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The Storrington Papers
For Sarah Goodwill, still reeling in the aftershock of a disastrous marriage, the position of secretary-ghostwriter to Major Charles Storrington seems the ideal opportunity to exorcise a few demons of her own. Sarah will help Major Storrington, confined to a wheelchair by the tank accident that finished a promising military career, to research and write the family history of the Storringtons, an armaments dynasty. She will also serve as governess to his small son.
To her dismay, Sarah finds the ménage at Maidenshall, the great Victorian mansion built on the site of a nunnery, a decidedly uneasy one:
* Bored, diversion-starved Cressida increasingly seeks escape in her London fashion career and, perhaps, in the arms of other men;
* Adolphus Storrington is a lonely, distracted child who spends most of his waking hours in the company of a fantasy playmate;
* The Major, handsome, powerful and restive in his wheelchair prison, alternates between bursts of creative energy and outbursts of frustrated rage at his family, servants, and Sarah, who is falling in love with him;
* And Henrietta Galloway, the nonagenarian retainer who wanders about Maidenshall unsettling everyone she meets with ramblings about days long past.
When Sarah discovers two Edwardian-era diaries, she slowly unravels the mystery of a passionate betrayal of a previous governess and the master of Maidenshall.
To her dismay, Sarah finds the ménage at Maidenshall, the great Victorian mansion built on the site of a nunnery, a decidedly uneasy one:
* Bored, diversion-starved Cressida increasingly seeks escape in her London fashion career and, perhaps, in the arms of other men;
* Adolphus Storrington is a lonely, distracted child who spends most of his waking hours in the company of a fantasy playmate;
* The Major, handsome, powerful and restive in his wheelchair prison, alternates between bursts of creative energy and outbursts of frustrated rage at his family, servants, and Sarah, who is falling in love with him;
* And Henrietta Galloway, the nonagenarian retainer who wanders about Maidenshall unsettling everyone she meets with ramblings about days long past.
When Sarah discovers two Edwardian-era diaries, she slowly unravels the mystery of a passionate betrayal of a previous governess and the master of Maidenshall.
253 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
4 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Eden
95 books169 followersAka 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 2, 2018
Not my favorite Dorothy Eden, but an absorbing read. This is a mystery/love story set in two different time periods about a recently divorced woman who is enlisted by a handsome paralyzed man to research his family (the Storringtons) history. Secrets are uncovered along the way and there are similarities between present day relationships and past. The inclusions of a ghost and a sexual encounter make this book unlike any others I have read by Eden. She was a master storyteller and there will never be another like her.
December 31, 2009
I'm reading this for the ......th time. one of my favorites! somewhat predictable, but good characters and an interesting twist here and there.
August 29, 2019
This book has everything: love, betrayal, revenge, ghosts, seduction, blackmail, infidelity, vulger Victorian decor, the Edwardian Era, diaries, the drowning death of a small boy, Tsar Nicholas, guns, war, reincarnation, and one lone grave. All of this in 246 pages! Impressive!
July 31, 2022
3+
A solid suspense story with family saga and Gothic romance elements. The two time periods and story lines were fun. I was able to guess most of it, but still one surprise at the end for me. Entertaining and it kept me reading.
A solid suspense story with family saga and Gothic romance elements. The two time periods and story lines were fun. I was able to guess most of it, but still one surprise at the end for me. Entertaining and it kept me reading.
November 15, 2021
Classic 1970s Gothic-lite.
March 12, 2025
One of Eden's best!!
October 4, 2018
Would not have touched this with a ten foot pole if I knew it spanned two different eras.
But it wound up being a good read anyway.
That said I would have liked more interactions between the current couple, there wasn't much to their falling in love, it was like *boom* they're in love.
Not Dorothy's best, but it had me hooked all the same.
But it wound up being a good read anyway.
That said I would have liked more interactions between the current couple, there wasn't much to their falling in love, it was like *boom* they're in love.
Not Dorothy's best, but it had me hooked all the same.
November 13, 2023
I was surprised to love this book as much as I did. If you have memories of the days when gothic fiction ruled the book market back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, you’ll be right at home with this book. I didn’t rush out and buy Phyllis A. Whitney books when she was the queen of mystery/romance goth. I admittedly read my share, but I wasn’t a huge fan. That’s why this book surprised me so much.
Sarah Goodwill is fresh off a nasty divorce. She has a nine-year-old child in a boarding school, and she needs money. She has a journalism degree but only limited experience in the field. She sees an ad from a 30-something wheelchair user who wants to hire a writer to craft a history of his family based on documents and diaries in his possession. Sarah applies and gets the job. My interest level in the book was always solid, but it escalated when she began working through those family papers. The author introduces you to a pre0-World War I family whose dysfunctionality and pathological weirdness will draw you in. Hannah Knox became governess to the Storrington children as they existed in 1912. Hannah is small with quick movements. The uber-masculine head of the house refers to her as a mouse; the author describes her as “a small brown bird.” In the beginning, you’ll like Hannah. Her story will hold your interest big-time.
The family has a son whom the simply call “boy.” He has serious mental issues including but not limited to night terrors.
The book moves between Sarah’s late 20th-century life at the house and Hannah’s early 20th-century one. You see all kinds of parallels and interconnections that will keep you reading.
I’ve had this floating around on a hard drive since the summer of 2011, and NLS recorded it in May 1979. So, by every measure, it’s an old book, and by every measure, it’s an excellent book. I was surprised by how well it held my interest and kept me keenly reading.
Sarah Goodwill is fresh off a nasty divorce. She has a nine-year-old child in a boarding school, and she needs money. She has a journalism degree but only limited experience in the field. She sees an ad from a 30-something wheelchair user who wants to hire a writer to craft a history of his family based on documents and diaries in his possession. Sarah applies and gets the job. My interest level in the book was always solid, but it escalated when she began working through those family papers. The author introduces you to a pre0-World War I family whose dysfunctionality and pathological weirdness will draw you in. Hannah Knox became governess to the Storrington children as they existed in 1912. Hannah is small with quick movements. The uber-masculine head of the house refers to her as a mouse; the author describes her as “a small brown bird.” In the beginning, you’ll like Hannah. Her story will hold your interest big-time.
The family has a son whom the simply call “boy.” He has serious mental issues including but not limited to night terrors.
The book moves between Sarah’s late 20th-century life at the house and Hannah’s early 20th-century one. You see all kinds of parallels and interconnections that will keep you reading.
I’ve had this floating around on a hard drive since the summer of 2011, and NLS recorded it in May 1979. So, by every measure, it’s an old book, and by every measure, it’s an excellent book. I was surprised by how well it held my interest and kept me keenly reading.
June 28, 2015
I found this to be a depressing book. One of those that leave you feeling unsatisfied and gloomy. I had very little sympathy for Hannah as I believe she brought most of her own troubles on her head. Her desire for revenge had unforeseen consequences. Broken marriages, unfaithful spouses, mentally disturbed children, make this book just too dark for me.
May 27, 2013
Cassettes.
August 29, 2024
Read this years ago…….
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews