda; · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? Every book of Victoria Holt follows the same pattern: a sweet innocent child that becomes a damsel in distress who ends up being a miss Independent Woman. It includes lots of love-affairs (usually with a very Bad Young Man and then with the Perfect Gentleman) and family secrets and murders (usually you know who the murderer is in page 2, but the little damsel doesn't suspect anything until the very last page).


But...what can I do? I do love this kind of dramatic, old-fashioned novels. I love them. They're always the break I need between heavier (and "better") books. And, as I always say, 'Mamma I love the drama' :D

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddy read with Hannah, Misfit, Jeannette, Sakura Yue Michaelis, Diane Lynn....

Victoria Holt, Jean Plaidy, Philippa Carr; Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Anne Percival, and Ellalice Tate.

Mu copy just arrived from USA through BM.

Well, the plot was quite well predictable, the heroine's naiveté was quite overwhelmed and the end didn't bring any big surprise to any kind of reader.

In my opinion, we had more fun with the buddy reads of Mary Stewart books.

[Mariana Lectora · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Nido de serpientes" Victoria Holt
Como ya nos tiene acostumbrados en esta historia Holt nos llevará por giros inesperados y muertes misteriosas. Edimburgo será el escenario de la historia de Davinia, una joven que llevaba una vida tranquila hasta que por razones misteriosas pierde a su institutriz con quien llevaba una buena relación. A partir de este hecho la vida de Davinia estará rodeada de muchos cambios en su vida que tendrá que enfrentar, como el ser acusada injustamente del asesinato de su padre, por lo anterior decide dejar su lugar de origen para intentar iniciar una nueva vida dejano atrás su pasado, pero ¿Logrará dejar atrás la mancha de su pasado y ser feliz?

10/2024
3.5⭐️

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books written by Victoria Holt are so cheesy, but sometimes that's exactly what you need. I've read a loooot of her books when I was 14/15 years old..that was the last time I've read them. I absolutely loved them at the time. I'm thinking of reading one of her books just for the old times sake! =)

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

readable enough but not one of holt’s best. our heroine has the personality of a mannequin and exists only to react to a plot that happens to and around her. the novel has two main mysteries but one is all but forgotten and without closure for a good half of the book only to be wrapped up in the last 5 pages. predicable as ever but one day i’ll read all of these because i am a slut for a good gothic romance/mystery.

[Elle Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Más que una reseña, esto es una crítica específicamente para la edición en español del círculo de lectores de este libro. ¿Por qué me cuentas en la sinopsis algo de lo que no me voy a enterar hasta la última página?

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up Snare of Serpents because the author was Victoria Holt. "Jean Plaidy, also known as VICTORIA HOLT" is the author of a wonderful series of historical novels about the British royal family. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by Snare of Serpents. I felt it really a mishmash: one part gothic romance, one part country-house mystery, with a bit of historical intrigue on the side.

We begin in gothic romance mode. We are in Scotland, sometime before 1898. Young Davina Glentyre (sounds made up, doesn't it?) lives an idyllic life surrounded by her beloved family and servants. She has not a care in the world and is a very happy creature. Then her beloved mother dies, and her life changes. Her father becomes strange and remote, and loyal old servants are replaced with sinister new ones. She abruptly gains a step-mother. Davina finds solace in her friendship with young, poor Jamie North. Naturally, their courtship is forbidden. Then Mr. Glentyre is found poisoned.
The sinister mood dissipates, as we shift gears and begin a conventional mystery. Who killed Davina's father? Was it his wife who stood to inherit? Was it his daughter, who stood to be disinherited? What did the disappearing maid have to do with it? Davina is accused, brilliantly defended by a young lawyer, and released with the verdict of "Not Proven." She will have to live with doubt and suspicious all her life.

Switching back to a gothic world...
Much like Jane Eyre, Davina flees to a caring family in the country. They are short on money (though not destitute), but long on love. Davina spends her time quietly and happily, engaged in simple, wholesome country pursuits - until her past catches up with her. Mr. Lestrange, a mysterious gentleman from South Africa, seems to suspect her past. Davina decides to flee again.

This time, she takes a position as a teacher in South Africa and we are treated to a brief travelogue featuring immigrant conditions aboard ship, and the conflicts between the Boers and the British.

In South Africa, romance and mystery meet as Mr. Lestrange reappears with his sickly, timid wife Myra, his grand mansion, his frightened servants, etc. Davina soon learns that Mr. Lestrange's first wife died tragically. Was it murder? These myriad mysteries are resolved, as well as Davina's love life, in a rather awkward and mundane manner.
The mysteries were nothing special, and the characters rather boring: The Villain, the Egoist, the Eccentric, the Loyal Friend, etc. The setting was nothing spectacular, either. Until the Boer war came along, I was not even sure which era I was in. We are in Scotland only because we are told so. On the other hand, there was nothing truly bad in it, and I found Snare of Serpents to be an agreeable time passer.

[Isabel Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta es una muy buena historia de intriga, es interesante como se van desarrollando los hechos y aunq al final resulta muy predecible la verdad destrás de los hechos, está tan bien argumentada q la historia convence totalmente.
Lo q no me explico es xq siguen encasillando a esta autora como romántica. Es decir, hay romance. Davina se enamora de Ninian y se suceden varios acontecimientos q hacen q el romance sea interesante pero definitivamente no es el centro neurálgico de la historia, q pasa realmente x el lado de que a esta chica Davina, todo parece salirle mal en la vida.
Hay final feliz y todo, pero si esperan encontrar el gran romance del siglo, este no es el libro indicado.

[Tessa in Mid-Michigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

extremely suspenseful

[Anne Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. A lot went on and I had many assumptions while reading.
The book takes place in the late 1800’s-early 1900’s. Davina lives in Scotland and is from a highly respected family in Edinburgh. Her mother has died, so she is very close to her governess, Lilias. But when a pearl necklace is gone missing and found in Lilias’ room, she is dismissed and a new governess is brought in. Zillah Grey is not anything like a governess, and soon Davina realizes she is actually her father’s mistress. They soon get married.
Davina meets Jamie on her walking excursions to get away and explore the city. Jamie is a university student studying to be a lawyer. Zillah invites him to dinner but Davina’s father is not impressed since Jamie does not come from a wealthy family. Instead, he wants Davina to get to know a colleague of his, a wealthy widower. When Davina tells her father she’s engaged to Jamie he threatens to disinherit her.
In the meantime, the coach driver, Hamish, complains to the housekeeper about having to kill rats he’s finding in the stables. Ellen, a parlourmaid, asks Davina if she could buy some arsenic for her because rats have been seen closer to the house. Davina agrees and gets her the arsenic. This is a set up.
Davina’s father has been ill on and off for a while. Soon after Davina buys the arsenic, her father dies. The household is questioned and Davina is arrested. Zillah gets a lawyer for Davina, Ninian Grainger. He feels the most important thing for them to do is find Ellen who asked Davina to buy the arsenic. But she left, claiming she had to go back to her home to see her sick mother. She is never found. The murder trial takes place and Davina is found Not Proven, since the jury couldn’t find evidence that she killed or didn’t kill her father. She is left with the stigma of her innocence not being able to be proven. Jamie has his doubts and that relationship is over.
Davina decides to go away to visit Lilias in her home and changes her name to Diana Grey. Diana stays with Lilias and is happy for a time until her old maid from home, Kitty, accidentally calls her by her right name in front of Roger Lestrange, a visitor from South Africa who works in the diamond industry. Ninian, who has been keeping in touch with Davina, suggests she go abroad to get a start on a new life. Lilias would love to go abroad too. They make arrangements with the company suggested by Ninian. In deciding where to go, Roger suggests going to South Africa with him and his new wife, Myra. There’s a school in Kimberley, where he lives, that needs a teacher. Perhaps Lilias and Diana could help get it running again. It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up and the girls make the trip. There’s something about Roger though...he paid for the girls to have better accommodations on the ship, and Davina feels Myra is never comfortable around him.
Davina and Lilias get the school started successfully. Lilias and John Dale, a member of the council who looks after Kimberley, become very close friends. Lilias gets close with Myra, and visits often. She gets to know Roger’s step-son, Paul. Davina thought Paul was Roger’s biological child, but his father died in a mine accident after finding a huge diamond called the Kimberley Treasure. His mother married Roger, but she died when she fell down a flight of steps, supposedly due to drinking too much.
Ninian wants Davina to come home because of the war going on in South Africa. The native people are not happy with the British people who have come looking for diamonds. Soon a siege occurs and food is scarce. Roger leaves on a secret mission. Myra has been sick, and Diana promises to visit with her as much as possible. She also promises to make sure she takes the tonic prescribed for her since she’s been talking about seeing ghosts, homesick, and nervous. Lucky thing Davina accidentally knocked over the tonic because it just so happens Roger was actually putting poison in it!
Soon things come to light...no wonder Roger always seemed creepy...he was trying to frame Davina just like she was back home. Roger has had wives in the past that have died. He wants their money. He tried to poison Myra, and in the meantime a housekeeper found a handkerchief belonging to Davina under Roger’s bed. Then the housekeeper showed Davina newspaper clippings she got from Roger showing that they knew who she was.
Thank goodness the siege is over and Ninian comes to South Africa. He asks Davina to marry him. She accepts, but is afraid to go back home and face people again. But everything works out. They get married. Lilias and John get married. Myra stays in South Africa as well. Roger has been killed and she wants to take care of Paul.
Back home, Zillah has been ill. When she is close to dying, she gives Davina a letter explaining what happened when her father died. Zillah had no intention of Davina getting arrested. But she admitted Hamish the coachman and her were having an affair and the prospect of killing Davina’s father for his money was a good idea at the time. The written confession frees Davina of questionable innocence and now she knows the truth.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

