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The Mute of Pendywick Place #2
The Mute of Pendywick Place: and the Scarlet Gown
Christmas is forbidden at Pendywick Place. A tragic shadow from Basil Collingwood’s past looms over the season. Nevertheless, he plans to take Victoria to the Hampton Court Christmas Ball, to confront his former mentor—and her attempted-murderer—Professor Winchester. If they can steal back Victoria’s unbreakable code from him, they may save England itself. If they cannot, it will put all of Europe in grave danger.
188 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2016
About the author
Alydia Rackham
131 books145 followersYou don’t have to be afraid when you read my books. Well—you might be terrified for the hero, because his arch-nemesis has him at gunpoint with his back to the river Thames, demanding that he hand over the code that could spell the downfall of Europe…
But you’ll never have to squint, worrying that the romantic scene is about to get FAR too steamy—or that, in a tirade, someone is about to spew a stream of obscenities that will make you want to shut the book and go take a shower.
I don’t write sexual scenes in my books. EVER. And I do not use profanity. EVER. And yes, God lives in my stories. He is the deep foundation—you can FEEL Him.
Yet, I can prove without a shadow of a doubt that WITHOUT ANYTHING risqué, you can still have the adventure of a lifetime between these pages. You’ll hold your breath, you’ll laugh, you’ll sit on the edge of your chair, you’ll stay up till two in the morning pinned to the page—and you might even cry. In fact, I’ll bet on that. And I HATE it when writers are lazy and tacky and beat you over the head with some philosophical or theological point they’re trying to make, instead of just TELLING THE STORY. So, I avoid that at all costs. Still not sold? Well, give one of these books a try. Go ahead—any of them! Whether we’re speeding through space, breaking through the ice on a frozen river, galloping on a chariot across the desert or running up the Asbru bridge chased by wolves…you’re still safe with me.
But you’ll never have to squint, worrying that the romantic scene is about to get FAR too steamy—or that, in a tirade, someone is about to spew a stream of obscenities that will make you want to shut the book and go take a shower.
I don’t write sexual scenes in my books. EVER. And I do not use profanity. EVER. And yes, God lives in my stories. He is the deep foundation—you can FEEL Him.
Yet, I can prove without a shadow of a doubt that WITHOUT ANYTHING risqué, you can still have the adventure of a lifetime between these pages. You’ll hold your breath, you’ll laugh, you’ll sit on the edge of your chair, you’ll stay up till two in the morning pinned to the page—and you might even cry. In fact, I’ll bet on that. And I HATE it when writers are lazy and tacky and beat you over the head with some philosophical or theological point they’re trying to make, instead of just TELLING THE STORY. So, I avoid that at all costs. Still not sold? Well, give one of these books a try. Go ahead—any of them! Whether we’re speeding through space, breaking through the ice on a frozen river, galloping on a chariot across the desert or running up the Asbru bridge chased by wolves…you’re still safe with me.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 18, 2021
Audiobook Edition
In the first installment of the serial, Victoria finds her way to Pendywick Place and Basil. He is an expert on speech and might be the only person who can help the silent, struggling woman deliver her message about one intent on harming Britain. Basil discovers the horrible truth about the mystery surrounding Victoria and promises to help her.
Continuing with this serial story, Basil and Victoria have settled into their plan to confront the professor at the Christmas ball. Victoria is startled by his unconventional ideas of preparation along with his refusal to acknowledge let alone celebrate Christmas. It is her turn to uncover the dark, brooding mystery hanging over Basil in time for Christmas.
I was riveted from the moment I began listening to the series and this next segment did not diminish my engagement with the story or the characters. I enjoy the Victorian London Christmas setting and more quirky life happenings at Pendywick Place. Victoria may be mute, but she is by no means uncommunicative especially now that Sign Language is being introduced by Basil. It was fun to spot the mentions of Scrooge & Marley as well as 221B Baker Street and the Diogenes Club. The tentative relationship between Basil and Victoria is still that in this one, but there are moments of connection and particularly when Basil’s history is revealed. There was a suspenseful moment that had me unable to set aside the story no matter what and then a lovely festive time of friendship and family as suited to the Christmas season.
