The Legacy

Jan 31, 2013 Kinga rated it 3 of 5 stars

Two stories for the price of one!

Historical romance and contemporary romance – all in one book!

Not one but TWO secrets!

Gypsies, Indians, cowboys, aristocrats!

Dead husbands! Missing children!

Wild West! Old English Manor!

And whatever else you can conjure up – all in this i one book about generations of women who like nothing better than to sweep things under the rug and sit on it staring into the space, as if nothing happened. Also, a warning tale – sweep things under the rug, you go mad, just as...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Alyson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-ish, mystery-contemporary, old-houses

Dual stories (one Victorian, one modern day) about the same family. The question of "What happened to Henry?" goes on for a bit too long--or, rather, the conversations consisting of "Tell me what happened!"/"No, it's better that you don't remember!" happened a bit too frequently and had me wishing they would just get to the point in the final conversation before the Big Reveal.

I wasn't actually too crazy about either Beth or Erica, and got progressively a bit more annoyed with them. However, the...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle

I read The Unseen first and never thought a book could be better. How wrong I was, thankfully. I was totally and uttery engrossed in this book which was heartbreaking in parts. Lost love, mystery, intrigue and, well, just about everything you would want in a really good book. I literally could not put my kindle down, it was my eyes that kept closing which reminded me I had to sleep at some point! I loved and despised Caroline and Meredith in turns, it's such a roller coaster of emotions I feel c...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dual-timeline, read-in-2011, 5-stars, early-1900s

I loved this book. I loved the complexity of the characters, the many layers and themes, the way it's written.

It opens in England in 1905 with the Lady of the Manor, Caroline, running through the woods carrying a heavy-looking pillowcase.

In the present day, sisters Erica and Beth inherit the old manor house from their grandmother, Meredith. It’s the house they spent their childhood summers in until one hot day in 1986, when their cousin Henry vanished. Erica has no memory of this day, but Beth...more

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Apr 23, 2013 NayNay rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Legacy is a journey of secrets, mystery, twist and turns, family and love. It is a story of how one woman's actions affects future generations. It held my interest from the first word until the last.

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Apr 09, 2012 Lisa Elfrida rated it 4 of 5 stars

When inheriting their grandmother's estate, two sisters return to sort through the belongings and decide whether to keep the manor or not. The younger sister finds an old photograph of their great grandmother with a baby on her lap which was taken in 1904, the year before she married in 1905, and decides to try and find out who the baby was and what happened to it.
Throughout the story we go backwards and forwards between four generations, and learn how each generation has its secrets which affec...more

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Sep 27, 2011 Rachel added it · review of another edition

The Legacy centers on two sisters Beth and Erica who have jointly inherited their recently deceased grandmother's manor house. They return to the house to sort through the belongings and decide what they should do with the house. Sounds fantastic except that the home holds a rather unpleasant memory, one Beth has been trying to run away from and Erica has been trying to figure out.

While trying to sort out the demons in their own closet, Erica stumbles upon a mystery surrounding her great-grandmo...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Dolors rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Beth and Erica return to the Calcott Mansion where they spent their summers as children after the death of their severe and cold grandmother Meredith. Things happened there one summer, things which haven't been forgotten, things left unspoken between the sisters, things that still haunt them both in different ways.
Two different stories unfolded at the same time, we follow Erica's discoveries of her past generations and we meet Caroline (Meredith's mother and Beth and Erica great-grandmother) and...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Keilani Ludlow rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a conditional 3 star. For me, a 3 star is what most books get if I enjoyed them. 4 star means I really enjoyed them and immediately went online with the library to find more of that author's books. 5 star is reserved for those truly above and beyond the norm books. Few make it to 5 star.

The conditional part is this - I enjoyed the book, I enjoyed the bouncing back and forth between the distant past, the recent past, and the present. I enjoyed the little mystery behind the characters. No...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Carolyn Hill rated it 3 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars. This is another dual narrative/time frame which I'm such a sucker for. An old English manor house with family mysteries buried in the distant as well as more recent past, and I'm there. The theme of the book is about how the decisions our ancestors make can vastly affect our lives, as ours may affect the generations to follow. The contemporary first person narrator, Erica, has inherited Storton Manor with her sister Beth, on the proviso that they will live in it. Erica in...more Three and a half stars. This is another dual narrative/time frame which I'm such a sucker for. An old English manor house with family mysteries buried in the distant as well as more recent past, and I'm there. The theme of the book is about how the decisions our ancestors make can vastly affect our lives, as ours may affect the generations to follow. The contemporary first person narrator, Erica, has inherited Storton Manor with her sister Beth, on the proviso that they will live in it. Erica insists that they visit it to sort through what's there and make a decision about their inheritance. Though they had spent summers of their childhood at the manor, their memories are haunted by the disappearance of their cousin Henry when Erica was eight and Beth twelve. Erica has blocked memories of what really happened to Henry, and Beth, who apparently remembers, suffers from debilitating depression. Erica is naturally very concerned about her sister, who is divorced and the mother of eleven-year-old Eddie. She feels that Beth's illness is tied up with events surrounding Henry's disappearance and hopes that re-visiting the manor house will help her heal from them. Beth, who is clearly suffering from being there, wants to keep the past buried and tries to avoid Dinny, their childhood playmate who was with them when Henry disappeared.

The other narrative, told in third person, has quite a different feel, being set predominantly in Oklahoma at the turn of the century. This is the story of Caroline, who turns out to be Erica's and Beth's great-grandmother. An heiress raised in New York and sheltered as a hothouse flower, she falls for a cattle rancher she meets at a dance in New York when he is back in town for the funeral of his father. After a whirlwind courtship, she marries him and journeys to Oklahoma despite the dire warnings of her snobby aunt. Totally unprepared for the life of a rancher's wife, Caroline struggles with her fears and inadequacies.

The Legacy is beautifully written and well researched, with wonderful descriptions that evoke the feel of the time and place. The reader suffers the brutal heat of the Okalahoma summer with Caroline and tingles with the frostiness of the English Christmas season with Erica. Though I was intrigued with the stories in both timelines, I had a hard time staying with this book. Perhaps it was my schedule or my mood, but it seemed it took a concentrated effort to get into this book. I wanted to know the answers to the mysteries, and I liked the unfolding, but the pace was rather slow and I seemed to only read a few pages at a time, making it even slower. Perhaps those lush descriptions took up too much of the narrative. I also found as I read on that I did not care for the character of Caroline, whom I had initially felt sympathetic towards. Eager to be liberated from the suffocating society world of New York, she lacks the inner resilience to adapt to a harsher life. She avows her love of her husband, but does nothing to share his life or inure herself to the realities of ranching on the Oklahoma prairie. Instead she becomes more and more isolated and trapped by her fears. She came across as pathetically weak, helpless, and selfish and that was before she did something unforgivable. Yet the author intends for the reader to understand and sympathize with her. I thought Caroline's story could have been abbreviated and perhaps told in a different way - in journal entries, perhaps? And a physical journal could tie the two narratives together more concretely. But maybe that's overdone.

I would recommend this book if you enjoy a contemporary mystery intermingled with an historical one and don't object to a measured pace. Katherine Webb is a good writer. I deducted stars because the ending lacked a total resolution, one of the primary characters was unsympathetic, and the pacing dragged. Yet still it was an enjoyable read and would be a good choice for a chilly autumn night.

(less)

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Jul 14, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

So I would describe this as part historical fiction... part thriller... but mostly as a can't put it down read. Mostly because the book starts off with a young woman abandoning her baby. No kidding. I mean, as a mother I read that part and I'm thinking, "what in the world?!" and from there I couldn't put this book down. I had to know the circumstances around it and why a person would do that. What you find is a web of family history that nobody would be proud of.

But when I say I couldn't put it...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this. And it followed well after the last book I read (Winter Sea) and I will likely get some elements of them confused. The past and present connection.
This is a story about 2 sisters who inherit a grand estate after the death of their grandmother. But they are haunted by a childhood trauma - the summer their cousin disappeared and their lives were never quite the same. When the return to the manor to settle things with the estate, they run into their childhood friend, who is part of a...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Nisareen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A great representation of the way secrets and lies affect not just our lives but the lives of those around us. The book centres on two time eras - the early 1900s and present day. The present day era focuses on two sisters, Erica and Beth Calcott, who following the death of their emotionally distant grandmother, inherit Stortan Manor, the family mansion they spent their summers in as children. Erica, the younger of the two, is carefree and rootless. She is only held down by her sister's debilita...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Legacy by Katherine Webb is my kind of book! Anyone who's read this blog for any time now, knows that I love dual time period stories, so dang, this one had me when I read the first page when we learn that in 1905, Caroline Calcott flees Storton Manor with a pillowcase over her shoulder. Caroline turns out to be Erica and Beth's Great-grandmother, a Great-grandmother with a secret.

Author Katherine Webb then fast forwards the reader to the present time, when Erica and Beth return to their Gra...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, historical-fiction, supense-thriller-fiction

A horrible, deep, dark secret will hold a generation of women to Storton Manor. Not only bound by the memories but also what these secrets have done to the women who lived there.

Erica Calcott and her sister, Beth, have found themselves the fortunate heirs of Storton Manor in Whitshire, England, where they used to spend their summers. Now returning to the home, Beth remains withdrawn and depressed. Hoping that being back at the Manor might enable her sister to heal, Erica is bound and determine t...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are two stories leapfrogging the pages of this book. One is the story of two sisters, Erica and Beth who have come to sort through some of the belongings of the old family mansion. Erica, the younger of the two, is carefree and rootless. She is only held down by her sister's debilitating depression which seems to have begun the summer their cruel cousin, Henry, disappeared. Erica believes that Beth and a boy named Dinny, who camps on the grounds, knows what happened to Henry. Beth believes...more There are two stories leapfrogging the pages of this book. One is the story of two sisters, Erica and Beth who have come to sort through some of the belongings of the old family mansion. Erica, the younger of the two, is carefree and rootless. She is only held down by her sister's debilitating depression which seems to have begun the summer their cruel cousin, Henry, disappeared. Erica believes that Beth and a boy named Dinny, who camps on the grounds, knows what happened to Henry. Beth believes Erica knows but has blocked it out, thus she is sheltered from the knowledge. Dinny shows up and memories and ancestor's belongings are sorted out.

The other story is about the children's great-grandmother, Caroline, an heiress-to-be when she reached the age of 21. Already she'd suffered a great deal by the death of her parents then of being raised by an emotionally distant aunt. Then she meets a cowboy named Corin Massey. She is smitten. He is smitten. They marry. Aunt B. lectures her then washes her hands and returns to England. Caroline travels to the ranch to be with a husband she barely knows and greets a life she is ill-prepared.

The two stories are thinly connected by emotions and circumstance. While the latter day characters are struggling with loneliness and feelings of inadequacy, Caroline discovers how her social skills and city manners leave her further isolated on a prairie full of cows, coyotes, horses and men. There is also the issue of the missing boys in both stories and they do intersect, eventually, although I didn't feel the connectedness to the two time periods and stories as much as I would have liked. I felt like there was still so much hanging out there and I wanted more closure.

I found the more recent story to be interesting and I really wanted find out what happened to Henry. I also wondered what had happened to make Meredith, Caroline's daughter and the girls' grandmother, so mean and unhappy. That part was anticlimactic.

Back to Caroline, the author provides a description of the prairie and cattle ranching, the loneliness, the nothingness, the vastness and Caroline's deep and enduring love for her husband and struggle for sanity in a world she didn't belong. I felt absolutely moved during the time of Caroline's years on the ranch. My heart felt ripped out and there was an overall feeling of yearning, much as I had when I read These Is My Words. The contrast yet sameness of early 1900 America and twenty-first century England were lonely and gut-wrenching. I absolutely loved this section of the book.

The author weaved a beautiful tale of enduring love, loss, coping and healing or surviving into another tale of the protagonist's descendants which provided some closure, answers to questions and an interesting read but not as beautifully written as Caroline's story.

Highly recommend.

4.5 stars(less)

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Jun 28, 2011 Amy Siggelow rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received this book from NetGalley, of which I am a member reader. I will be publishing my review of this book on my web-blog (http://amy-bookaddiction.blogspot.com), www.goodreads.com, www.librarything.com as well as on NetGalley.com.

This book is about two sisters who have come back to their family estate after their grandmother's death. The house was left to them in the will and it is theirs to live in or to do what they want with it. There is a sense of trepidation as they move in to the hou...more I received this book from NetGalley, of which I am a member reader. I will be publishing my review of this book on my web-blog (http://amy-bookaddiction.blogspot.com), www.goodreads.com, www.librarything.com as well as on NetGalley.com.

This book is about two sisters who have come back to their family estate after their grandmother's death. The house was left to them in the will and it is theirs to live in or to do what they want with it. There is a sense of trepidation as they move in to the house, as thier past holds secrets that neither one of them wants to confront right away. Beth, the older sister, knows what the secret is, or thinks she knows, but Erica, the younger of the two, does not remember certain things about what happened to their young cousin Henry. During a summer in their childhood, they were all staying with their grandmother, a very strict, cold woman, when Henry disappeared. Erica decides she wants to reveal the secret as she learns it, but Beth does not want to even talk about the disappearance, as she thinks it is her fault.

Part of the intrigue of this book is that it goes back and forth between the present and the distant past, delving into the life of Caroline, who is the first lady of the manor. Caroline lived in America (the book in the present tense is in England), and married a rancher from the midwest when she was 18 and moved out there with him. She had a very rough time with it and never thrived when she was out there. Her first husband was killed in an accident and she decides to flee the area with a baby she had in her charge.

As the mysterious secrets start to unfold the reader starts to understand why Caroline's story is integral to the book. There is much detail in this book and it is written very well. The beginning of the book was a bit slow for me, but by the third chapter or so, things were falling into place and the pace picked up.

I would recommend this book to anyone. It has a bit of mystery, a little romance and family structure that is very interesting. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from this author.(less)

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Jul 12, 2010 Boof rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british-authors, arc-and-review-copies, comfort-reading, read-in-2010, uk, usa

The Legacy opens in 1905 with Caroline Calcott, Lady of Stourton Manor in Wiltshire, hurredly leaving the house and making her way through the grounds and into the woods, carrying a white pillowcase over her shoulder which (unbeknown to the maids who watch her in surprise from the window) holds a small child.

The story then fast forwards to the current day and passes to Erica Calcott, Caroline’s Great-Granddaughter. Erica and her sister Beth have come back to Stourton Manor after 23 years of bein...more The Legacy opens in 1905 with Caroline Calcott, Lady of Stourton Manor in Wiltshire, hurredly leaving the house and making her way through the grounds and into the woods, carrying a white pillowcase over her shoulder which (unbeknown to the maids who watch her in surprise from the window) holds a small child.

The story then fast forwards to the current day and passes to Erica Calcott, Caroline’s Great-Granddaughter. Erica and her sister Beth have come back to Stourton Manor after 23 years of being kept away as their Grandmother, Meredith, has passed away and left them the property in her will. The two sisters haven’t been to the Manor since 1986 when their cousin Henry, who also used to stay at the house with them every summer during their childhood, vanished without trace never to be heard of again. Erica can’t remember what happened on that day and Beth won’t talk about it.

The story then goes further back in time to 1902 when Caroline was still living in New York and falls in love with a young cattle rancher from Oklahoma and once married, makes her way to her new life in the vast open prairies and overwhelming heat. From here, the book alternated between the stories of Caroline and Erica and while we start to put tiny pieces of the puzzle together to find out the fates of both children the pages just turn themselves.

I have read books before with dual narratives and I have often found that I prefer one story to the other, even to the stage where I will skim over the less favoured. Not so with The Legacy. Both stories are so compelling and end on cliff-hangers (of sorts) which makes the book even more pacey and page-turning. In the contemporary story, themes of depression, discovery, nostaligia and deception are dealt with and with Caroline’s turn of the century story there is loneliness, longing, desperation and envy which all built up to an act so impulsive and shocking that its repercussion imprint themselves on the future generations of the Calcott family, including Erica’s.

Within this book of long hot summers, secrets and deception there are two mysteries to solve too: the fate of both children. This is what gives the book its tremendous forward momentum. As the pages turn, we get closer and closer to the truth of what happened in both 1905 and 1986 but I have to admit that I was stunned with one of the conclusions. As a huge mystery/thriller fan I like to pride myself on being able to guess “whodunnit” early but……I didn not see this one coming! Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a thriller book, but the fact that the book steers us towards the truth through the pages means that it is one cracking, fast-paced read.

