Skip to main content

The English Wife by Lauren Willig: A Book Review

The English Wife
Author: Lauren Willig
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: January 9, 2018
Pages: 379
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author, Lauren Willig, comes this scandalous novel set in the Gilded Age, full of family secrets, affairs, and even murder.

     Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life in New York: he's the scion of an old Knickerbocker family, she grew up in a Tudor manor in England, they had a whirlwind romance in London, they have three year old twins on whom they dote, and he's recreated her family home on the banks of the Hudson and renamed it Illyria. Yes, there are rumors that she's having an affair with the architect, but rumors are rumors and people will gossip. But then Bayard is found dead with a knife in his chest on the night of their Twelfth Night Ball, Annabelle goes missing, presumed drowned, and the papers go mad. Bay's sister, Janie, forms an unlikely alliance with a reporter to uncover the truth, convinced that Bay would never have killed his wife, that it must be a third party, but the more she learns about her brother and his wife, the more everything she thought she knew about them starts to unravel. Who were her brother and his wife, really? And why did her brother die with the name George on his lips?

      My Review: During a party, a murder occurs at the mansion of a prominent couple of New York society, The host, Bayard, has been found dead with a knife stabbed in his chest. His wife Annabelle has disappeared. The murder has  caused a sensation among New York and newspapers are painting Bayard as a murderer who killed his wife because she may have been having an affair. Bayard sister’s Janie is saddened by the accusations made by the press and seeks to find out the truth. She enlists the help of a reporter to find out who killed her brother.

     I found Janie to be a passive, weak heroine. Even though she is one of the main characters, I thought that she was mostly in the background. In the flashback scenes, I was disappointed that she made no real appearance and was only mentioned. I thought that since she is an important character in the novel, the author should have shown us an established relationship between Janie and Annabelle. During her chapters, she does not do much investigating, and I was disappointed that she did not solve the murder on her own, but that it was solved for her. Thus, Janie did not do anything in the novel. Instead, all the other characters around her like her cousin, her boyfriend, her mother all outshine her. Therefore, I found Janie to be a forgettable character.

     Who is Annabelle, the titular character? I don’t want to spoil it, but I found her story much more interesting. Half of the story is told from her perspective. By reading her story, we learn of her identity and the truth of the secrets surrounding her marriage to Bay. Annabelle is a character that we can relate to and whom we empathize with. We feel for her when she faces prejudice for being an English wife rather than an American. 

     Overall, this book is about secrets, betrayal, and murder. Except for Annabelle, I found the characters to be one-dimensional. The murder was very predictable from the beginning. However, I thought that the book was well-written, even though I did not like that there were loose ends. The setting was very atmospheric. The book was hard for me to get into, and I would have loved it better had we focused on Annabelle’s story and left out Janie’s. Still, I would recommend this novel for fans of gothic fiction and mysteries, and I would be willing to pick up another of Lauren Willig’s books. 

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Comments

  1. Thanks for your review. I've had the book for about a week and have trouble getting into it. But I never give up so I'll give it another try. I've always enjoyed Lauren's books.
    Carol Luciano
    Lucky4750 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Woman from Lydia (The Emissaries #1) by Angela Hunt: A Book Review

The Woman from Lydia (The Emissaries #1) Author: Angela Hunt Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: Bethany House Publishers Publication Date: 2023 Pages: 330 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Synopsis: Widowed Euodia, known to her neighbors as "the Lydian woman," seeks to make a fresh start by moving to the foreign city of Philippi. She finds new purpose after meeting Paulos, apostle to the Gentiles, who opens her eyes to helping those in need, particularly women and those who have been enslaved.        Retired Roman soldier Hector has settled in Philippi with dreams of a future filled with wealth and status, pooling his army earnings with Lucius, his fellow comrade-in-arms turned business partner. His hopes are dashed, however, when Paulos robs their youngest enslaved girl of her lucrative ability to foretell the future, rendering her worthless to Hector's ambition.     ...

Nell: Marshal of Bodie (The Nell Doherty Mysteries #1) by John Edward Mullen: A Book Review

Nell: Marshal of Bodie (The Nell Doherty Mysteries #1) Author: John Edward Mullen Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense, Western  Publisher: Murders in Time Press Release Date: 2022 Pages: 300 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the winter of 1892, the once-vibrant gold-mining town of Bodie, California is in serious decline.        Nell Doherty, an 18-year-old young woman with a wooden leg, dreams of leaving and becoming a Pinkerton detective.       When a tragic shooting presents her with an opportunity to prove she has the skills needed to work for the Pinkertons, Bodie’s justice of the peace deputizes Nell — over the loud objections of the majority of the town’s residents.      Can she prove them all wrong?       Nell digs in and investigates the shooting, with the help of Rags, her half-Irish, half-Chinese be...

The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick: A Book Review

The King’s Jewel Author: Elizabeth Chadwick Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Sphere Release Date: 2023 Pages: 456 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Wales, 1093.      The warm, comfortable family life of young Nesta, daughter of Prince Rhys of Deheubarth, is destroyed when her father is killed and she is taken hostage. Her honour is further tarnished when she is taken as an unwilling concubine by King William's ruthless younger brother Henry, who later ascends the throne under suspicious circumstances.      But it is Nesta's marriage that will really change the course of her life. Gerald FitzWalter, an ambitious young knight, is rewarded for his unwavering loyalty to his new King with Nesta's hand. He is delighted, having always admired her from afar, but Nesta's only comfort is her return to her beloved Wales. There, she cannot help but be tempted by the handsome, charismatic and danger...