Bill Schafer continues to narrate so that the characters and story come alive in my imagination. He does so well and especially since Victoria is the point of view for this story. I look forward to listening to more of his work. The production was high quality as well.
All in all, a strong second installment that has me excited to listen in and discover what comes next for Victoria and Basil as they work to stop Professor Wentworth. An engaging historical mystery serial that I can recommend to those who love the genre and especially on the light side.
I rec’d this book from Audiobookworm Reviews to listen to in exchange for an honest review.
In the first installment of the serial, Victoria finds her way to Pendywick Place and Basil. He is an expert on speech and might be the only person who can help the silent, struggling woman deliver her message about one intent on harming Britain. Basil discovers the horrible truth about the mystery surrounding Victoria and promises to help her.
Continuing with this serial story, Basil and Victoria have settled into their plan to confront the professor at the Christmas ball. Victoria is startled by his unconventional ideas of preparation along with his refusal to acknowledge let alone celebrate Christmas. It is her turn to uncover the dark, brooding mystery hanging over Basil in time for Christmas.
I was riveted from the moment I began listening to the series and this next segment did not diminish my engagement with the story or the characters. I enjoy the Victorian London Christmas setting and more quirky life happenings at Pendywick Place. Victoria may be mute, but she is by no means uncommunicative especially now that Sign Language is being introduced by Basil. It was fun to spot the mentions of Scrooge & Marley as well as 221B Baker Street and the Diogenes Club. The tentative relationship between Basil and Victoria is still that in this one, but there are moments of connection and particularly when Basil’s history is revealed. There was a suspenseful moment that had me unable to set aside the story no matter what and then a lovely festive time of friendship and family as suited to the Christmas season.
Bill Schafer continues to narrate so that the characters and story come alive in my imagination. He does so well and especially since Victoria is the point of view for this story. I look forward to listening to more of his work. The production was high quality as well.
All in all, a strong second installment that has me excited to listen in and discover what comes next for Victoria and Basil as they work to stop Professor Wentworth. An engaging historical mystery serial that I can recommend to those who love the genre and especially on the light side.
I rec’d this book from Audiobookworm Reviews to listen to in exchange for an honest review.
December 31, 2020
I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.
I love this series. I am absolutely enchanted by the MCs in this series. This is the second book in the series and is not a complete story [in that the underlying story surrounding the MCs is not resolved but it is a complete story which centers around Christmas]. I absolutely adored the appearance of Charles Dickens' Scrooge character and the heartwarming Christmas message of this story. Absolutely heartwarming the use/learning of sign language for Victoria and the development of the relationship between the MCs.
The narrator, Bill Schafer, did a great job. He has a wonderful way of developing the characters with his voice. I absolutely shivered in the cool way Basil Colingwood delivered his assessment of Victoria as a subject and not a person - all thanks to Bill Schafer's narration.
If you enjoy stories from the Victorian era - read this story you will not regret it.
I love this series. I am absolutely enchanted by the MCs in this series. This is the second book in the series and is not a complete story [in that the underlying story surrounding the MCs is not resolved but it is a complete story which centers around Christmas]. I absolutely adored the appearance of Charles Dickens' Scrooge character and the heartwarming Christmas message of this story. Absolutely heartwarming the use/learning of sign language for Victoria and the development of the relationship between the MCs.
The narrator, Bill Schafer, did a great job. He has a wonderful way of developing the characters with his voice. I absolutely shivered in the cool way Basil Colingwood delivered his assessment of Victoria as a subject and not a person - all thanks to Bill Schafer's narration.
If you enjoy stories from the Victorian era - read this story you will not regret it.
December 6, 2021
Quick, Clean, Unique & Fun Read
This series in my opinion probably should be one larger book. Book one and two have been a lot of fun and it's definitely a unique tale with the mystery & drama behind the beautiful mute girl in an era that would hide away imperfections and disabilities. However, book one did end abruptly and then book two basically picked up right where it left off. Don't let this deter you from reading it, but just know that you'll need the full series as the books are like episodes in a mini series. They have remained very clean and free of bad language, overly intimate content, and the violence is minimal.
The narrator does a great job, my only complaint was it felt a bit slow. I found normal pace to be at 1.3-1.4x speed which fixed the issue completely.
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
This series in my opinion probably should be one larger book. Book one and two have been a lot of fun and it's definitely a unique tale with the mystery & drama behind the beautiful mute girl in an era that would hide away imperfections and disabilities. However, book one did end abruptly and then book two basically picked up right where it left off. Don't let this deter you from reading it, but just know that you'll need the full series as the books are like episodes in a mini series. They have remained very clean and free of bad language, overly intimate content, and the violence is minimal.
The narrator does a great job, my only complaint was it felt a bit slow. I found normal pace to be at 1.3-1.4x speed which fixed the issue completely.
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
December 20, 2019
Love, love, loved it ❤️❤️
June 5, 2021
A sweet and cosy second part to the story of mute Victoria and her eccentric mentor Basil, this is 100% Christmas fluff that also serves to start pushing deeper into the characters' lives and feelings. A massive plus is that Victoria is learning sign language so actually gets a "voice" to start taking part in things - yay for empowerment! Side character Fred gets another outing, and he's such an enthusiastic cinnamon roll it's impossible not to like him. The romance themes creeping in could feel fairly obvious, but hey, it's cute . I also liked how little hints towards a certain resident of Baker Street, and some well-known earlier Victorian Christmas-type characters made an appearance. One of those "learning to love the season" episodes, only without any unnecessary arguments. Warm and fuzzies all round.
The biggest hurdle for me to really enjoy this were the historical/geographical inaccuracies though. I loved how the book tried to capture a Victorian Christmas, complete with folk songs and carols, places decked out with pine wreaths and food spilling from the tables so rich you could almost taste it (mince pie anyone?) But like the great many exclamation marks in the dialogue (and sentences starting with "And"!), so many things jumped out at me that interrupted the flow a bit. It's a bit Victorian Romance Emma in its approach to painting a picture of London: done with evident love and relish, but gosh, were those things distracting to a history nerd.
Oh so cliched, but oh so sweet. A little editorial polish to the writing and background and this'd shine even brighter. I do want to know more, even if I suspect there may be more heavily romance-based times ahead...
The biggest hurdle for me to really enjoy this were the historical/geographical inaccuracies though. I loved how the book tried to capture a Victorian Christmas, complete with folk songs and carols, places decked out with pine wreaths and food spilling from the tables so rich you could almost taste it (mince pie anyone?) But like the great many exclamation marks in the dialogue (and sentences starting with "And"!), so many things jumped out at me that interrupted the flow a bit. It's a bit Victorian Romance Emma in its approach to painting a picture of London: done with evident love and relish, but gosh, were those things distracting to a history nerd.
Oh so cliched, but oh so sweet. A little editorial polish to the writing and background and this'd shine even brighter. I do want to know more, even if I suspect there may be more heavily romance-based times ahead...
April 25, 2020
All right. I'm loving reading all these relatively short books!
Positives: Characters were more in depth. Loved seeing our main characters interact with each other and others. I also really liked the tone. It's coziness really fits well with the two storylines. I also enjoyed the fair simplicity of the villain-hero plot as it gave more time for the characters to just interact.
Negatives: I think the author does her writi through scenes...not that it was bad, it just sometimes felt disjointed to me. Also, the villain so far is a bit 1-dimensional and I hope the next books provide for more detail into his background.
Opinion: This is just so fun!! I kind of like that there are other stories happening in the background without us seeing them. At least, our lovely classics of Sherlock and Scrooge. Really, I just like this series so far with all its lightness. I do find the villain plot to come off as jarring at times but it's mentioned enough for me not to forget.
