The Secret Rooms
A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret
Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · December 31, 2013
For fans of Downton Abbey, this New York Times bestseller is the enthralling true story of family secrets and aristocratic intrigue in the days before WWI After the Ninth Duke of Rutland, one of the wealthiest men in Britain, died alone in a cramped room in the servants’ quarters of Belvoir Castle on April 21, 1940, his son and heir ordered the room, which contained the Rutland family archives, sealed.
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- Who it’s for
- A moody true tale that blends aristocratic intrigue, old-house atmosphere, and historical unease.
- Genres
- 20th-Century Britain, Royal Lives, Lives in History
- Published
- Penguin Publishing Group, December 31, 2013
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Start with this bookAbout this book
For fans of Downton Abbey, this New York Times bestseller is the enthralling true story of family secrets and aristocratic intrigue in the days before WWI After the Ninth Duke of Rutland, one of the wealthiest men in Britain, died alone in a cramped room in the servants’ quarters of Belvoir Castle on April 21, 1940, his son and heir ordered the room, which contained the Rutland family archives, sealed.
Continue reading
Sixty years later, Catherine Bailey became the first historian given access. What she discovered was a mystery: The Duke had painstakingly erased three periods of his life from all family records—but why? As Bailey uncovers the answers, she also provides an intimate portrait of the very top of British society in the turbulent days leading up to World War I.
Gothic Intrigue
A moody true tale that blends aristocratic intrigue, old-house atmosphere, and historical unease.
Come here for
- haunted castle atmosphere
- family secrets with a historical edge
Expect
- twisty family history
- a gothic-tinged, fact-based read
Where it sits
| Royal Lives | 55% |
|---|---|
| Lives in History | 51% |
| 20th-Century Britain | 43% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Lives in History
- British History
- Social History
- Authors
- Catherine Bailey
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- December 31, 2013
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Lives in History