Reviews: The Silk House (6)

1768.
Rowan Caswell leaves her village in search of a new start and employment , finding herself thrust into the home of an English silk merchant.
Mary-Louise Stephenson dreams of her designs being crafted and sold all across England, but little does she know what power her designs hold.
Present Day.
Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school to look after the first intake of girls in its history.Her residence?The old Silk House which holds many secrets...
The story opens as you join Thea, someone with a link to the school she now works for as she finds herself in charge of the first ever group of girls to be introduced into the hallways of the esteemed campus.
However, not everyone is keen to see either the girls or herself as it becomes apparent that many of the faculty much prefer the more traditional roots of its rich heritage but Thea is determined not to let them win...
Meanwhile, back in 1768, Rowan must navigate her new life as part of the small group of maids in what appears to be a dream job in the beginning.
However, pressure is soon put upon her to help the lady of the house after people learn of Rowans background with herbs and healing, but someone is determined to tarnish her reputation all to save their own skin...
Meanwhile, Mary is struggling to make ends meet when the head of Rowans household, a revered Silk merchant asks Mary to use her talents to help him stand above the rest of his kind, but as Mary soon discovers the intricate and bespoke designs may hold a dark power which she is easy to shrug off as nonsense...
Just what secrets does Silk House hold as Thea finds herself diving deep into the archives of a much troubled past; screams in the night, whispers of witchcraft, mysterious fires... just what happened all those years ago?

Transport yourself to the secrets of a boarding school in England and the silk markets in London.

The Silk House of the title plays a role in the three timelines. Each story builds the next layer of the story so by the end you have a rich historical tapestry of depth and colour:

‘It was as though the layers of the house’s history were pressed together like a book, with some of the print – past events – leaching through the pages. It occurred to her that the top one, on which the new history was being written was now partly her story – hers and the girls.’

The story of a boarding school with secrets and a very dark history thrills from the start. Each page drips with atmosphere and it was the most beguiling tale. The author has used a brilliant way of telling the story and the pace, writing and characterisation really lends themselves well to the story they produce.

In each of the three story threads, we learn even more about Silk House. Present day sees Thea come to teach from Australia as she soon finds out that the old building might be trying to tell her something. We learn as Thea does and perhaps a bit more as we meet Rowan and Mary from stories in the past. Rowan is a woman who finds employment as a maid in a silk merchant’s house. She is a remarkable character as she has a talent with helping people with herbal medicines. Of course, people interpret this as witchcraft…

The world in the two past story threads was not a nice one for women. Where one character is accused of witchcraft, another one is refused entry to the world of silk-merchants. Mary wants to become a silk-weaver in a world and industry dominated by men. Both Mary and Rowan’s stories reveal the shadows of Silk House. Each strand of this story is clear and interesting in its own right, but when they combine…….wow.

The attention to detail in this novel is really quite something. This is an author who is meant to write historical mysteries with several threads. I was totally enraptured with the pinch of supernatural and ethereal strands which completed the picture. This is a complex story but carefully crafted.

Very vividly drawn, the setting of Silk House is a very memorable one.

I really enjoyed this book. I like reading about wise women and herbs and healers. The Silk House was set over two timelines, telling the story of Rowan, the maid, to the Silk Merchant and his wife. I especially liked the history of the Silk House, it was fascinating and obviously well researched.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

Thea Rust moves to Oxleigh a small village in England, she’s from Melbourne, Australia and fifty years ago her father attended the prestigious boarding school. Thea’s a history teacher, she can hold her own on a hockey field and it's the first intake of female students at Oxleigh College. Thea and the girls are staying in nearby Silk House, built in the 1760’s for a silk merchant and his new bride. Thea notices odd things happening in the house, a piano playing in the middle of the night and she believes the place is haunted.

Thea begins looking into the history of Silk House, it was built for Patrick and Caroline Hollander. The story has a dual time line and it alternates between the 1760’s and 2019.

Rowan Caswell parents have passed away, she and her four younger brothers are living with her aunt and uncle and Rowan travels to Oxleigh to find work. She’s employed as a maid at Silk House, Prudence the cook is friendly and Alice the ladies maid is rather rude. Rowan notices all is not right in the household, her mistress is miserable and Mr. Hollander travels a lot for his work. Rowan learnt about herbs and healing from her mother, she has to be very careful about revealing this to anyone and women have been killed for practicing witchcraft.

Mary-Louise Stephenson lives in London with her widowed sister Frances, she dreams of being a silk designer and it’s a male dominated profession. Mr. Hollander hears about her, he wants Mary-Louise to make up three patterns for him and she does using drawings of deadly plants and flowers. When she doesn’t hear from Patrick Hollander as promised, she travels to Oxleigh and she desperately needs the money he owes her.

The narrative is about the beliefs of the time and Thea uncovering a one hundred and fifty year old secret and all is not what it seems at Silk House. This is the third book I have read by Kayte Nunn, the author has an interest in the silk making industry in London and the use of herbs during Gothic times. Four stars from me and I did however prefer: The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant and The Last Reunion. If you enjoy reading spooky dual timeline historical mysteries, with a plot full of twists and turns and then The Silk House would be perfect for you.

The Silk House a house built in the 1700's, its inhabitants then were Patrick Hollander, his wife Caroline and household servants among them Rowan, working to support her orphaned brothers. In the present day the house is to be the home of students, girls attending the former all boys school for the first time.
Thea is Australian and the History teacher, her Father attended the school and had high expectations of her, she meets with prejudice against the girls inclusion from the pupils and the staff.
The Silk House was also formerly a Silk Merchants shop owned by Patrick, his gambling and bad management forced him into debt and he took a gamble on a fantastic piece of silk made by Mary, a woman trying to find her way in a trade dominated by men.
As well as all of intrigue there is an undercurrent of witchcraft and hidden secrets.
Rowan in the past tries to help her Mistress and the other maid with tragic results, Thea gets involved in these past occurrences and has mysterious help to solve the old mystery.
I live in Wiltshire and enjoyed hearing about the various towns that were mentioned.
Thank you Kayte and NetGalley.

A chillingly beautiful story, would definitely recommend! One of my favourites to date!