Review - The House at Riverton

Kate Morton

I have just discovered Kate Morton.  Her first book is 10 years old, so she has been around for a while. But all of a sudden people started recommending her books to me.

My sister-in-law told me to read The Forgotten Garden.

I received The House at Riverton at my book swap.

And then I saw on Facebook that she was coming to a book store near me in October!  I wasn’t able to go see her, but I am going to buy her new book she was promoting, TheClockmaker’s Daughter.

With Kate Morton hitting me from all sides, I was excited to start reading The House at Riverton.  At the very beginning I wasn’t sure why everyone was so excited about this author, but the book was engaging so I kept reading. 

And somewhere in the middle of it, I knew why.

The House at Riverton 

Grace is 98 years old when a movie producer comes to her asking questions about her past life.  She is transported back in time to a different era as she remembers her time in service at the great Riverton House.

The novel flips back to when Grace was 14 just starting out as a housemaid at Riverton.  And through her eyes we learn about the world of upstairs and downstairs.  The family that occupies Riverton slowly come into focus.

Grace stores up the secrets of her masters while also uncovering secrets about her own past that her mother refused to tell her.

Not only is The House at Riverton an engaging story it expertly weaves past and present together making you feel like you understand both exactly.

As you see life through Grace’s eyes you feel like you understand exactly how it is to be 98 years old.  What your mind is processing, what your joints feel, and how you hold on to your knowledge even when the young and inexperienced might need it.  You know better.  They won’t understand your wisdom.  (How does a young Kate Morton get inside a 98-year-old woman’s head?)

But as the book jumps back to 1914 you are able to understand the culture of that time.  I was struck at how the life of the servants were such an important fit to society.  It seems unimaginable in this day and age that anyone would be that loyal to serving a family, but as you see the story unfold, you see why. 

In our society today where we overshare every minute detail of our lives, it makes no sense how anyone would keep a huge secret for decades of their life.  And, why should we?  Isn’t it better to tell and let others know the truth?

However, Morton lets us think through Grace’s mind, back in that time.  She was bound to that family, she was bound to Hannah, she was not ever going to tell. 

Downton Abbey

After reading The House at Riverton I am inspired to read more about the Edwardian era of English history.  Kate Morton provides some extra reading options in the back of the book, and I intend to check those out!  And, I’m going to actually watch Downton Abbey (I know – why have I not done that yet??)

Read if… 

you loved Downton Abbey

Or if you have already discovered Kate Morton

Next on my Kate Morton list is her new book TheClockmaker’s Daughter.

If you are looking for another book dealing with secrets see my review on Into the Water – it is a thriller, so it is a very different way of looking at secrets.

Happy Reading!

Hannah