The internationally bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick
“A mesmerising debut novel, lush and gorgeous, with a rich family tale to tell.”
The Midnight House is a rich, spellbinding mystery, sweeping from the wilds of beautiful Ireland to wartime London, perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Eve Chase and Lucinda Riley.
1940: In south-west Ireland, the young and beautiful Lady Charlotte Rathmore is pronounced dead after she mysteriously disappears by the lake of Blackwater Hall. In London, on the brink of the Blitz, Nancy Rathmore is grieving Charlotte's death when a letter arrives containing a secret that she is sworn to keep - one that will change her life for ever.
2019: Disgraced young journalist Ellie Fitzgerald flees Dublin for the safety of rural Kerry. When she discovers a faded letter, tucked inside the pages of an old book from Blackwater Hall, she finds herself drawn in by the mystery of Lady Charlotte's disappearance, and uncovers a long-buried secret...
“The inspiration for The Midnight House appeared in the rafters of our Irish home, a two-hundred-year-old stone building perched on the edge of the Atlantic.
Hidden there was a message, scratched into wood: 'When this comes down, pray for me. Tim O’Shea 1911'. As I held that piece of timber in my hands, dust clinging to my paint-stained clothes, I was humbled that a person’s fingerprint could transcend time, and I wanted to capture that feeling of discovery on the page.
We added a message of our own during the renovation, hidden under the side of a mantelpiece restored from an old pitch pitchpine beam. I dream that one day, 100 years from now, someone will find it and write a novel of their own …”
“A great melodrama with well-drawn characters and an unbeatable setting: the big country house, the wild Atlantic.”
“An exciting new voice in fiction.”
“War, love and sacrifice.”
“A superb sweeping saga to savour.”
Extras
Norway. Translated by Svein Svarverud.
Bulgaria. Translated by Nevena Ivanova.
Czech Republic. Translated by Jana Vlčková.
Germany. Translated by Miranda Nicolas-Zaar.
Denmark. Translated by Ulla Oxvig.
The Netherlands. Translated by Rosalyn van Moorselaar.