Content: clean, though there's one use of the d-word. Also, the villain is not nice....
Positives: Characters were more in depth. Loved seeing our main characters interact with each other and others. I also really liked the tone. It's coziness really fits well with the two storylines. I also enjoyed the fair simplicity of the villain-hero plot as it gave more time for the characters to just interact.
Negatives: I think the author does her writi through scenes...not that it was bad, it just sometimes felt disjointed to me. Also, the villain so far is a bit 1-dimensional and I hope the next books provide for more detail into his background.
Opinion: This is just so fun!! I kind of like that there are other stories happening in the background without us seeing them. At least, our lovely classics of Sherlock and Scrooge. Really, I just like this series so far with all its lightness. I do find the villain plot to come off as jarring at times but it's mentioned enough for me not to forget.
Content: clean, though there's one use of the d-word. Also, the villain is not nice....
August 14, 2025
I think I should first point out that the Goodreads description for The Mute of Pendywick Place and the Scarlet Gown is not correct. There isn't any discussion or plot about stealing back Victoria's code in this novella. The other parts of the description are basically right: no Christmas, planning to go to the ball to search out Professor Winchester (but not "in spite of" the fact that no Christmas celebrations take place in the Collingworth household, and what they actually plan to do if/when they meet up with him isn't completely clear). This novella is still very much a character-fleshing-out for Basil, Victoria, Fred, Mrs. Butterfield, etc. and less plot-driven. Given that, I enjoyed it a lot and appreciate that the author is taking a lot of time and detail to help us understand the people behind the story. Plus, the descriptions of Victorian Christmastime are wonderful.
May 9, 2020
Wonderful
I discovered Alydia Rackham by listening to ‘The Mute of Pendiwick Place: And the Torn Page’ early this morning. I enjoyed it so much, I quickly dowloaded and read this second book in the series. What a wonderful holiday story. I hope it comes out in audio by next Christmas. As for now though,I am ready to read book 3.
I discovered Alydia Rackham by listening to ‘The Mute of Pendiwick Place: And the Torn Page’ early this morning. I enjoyed it so much, I quickly dowloaded and read this second book in the series. What a wonderful holiday story. I hope it comes out in audio by next Christmas. As for now though,I am ready to read book 3.
September 21, 2020
I absolutely loved this sweet Christmas tale
I must credit Rackham with the genius of weaving in, ever slightly, both Sherlock Holmes and A Christmas Carol. It was so much fun. I love these characters and the uniqueness of this story. It's so easy to read and a lot of fun. Heartwarming as well!
I must credit Rackham with the genius of weaving in, ever slightly, both Sherlock Holmes and A Christmas Carol. It was so much fun. I love these characters and the uniqueness of this story. It's so easy to read and a lot of fun. Heartwarming as well!
March 25, 2024
Just as Exciting as the First Book!
This book picks up right where the last book ended. The author has given the reader intrigue, suspense and a touch of romance wrapped up together in this Dickensian inspired Christmas story. Overall, a fantastic read. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next.
This book picks up right where the last book ended. The author has given the reader intrigue, suspense and a touch of romance wrapped up together in this Dickensian inspired Christmas story. Overall, a fantastic read. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next.
January 17, 2020
She has represented really well a character dependent on sign language. And the intrigue and descriptions are so rich I’d like to travel back myself.
June 9, 2023
I'm really enjoying this series. In fact, I'm on book 3 already.
Plenty of action, mystery, and, of course, the slowest burn every!
Plenty of action, mystery, and, of course, the slowest burn every!
January 1, 2021
The mystery continues. Another captivating book in this series. It continues to keep me wanting more and I love getting the know that characters better and seeing where their journey will take them.
Content:
Sexual: none
Violence: mild
Language: none
Content:
Sexual: none
Violence: mild
Language: none
January 4, 2026
(3.5 stars)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews