Bride by Candlelight

by Dorothy Eden

First American Publication

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

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Aka Mary Paradise.

Dorothy Eden was born in 1912 in New Zealand and died in 1982. She moved to England in 1954 after taking a trip around the world and falling in love with the country. She was best known for her many mystery and romance books as well as short stories that were published in periodicals. As a novelist, Dorothy Eden was renowned for her ability to create fear and suspense. This earned her many devoted readers throughout her lifetime.

Reviews

[Tweety · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2

This was beautifully atmospheric, I could feel the harsh winds as they wafted through the derelict old house and blew snow flurries through the ill fitted windows. And the suspense! I was kept second guessing up to the end.

When Julia dashed off to New Zealand to marry Paul, a man she'd met during the war, she was full of excitement. That is, until anonymous letters appear under her door and things get odder and odder. Stranger yet, Paul isn't the same as she remembers, and it isn't just his face which was scarred from face transplants. How could shy, sweet Paul have turned into a man with such charm? Such self assurance? In fact, he seems to attract women like moths to a light. What changed him so? And the house, it whispers to her. What does the house hide?

I really enjoyed this gothic, I knew right off the bat which characters I liked and which I didn't. It was a bit predictable, it could have been spookier and yes, the ending was anticlimactic. But I enjoyed it for all that. I'd recommend it to any fan of gothics, as it was high in the atmosphere and fleshed out characters. Though, I wouldn't have mined getting to know some of them better. This is my first book by Dorothy Eden, and it won't be my last.

PG
A few swears, kissing and cuddling and that's about it.

[Dorcas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

First off, thanks to my GR buddy Laura for sending me a whole BOX of Dorothy Eden gothics, how awesome is that!!! "Bride by Candlelight" is one of the collection Laura sent and my first Gothic by D.E. although I own and love most of her other novels.

So I enjoyed this. I'm a bit puzzled by the low ratings here on GR as it was pretty average as far as 60s gothics go. Had there been just a bit more chill it would have made it to 4 stars but it was still an enjoyable 3.5. Yes, I guessed some things but it wasn't totally predictable and there were some genuinely creepy moments.

A young woman falls in love with a soldier on leave from the war and they don't see eachother for over three years. A few letters pass between them and one of them so touched her she is convinced to go out to New Zealand and marry him. Only thing is, Paul has sustained facial injuries requiring complex surgery and is a little wary of her seeing him again. That must be it, afterall why else would he wait so long to start writing to her again? And why didn't he come to meet her when she arrived, sending his shepherd instead? And when he finally sees her why does he exclaim, "who the devil are you?"

You'll have to read it and find out. There's a nice big spooky run down house, an eccentric old lady, anonymous letters, suspicious phone calls, accidents, and a suddenly amorous finance who seems to have dropped all his former shyness and inexperience and is particularly eager for a wedding as soon as possible.

And then there's Paul's brother Harry, killed in Australia but who the elderly grandmother insists is still alive...

CONTENT:

SEX: None (some cuddling, kissing)
VIOLENCE: A few "accidents "
PARANORMAL ELEMENTS: None
PROFANITY: Very mild.

MY RATING: PG

[Swathi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this novel. This isn't dorothy eden's best work. There is not much romance or connection between the guy and the girl and the mystery is not so startling.

[Nattie · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this book had gone on any longer it would have dwindled down to 1 star. I can't say I didn't get some enjoyment out of it, but it was a very frustrating read.

The main problem I had were the nearly identical chapters. The same things were said over and over again, and where some writers try to switch the wording around so it isn't as noticeable; Dorothy Eden didn't bother.

The second problem I had was Julia. I didn't like her. I found her to be wimpy and indecisive. She had common sense but ignored it. Throughout the entire book I wanted to slap her. I wanted to shake her and demand that she tell me why she insisted on being so dense. She clearly wasn't stupid, but in her desire to pretend that certain things were fine, she behaved like a big dummy.

It seemed to take forever to get to the twist that almost anybody would have seen coming before page twenty-five.

[Adrian Griffiths · Rating 1 out of 5]

A young woman named Julia travels to a remote mansion to get married to a man she hardly knows. The house is filled with sinister relatives and grumpy servants, all of whom seem to be harbouring secrets. It isn't long before attempts are made on Julia's life.

Although I have enjoyed some of Dorothy Eden's gothic stories before, this one was not good. In a new personal record, I guessed the twist ending on page 9. As a result, reading the rest of the book was just a chore, while I waited for the heroine to catch up with me. It also highlighted how monotonous the story was. As another reviewer has noted, each chapter just seems to repeat what was in the previous one, over and over again, while the heroine considers every possible explanation except for the very obvious truth.

[Carrie Dalby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but the main mystery was a bit obvious. Enough suspense to keep me reading to find out how far the characters would go before the heroine finally realized what was going on. Great setting and solid cast of characters.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little romp. Very predictable, but fun nevertheless as it embodies the trend of gothic romance paperbacks in the 50s, 60s and 70s quite nicely. There is something so nice about reading this genre, and Dorothy Eden understands the assignment.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

C. fiction, gothic suspense, contemporary, "overdone," from stash, discard

[Gypsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the mystery was easy to figure out, but with the gothic atmosphere and prevailing sense of unease, it was still highly entertaining.

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Open Road Media has recently reissued works by the late Dorothy Eden. She was a well known author of mystery and romance from the 1940s through the 1980s. She died in 1982. Out of the bundle in Sinister Weddings, I chose to review Bride by Candlelight for Throwback Thursday. It was originally published in 1954 by Mcdonald.

The story for me was ultimately, just OK. It definitely showed its age. The one thing I did like about it was it had that creepy Gothic feel to it. I could almost picture it as a old black and white movie. Julia was so naive and clueless. I was pretty much able to figure out the truth of Harry after the first 25 pages. I didn't know all of the details, but I got most of it correct. The ending was a bit rushed and not very believable. Despite not liking this one, I will give the other books in the collection a try.

[Elizabeth Coleman]

Gothics are my guilty pleasure. This is a good one. (I picked it because it had foil on the cover! And snow falling with almost inaudible thuds on the first page.)

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable. Not one of Dorothy Eden's best.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harmless vintage gothic fun! Fairly predictable but nonetheless gripping and atmospheric read.

[Hana]

New Zealand gothic.

[Libbie]

old school gothic romance . makes for an easy fun read.