Margaret Lennox is recently widowed and in need of a position. It must be far from the past that still haunts her. She finds what appears to be the perfect engagement: governess to a child in an isolated country house. Yet from the first, Hartwood Hall is unwelcoming. Why do the locals eye her employer, […]
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden
In 1852 Margaret Lennox is offered a position as governess at Hartwood Hall. She quickly accepts, hoping this isolated country house will allow her to leave her past behind. But Margaret soon starts to feel there’s something odd about her new home, despite her growing fondness for her bright, affectionate pupil, Louis. Strange figures move […]
How Victorian literature helped me write my debut novel
Katie Lumsden’s debut novel, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, is a “love letter to her favourite books” — the classics of Victorian literature. She explains how these works didn’t just inspire her writing; they also helped her to craft a book which is Victorian in its voice, feel, and richness of plot and character, but […]