The Inheritance: A Novel

by Annabel Dilke

A sweeping, modern tale of love, betrayal, and decline among the British aristocracy.

At their magnificent estate, the Chandlers cling to the trappings of aristocracy in 1960s England. Beautiful eighteen-year-old Alice is marrying the heir to another fortune and her sister Eve has won a place at Oxford. But their charmed lives are not all they seem. Alice is having an affair with a handsome but disreputable lover. Her father is a philanderer whose chronic infidelity pushes his wife Felicity into the arms of another man. And Eve's academic future is cut short by an act of betrayal. Nearly forty years later, Felicity remembers that long-ago wedding day when their lives changed forever.

Wonderfully sympathetic, funny and beguiling, Annabel Dilke's The Inheritance is the story of an unusual family and very unexpected twists of fate. Intensely human and brilliantly drawn, it will shock, delight and completely seduce you.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2004

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a sad story, but there was something about it that was so engaging that I could not put it down until it was done!

[Haley Lavenderfields · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t for the life of me figure out why this book has poor reviews.

I rather like a slow burn now and then, and this book delivered so much heartache and at the same time a satisfaction of knowing certain things that some authors leave open ended. The writing style, jumping between perspectives of each character also really interesting and makes the story so uniquely written!

The character development was amazing. Each character rendered so vividly I could see them, and knew them. It places you in the heart of family dynamics, and while some of the people do horrible things, you love them because you know them. The sister dynamic was perfection.

I was utterly enamored with Edgerton, painted like a picture in your mind, I’ll likely not forget it for a long time. I feel like I was in the corridors, dinning room, Alice’s room and all the grounds and gardens. The dogs, the horses… just really loved the aesthetics of the place.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a heartache. I’m sad the book is over!!!

[Lora Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t have high hopes for this book as it didn’t receive the best reviews but it ended up being a decent depiction of the lives of an aristocratic family . She did a great job painting a picture of the house and grounds and of bringing a resolution to the story . She definitely showed that money and position can be fleeting and not to treasure those things above love and decency.

[Sarah Hohmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow paced book but written in a way that made me want to keep reading. I’m surprised by the overall reviews, but I enjoyed this scandalous drama. If I were to describe it, it is like a hybrid of Atonement (the movie, I don’t know if it was a book first) and a Jane Austen novel.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully evocative, and so sad. Annabel Dilke has a gift for characterisation and sense of place, and I dont know how this has bad reviews!
I was keen to know who or what the ghost was though, she popped up twice and was never explained.

[Della Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my review on librarything, where I post as ainsleytewce.

[Teri · Rating 1 out of 5]

oh sooooooooooooooo sloooooooooooooooooooooow! I only finished because it was the only book I had with me at work. The book tries to be an "old southern family" style book, growing up attached to the land and all. But it is set in the late 1970's so it touches on abortion, woman's rights, etc. The two story lines just don't jive. I had high expectations for the novel, but really can't recommend this one to anyone I know. Sorry Annabel.

[Ronald Wise · Rating 3 out of 5]

An aristocratic family line of England confronted with the modern world of the 1960s and later — both in moral values and financial realities. Some lovable female characters in the transition from an Upstairs, Downstairs existence to something most of us could identify with more. I learned of this book from its brief appearance on the New York Times Best Seller List in October 2005.

[Karis North · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story, but never really loved any of the characters.

Wow, it was so unmemorable that I read it again, and liked it even less the second time (although I did have some faint memory that I had read it already).

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story about an upper-class British family whose estate had been in the family for 400 years. You see the tawdry side of their lives in the 1960s and then in the present. It improved as the story got going.

[Dolanite · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had its moments, but the big reveal at the end was too muddled and too much left unresolved. It was better than Snobs however, apparently there is a real obsession with the nobility in England still.

[Sonya Klemm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been a really good book. I like the story, and the characters. But there was so much left unsaid, the characters didn't get rounded-out well enough to really care about them.
Ho hum in the end.

[Ainsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learning that Annabel Dilke is the widow of Georgi Markov, who was assassinated by a poison-tipped umbrella on a London street, led me to this novel. Nothing exceptional, but I enjoyed this more than its low Goodreads rating led me to expect.

[Christin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a weird book. Nothing overly exciting happens. Just a rich, spoiled family who make all the wrong decisions, and in the end their lives are disasters. I found it a bit boring, and wanted to slap some reality into them all. But it was a fairly quick read, just an empty one.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in Florida and it is a great vacation/summer read but it is actually more sophisticated than I expected.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those train-wreck kind of books you can't pull yourself away from. Overall, rather depressing, but richly written with great character development.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family saga of an upper crust family set during the sixties in England.

[Manuela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Brutto, noioso e sensa senso.

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

She tied up all loose ends by the end of the book which was appreciated. The story was mildly entertaining yet forgettable.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a smooth and well-written read but the story is nothing special.

[Cassie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might be the worst book I've ever attempted to read.

[Beth Welsh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book dragged on and on and on. I had to force myself to finish it. It was a strange book, the way it was written. I didn't like the way it seem to jump all over the place, from one character to the next. I kept reading it because I thought something more exciting would happen to make it worth it. But it never did.