Obsession

by Lorrimer

In Victorian England, handsome Brook Edgerton is deeply in love with his young wife, Harriet. They live in beautiful Hunters Hall, a country estate in Leicestershire. They are a happy marriage,but Harriet is unable to produce the heir her husband, Brook, craves. She finds sympathy and friendship from Felicity Goodhall, an attractive young widow who lives nearby. Felicity becomes Harriet’s best friend giving support when Harriet fails to carry her baby full term.
On the ferry to Ireland Harriet meets a young mother, a destitute woman with a number of hungry children including a newborn baby. When they reach Ireland, the woman disappears, leaving her two-week-old baby boy to Harriet. With Brook far away in Jamaica on business, Harriet's desire for a child leads her to a life-changing decision. Harriet, full of conflicting emotions, passes the baby off as hers and Brook’s.
When Brook realises that the baby isn’t his, their marriage is in danger of falling apart. Meanwhile Felicity has developed an obsessive passion for Brook, and seizes the chance to widen the rift between the married couple and tries to win Brook’s heart. But when her seductive plan to win Brook's love are unsuccessful, she realises she has no alternative but to outline other malevolent plan to get rid of Harriet once and for all. But how stable is Felicity’s mental health and how safe is Harriet?

224 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2013

Reviews

[Diana Herrera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do not read this if you're looking for great literature. This is not great literature, lol. It's the sort of story you read while you're on holiday and want some light reading. So basically, Harriet and Brook have a very happy marriage. Annoyingly happy. I was getting sick of all the lovey-doveyness at the beginning of the book. Only thing is she keeps having miscarriages. Brook has to leave for Jamaica for some months to attend to the family business and Harriet goes to visit her sister in Ireland, a trip which doesn't go smoothly. In Ireland, a woman she's met on the ferry leaves her baby with Harriet and she decides to try to pass the child off as her own. Unbelievable, right? Well, everyone believes her including Brook when he returns. Meanwhile, her best friend Felicity, who is a psycho, wants Brook for herself and is willing to do anything to have him. It's a ridiculous plot. Totally unbelievable sequence of events. But I kept turning the pages and it did keep me interested so can't really complain. It's not tediously long so didn't feel like my time was wasted with unnecessary descriptions like I sometimes do with other novels.

[Pamela M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it is a very entertaining and touching story. The best thing that I got out of it is that Harriet wouldn't give up her son who was not her natural born son, that she loved as her own, against all odds. Defying eternal social classes and what was considered unexceptable, true love, prevailed. Yes it is a romancy type story, but I also liked time traveling back to Victorian life and times.