March, 2013 Group Read

[Myfanwy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Victoria Holt’s other books have chiefly taken Jane Eyre and Rebecca for inspiration, Snare of Serpents represents a departure, since the primary influence seems to be Wilkie Collins’ The Law and the Lady and Dorothy Sayers’ Strong Poison.
Though Snare starts out interestingly enough, with evil stepmother! murder! accusation! the stigma of the ‘not proven’ verdict! which could have made for a great story as the heroine (Davina) attempts to deal with the aforementioned stigma and work with the hero (Ninian) to clear her name, the story instead jumps to South Africa to a totally unrelated and bizarre story.
In and of itself, the South Africa/Boer War storyline was kind of interesting in a sort of ‘frontier mystery’ way. There was some good drama and it was much less racist than the Victoria Holt books I’ve read that are set in India. At the same time though it felt completely unrelated to the main plot, did nothing to advance the mystery surrounding the murder of Davina’s father, did not provide any sort of growth for the romantic relationship, and did not really affect Davina in any substantial way.
Most of the solutions to the novel’s two mysteries happen in a fairly deus ex machina way, without Davina needing to exercise any sort of agency or initiative. Though she is traumatised by her trial, throughout the book she remains naive, sometimes to the point of TTSL, even though it seems like her experiences should have made her somewhat cynical, or at least a little more worldly. Ninian is very different from the heroes in other Holt books I’ve read, being both a kind and decent human being and middle class.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to other Holt novels, this one was less action-packed/tense.

The ending was flat and never peaked in the third arc. Our main heroine was very bland with no personality, too much of a self-insert for my taste. After meeting Roger Lestrange in the book, I was disappointed by the real love interest's lack of charm. He was too vanilla and, like the main heroine, lacked personality. Especially in the dialogue segments, I would sometimes get lost in who said what, since they all had the same voice and would share the same opinions.

The murder-mystery was okay. But I would have wished the story focused more on South Africa. Also, I didn't like how the conflict in South Africa was presented. The English felt way too entitled to this land and treated the indigenous people like second-class citizens. That might be historically accurate, but since this is fiction, I would have liked to see a heroine with a more modern view on these things. A less racist view.

I still read it without getting too bored. So it was okay. 3 stars.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although Victoria Holt is noted as a writer of romantic fiction, I found this book to be more of a murder mystery. I am not an aficionado of romantic fiction, so I was pleased this book did not fall into that category.
Davina is arrested for the murder of her father and taken to trial. She is 17, and after her mother's death, her governess of 8 years is let go on false charges, a maid mysteriously disappears, and a beautiful governess is hired who later marries Davina's father! It will be obvious to the reader who is responsible for Davina's father murder.
However, there will be a few twists and worth reading on.
The story will not leave the reader is suspense and all will be revealed.

[LUNA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Menuda telenovelón es este, un drama de lo más cliché.
Tenemos a una prota hijo de un señor rico sin madre y con bastante dinero y que por supuesto tiene alrededor muchas víboras, eso ya te lo dice el título, va a pasar una desgracia y le echaran las culpas a ella, flor cándida, y por supuesto se quedara sola. Tenía cositas interesantes como el abogado que la ayuda, y ella queriendo ser su propio dueño desde el principio, pero creo que ha envejecido un poco mal este libro. Cuanto más avanzaba menos me importaban las peripecias de la protagonista.

La sensación de ser una historia de retazos de otras historias para mí ha sido enorme.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hadn't read a Victoria Holt novel since I was a teenager, so I decided to revisit this author. It was a pleasant enough story with a lot of repetition (in case the reader didn't see the plot twists coming). This had a Cinderella type theme: teenage daughter of wealthy widower gets young stepmother, father dies (at step mother's hands?) and daughter is accused and tried for murder. From there, the story takes off to South Africa where the characters are caught up in the Boer war. Daughter eventually returns home to vindication.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Victoria Holt books voraciously as a teen/young adult, so I was happy to pick up this later novel. I was thinking I probably hadn't read it, but it was familiar--I must have read it. I reread it anyway, and enjoyed revisiting an old genre. But one thing drove me nuts: the constant use of ellipses. Every page was full of them...Also, lots of repetitive dialog. I don't remember this in Holt's previous works, but maybe I have just forgotten. It's a pretty clean romance, though, which I appreciated.

[Ranee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I'd read all of her books long ago but this one looked new to me & reading it I didn't see any familiarity. There was some predictability of the bad guys & some frustration that Davina did not even suspect any of it but it was a good story. That the bad guys' bad ends came the way they did, without undo chase scenes or face to face violence with our heroine, is refreshing compared to many of the murder mystery novels written by other authors of late.

[readsoftamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my mother in law's favorite book, so I had to read it.
But I liked it!
It could have had a bit of a faster pace. It hints at being a crime novel from the start, as suspicious deaths happen, but then the story carries on without any explanation. I wish clues were given throughout the story, it would have made this (even) more fun to read. But there is are some satisfying explanations by the end, so it still earned 5 stars for me, and it builds up nicely as a whole.

[Aldara Vázquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Del mismo estilo que todas las de esta autora, a mí me encantan para llevar a la playa.
Esta es otra historia de amor con asesinatos de por medio, en este caso la historia empieza en Edimburgo, pero luego pasa a Sudáfrica, transcurre la historia en los principios del siglo XX y habla de la segunda guerra de los bóers, así que de paso te informas de algo de historia.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rate “Snare of Serpents” as one of Victoria Holt’s most bland novels. I rarely felt engaged with the story.

The narrative is slow, with little of the suspense featured in a typical Holt novel, and crucial events are largely predictable. At times, it’s quite boring.

As usual with this author, there’s too much *telling*, as opposed to *showing*. Many times in this book the reader is told what happened, when the author could’ve dramatized scenes to show what happened.

I liked the heroine of the piece, but in general, not many of the cast are memorable characters.

[Lori Shafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I have read many of Victoria Holt's books. It has been so long ago that I can't remember what I have read and what I haven't. Snare of the Serpents is one of those books. Holt's books are like old friends. I adore the settings and the hint of a mystery within them. Like many authors, her books have a common theme, but I truly enjoy reading them.

[Jerry Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

not my style.
historical rom drom
South African diamond miner lures in unsuspecting heiresses as Hamlet meets Mandela in Victoria Holt's 1990 novel Snare of Serpents.
Why does colonialism end in the region? Does setting up an economy give you rights? Did the English deserve a voice in the senate? Who murdered the wealthy Dutch entrepreneur's wife? Has the murderer murdered before?

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Victoria Holt. I will add, however, that I wish there were more hero to go with the heroine. In this, too, it's classic Holt - the heroes are largely missing - but this one is in another country!

[Debra Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer Holt's earlier books to her later ones although the romantic interest in this book is the most realistic of all her books. I did not enjoy the Africa section. I just felt like it divided the book too far.

[Kriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantó demasiado!, es una de mis novelas favoritas. La historia es increíble. La amo. ❤️

[Susan]

Edinburgh and South Africa suspense

[Laura McChristian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of the better ones; just....okay. Writing seemed rather bland compared to earlier novels. Plot seemed to meander somewhat, then everything just "ties up" at the end.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spent many hours reading Victoria Holt gothic romances as a young teen. Still very enjoyable. This story has a great mix of murder, mystery, dastardly villains and romantic hero’s.