In summary, The Legacy is a wonderfully crafted, beautifully written, skillfully interwoven book that is perfect for a summer read. I highly recommend.(less)

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Apr 18, 2013 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

THE LEGACY is practically two books in one. First, a historical romance from 1902 in which eighteen-year-old Caroline moves from New York City to be with get new husband on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma. Parts of this section are well written, although sometimes the writer tries too hard, throwing in archaic words that don't seem to fit the sentences.
The second part of the book is set in present, the story of two adult sisters, Erica the narrator and her emotionally fragile older sister, Beth. We d...more

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May 17, 2012 Jo Cheung rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I hadn't expected to like this book as much as I did. Having enjoyed Katherine Webb's previous book 'The Unseen', I thought I'd give this one a go too.

I found myself completely engrossed in the stories pretty much from the beginning. With the two stories set not only in different eras, but in different continents too, I was curious to see how Webb would link the two together in the end. The Caroline story had me flicking forwards (not recommended -!) to find out what happened next, perhaps sign...more I hadn't expected to like this book as much as I did. Having enjoyed Katherine Webb's previous book 'The Unseen', I thought I'd give this one a go too.

I found myself completely engrossed in the stories pretty much from the beginning. With the two stories set not only in different eras, but in different continents too, I was curious to see how Webb would link the two together in the end. The Caroline story had me flicking forwards (not recommended -!) to find out what happened next, perhaps signalling that the Erica and Beth story was actually quite boring in comparison.

In fact, I felt that the twist at the end was a long time coming and quite predictable. I found myself increasingly frustrated with Beth's character, as she was not only holding herself back, but also affecting everyone around her. When we found out what she had done, I felt that her actions throughout her life, and the way that she dealt with the event as a child, was quite unrealistic. She was inexcusably weak in my opinion, but perhaps that was the point.

Caroline and Beth were both two women who couldn't move on from events that occured in their pasts, making their futures unbearable for all of those in their lives. I was appalled by what Caroline had done, but felt moved by her desperation and extreme loneliness; perhaps this is what made her such a believable character. However, I felt that Beth's actions were not as coherently thought out. Her almost complete shut down after the event, her complete lack of response or emotion as to whether a body had been found or any sort of normal action just made her character completely intolerable. I felt quite frustrated by end the book, because half of the suffering she had caused had been unnecessary.

I think this was why I enjoyed the book so much. Just like 'The Unseen', there was no right or wrong answer or alternative. After I finished the last page, I found myself thinking about the stories for a long time, wondering at the unjustice and the pain that had been caused. I really enjoyed the book, and that way it made me reflect on why people act as they do, and how the consequences of one person's actions can have such far-reaching repercussions in a way that is both frightening and thought-provoking at the same time.(less)

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Oct 30, 2011 Marguerite Kaye rated it 3 of 5 stars

Another of those 'two parallel stories' books that I really enjoy and which seem to be popping up in droves at the moment. I liked the premise of this and I really enjoyed the Victorian story and the wild west setting, I was intrigued as to how it linked up with the present-day story. And I was also intrigued by the mystery of the present day story. In fact, up until about 100 pages from the end I had this as 4 stars.

But I was disappointed in the ending. I hate books where some pivotal letter i...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, goodreads-giveaways

What a fabulous, engrossing book. This partially takes place in present day England when two sisters, Erica and Beth, inherit their grandmother’s fabulous (but creepy) old estate. Beth is battling some serious mental issues, we’re not sure the extent/why at first, and Erica not only wants to help her older sister but figure out certain secrets of her family’s past. The chapters flop back and forth between Beth/Erica and the story of their great-grandmother at turn-of-last-century America.

I love...more What a fabulous, engrossing book. This partially takes place in present day England when two sisters, Erica and Beth, inherit their grandmother’s fabulous (but creepy) old estate. Beth is battling some serious mental issues, we’re not sure the extent/why at first, and Erica not only wants to help her older sister but figure out certain secrets of her family’s past. The chapters flop back and forth between Beth/Erica and the story of their great-grandmother at turn-of-last-century America.

I loved the descriptions of vast, desolate Oklahoma, particularly as my family is from there. That really resonated with me and is a stark contrast to the big, damp, oppressive house in the modern day part of the book. I was immediately drawn into both storylines, which is rare. Usually when a book is constructed in this manner I prefer one of the time periods. I loved both.

There were a few things that bothered me at the end. Namely, the big secret with their cousin Henry. Early in the novel I thought, “I wonder if xyz happened, but nah, that’d be too ridiculous.” And that was what happened. Also, I found that Erica comes to her conclusions a little too quickly. There is one key thing that her great-grandmother did and until the final pages it seems that it’s one of the things Erica will not uncover. I loved this because, despite her searching, she cannot possibly learn everything about the woman, and that is true for all the people in our lives. You’ll never fully know their whole story. However, at the very ,very end Erica’s kind of like “oh, yeah, I think this happened also.” It was like, what??? How would you deduce that???? It was fairly hard to stomach.

Clearly I enjoyed the journey far more than the conclusion of this book. It is a great sit-down-and-read-all day kind of story. A lot of people have compared it to Kate Morton (who I love) and while I see the comparisons somewhat, be forewarned that Morton has a lot more twists and turns in her books. That’s not a slight on this, this is just less of a “mystery” than hers. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this!(less)

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Jul 27, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was intrigued by this novel and was lucky to receive an ARC from Netgalley. Erica and Beth return to the family estate of Storton Manor after their Grandmother dies, leaving the estate to them with some stipulations: if they want to inherit it, they must both live there. If not, it will be sold, and they receive nothing.

This may sound like an easy way to make a lot of money, but there are issues: their Grandmother, Meredith, was a cruel woman who made their summer visits miserable. Their cous...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Terri-Maree rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would like to start this review by saying how perfect the cover image of this book is. The image of two girls - one obviously older than the other - with the older girl showing how protective she is of the younger. It perfectly presents a part of the book - it is just brilliant. But now onto the content...

I loved this book. For me, it was one of those books that you have to just read and read so that you can see the whole picture, but when you finish it, even though you feel satisfied, you fin...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoy dual narrative novels although some can be more challenging than others losing the reader by flitting too much from one story to the next. I am pleased to report that this didn't happen to me during my reading of The Legacy and it was a very enjoyable, light read.

In the contemporary story, two sisters, Beth and Erica inherit a rambling country pile from their grandmother Meredith but the legacy has conditions, the sisters have to decide to live in the house or they lose their inhe...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Boof rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-and-review-copies, british-authors, read-in-2010, comfort-reading, uk, usa

The Legacy opens in 1905 with Caroline Calcott, Lady of Stourton Manor in Wiltshire, hurredly leaving the house and making her way through the grounds and into the woods, carrying a white pillowcase over her shoulder which (unbeknown to the maids who watch her in surprise from the window) holds a small child.

The story then fast forwards to the current day and passes to Erica Calcott, Caroline’s Great-Granddaughter. Erica and her sister Beth have come back to Stourton Manor after 23 years of bei...more The Legacy opens in 1905 with Caroline Calcott, Lady of Stourton Manor in Wiltshire, hurredly leaving the house and making her way through the grounds and into the woods, carrying a white pillowcase over her shoulder which (unbeknown to the maids who watch her in surprise from the window) holds a small child.

The story then fast forwards to the current day and passes to Erica Calcott, Caroline’s Great-Granddaughter. Erica and her sister Beth have come back to Stourton Manor after 23 years of being kept away as their Grandmother, Meredith, has passed away and left them the property in her will. The two sisters haven’t been to the Manor since 1986 when their cousin Henry, who also used to stay at the house with them every summer during their childhood, vanished without trace never to be heard of again. Erica can’t remember what happened on that day and Beth won’t talk about it.

The story then goes further back in time to 1902 when Caroline was still living in New York and falls in love with a young cattle rancher from Oklahoma and once married, makes her way to her new life in the vast open prairies and overwhelming heat. From here, the book alternated between the stories of Caroline and Erica and while we start to put tiny pieces of the puzzle together to find out the fates of both children the pages just turn themselves.

I have read books before with dual narratives and I have often found that I prefer one story to the other, even to the stage where I will skim over the less favoured. Not so with The Legacy. Both stories are so compelling and end on cliff-hangers (of sorts) which makes the book even more pacey and page-turning. In the contemporary story, themes of depression, discovery, nostaligia and deception are dealt with and with Caroline’s turn of the century story there is loneliness, longing, desperation and envy which all built up to an act so impulsive and shocking that its repercussion imprint themselves on the future generations of the Calcott family, including Erica’s.

Within this book of long hot summers, secrets and deception there are two mysteries to solve too: the fate of both children. This is what gives the book its tremendous forward momentum. As the pages turn, we get closer and closer to the truth of what happened in both 1905 and 1986 but I have to admit that I was stunned with one of the conclusions. As a huge mystery/thriller fan I like to pride myself on being able to guess “whodunnit” early but……I didn not see this one coming! Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a thriller book, but the fact that the book steers us towards the truth through the pages means that it is one cracking, fast-paced read.

In summary, The Legacy is a wonderfully crafted, beautifully written, skillfully interwoven book that is perfect for a summer read. I highly recommend(less)

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Aug 15, 2011 Indiaskye rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: past-and-present-collide, contemporary-fiction-and-romance, books-read-in-2011

"The Legacy" wss a really enjoyable book! It's a very engaging and well-written family saga that never has a boring moment! Once I had started this book I found it very hard to put it down again. In fact, there was a moment once when I was reading on the bus on my way to work where I actually missed my bus stop because I was so immersed in the story ... ;o)

About the story:

When sisters Beth and Erica Calcott inherit Storton Manor from their recently deceased grandmother Meredith they decide to sp...more "The Legacy" wss a really enjoyable book! It's a very engaging and well-written family saga that never has a boring moment! Once I had started this book I found it very hard to put it down again. In fact, there was a moment once when I was reading on the bus on my way to work where I actually missed my bus stop because I was so immersed in the story ... ;o)

About the story:

When sisters Beth and Erica Calcott inherit Storton Manor from their recently deceased grandmother Meredith they decide to spend some time there to help them decide what to do with it. When they were children, Beth and Erica spent their summers at Storton Manor where they could play and roam about the gardens and adjoining forest. Until one day when their 11-year-old cousin Henry disappeared without a trace ...

Now grown up, Beth is a divorcee with an 11-year-old son of her own. She suffers from depression and seems withdrawn from the world. Her younger sister Erica, on the other hand, is a confident and inquisitive young woman who still has nagging questions about what really happened that summer day when Henry disappeared. It is not only the return to Storton Manor after so many years but also a chance meeting with Dinny - a childhood friend - that stirs up memories for Erica. She is sure that that Beth and Dinny know more than they have said about that fateful day ...

But Henry's disappearance is not the only secret left at Storton Manor. When Erica finds a photo of her greatgrandmother Caroline holding a baby while she is cleaning out the attic, she is bemused. According to the writing on the back of the photo it was taken in New York in 1904 --- one year before Caroline met and married Erica's greatgrandfather, Henry Calcott! When she also finds old letters hinting at a possible scandal about Caroline's life in America Erica's interest is piqued and she wants to find out more about her greatgrandmother's life before she came to England.

Caroline is also the lead character in the other part of the story which follows her life as a young woman in America. We first meet her in 1902 when she is an 18-year-old heiress living with her aunt Bathilda who raised her after her parent's deaths. At a ball in New York Caroline meets a young rancher named Corin Massey whom she marries against her aunt's wishes. After her wedding her new husband Corin goes back to Oklahoma without her, leaving her only with his promise she can follow him a month later.

Once Caroline does get to Oklahoma she experiences her first disappointment --- it is not Corin who is waiting for her at the train station but a man named Hutch who works on Corin's ranch. Her illusions of living in a small but growing city are dashed as well when she learns that her new home is 35 miles outside of Woodward. It quickly becomes clear that Caroline is in no way prepared for life as a rancher's wife. She is afraid of animals and of the Native Americans living on the ranch and she has no idea of how to keep house. On one hand I could understand the latter because she did grow up pampered and in a rich environment --- she had servants who waited on her and never needed to concern herself with things like cooking or cleaning. On the other hand I did find her antics a bit annoying at times.

What I really liked was the wonderful way in which Ms. Webb brought the Oklahoma of the early 20th century to life. From everyday life at the ranch to the boisterious moods of a new year's party she really makes her readers feel like they're part of it all. I could almost see the open plains in front of my eyes and feel the ever-present sand and dust on my skin ... ;o)

The parts of the story that are set in the present time are just as well-described as the ones that are set in the past. Ms. Webb has a wonderfully fluid and descriptive style of writing that made me feel like I was wandering through the rooms and halls of Storton Manor myself. The story is atmospheric and and always enthralling, and I never got bored with it at all.

I kept asking myself the same questions that Erica asks herself --- what happened to Caroline in America that was so very bad? Who was the child in the picture? Why did Caroline come to England and why did she never tell anyone that she was married once before she met Henry Calcott? What happened to Henry that summer day in 1986? And how were all these stories connected?

The story keeps going back and forth between the different times --- Caroline's life at the beginning of the 20th Century, Erica's memories of the summer in which Henry disappeared, and the present. In some books that might be confusing, but Ms. Webb does a really great job at never making her readers feel "lost".

I would recommend "The Legacy" to anyone who has enjoyed the novels of Susanna Kearsley and Kate Morton!(less)

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May 12, 2011 Dianne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-literature, summer-read

Very Gothic with dark secrets, Gypsies, American Indians and English aristocrats. There are two narrators. The third person omniscient narrator tells the story of American born Catherine married to a rancher at the turn of the century, unable to cope with the hard life out West. The other first person narrator is Erica, Catherine's great grand-daughter, who wants to sort out the unhappiness which hangs over the old mansion left to her and her sister by her grandmother. Why is her sister unhappy?...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Rosie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a well-written book which I enjoyed a lot whilst I was reading it. I actually think it was superior to Kate Morton, and DEFINITELY superior to the terrible Rachel Hore.

*Spoiler alert!*

BUT, I felt that as a whole both the book and all of the characters were let down by the ending. By the end of the book, there is not one character who has acted decently or redeemed themselves for what they have done:

1) Caroline's behaviour towards William after she reached England was horrible to read an...more This was a well-written book which I enjoyed a lot whilst I was reading it. I actually think it was superior to Kate Morton, and DEFINITELY superior to the terrible Rachel Hore.

*Spoiler alert!*

BUT, I felt that as a whole both the book and all of the characters were let down by the ending. By the end of the book, there is not one character who has acted decently or redeemed themselves for what they have done:

1) Caroline's behaviour towards William after she reached England was horrible to read and made her seem a real nasty character, completely destroying any sympathy I had for her.

2)How can Beth's guilt be assuaged by the realisation that instead of killing her cousin she actually 'only' left him severely brain damaged?! Dinny's assertion that Henry wasn't happy at 11 and he is now is RIDICULOUS! Henry was a child, just the same as Beth & Erica, he would have changed as he grew older. I was surprised to see Beth & Erica just accept this and be comforted by it, given that Beth's son is 11 and should have made them realise how young and innocent Henry really was in hindsight.

3)Both Beth and Erica don't seem hugely bothered that Henry's parents have spent their lives mourning a son that they needn't have lost. They briefly consider telling them the truth, and then decide against it. That really damaged both characters in my eyes, it was very cruel and completely unrealistic that they wouldn't be torn apart by guilt that they had ruined a family's life.

4) The Dinny & Erica 'romance' seemed completely gratuitous. He spends most of the novel totally disinterested in Erica, then right at the end they get together for the obligatory quickie...and then he leaves her. And she responds by being thankful that he has taken the decision of revealing the truth about Henry out of her hands!

All in all, 'The Legacy' was a really enjoyable read all the way through, until the end, when everybody turns out to be a b*stard and nobody suffers consequences for anything they have done!(less)

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Sep 24, 2011 Pam rated it 5 of 5 stars

At first, this book reminded me of Kate Morton's big best seller, "The Forgotten Garden". However, I liked "The Legacy" better! Beginning in about the middle of the book, I just couldn't put it down. This is another book with two stories woven in to one. One story from the past and one story from the present, concerning the same family. What I loved about this book is that I was surprised at some of the revelations - I love it when that happens! The characters in these stories would make for gre...more

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