Book Review: Manor of Secrets

Author: Katherine Longshore
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic Point

The year is 1911. And at The Manor, nothing is as it seems . . .

Lady Charlotte Edmonds: Beautiful, wealthy, and sheltered, Charlotte feels suffocated by the strictures of upper-crust society. She longs to see the world beyond The Manor, to seek out high adventure. And most of all, romance.

Janie Seward: Fiery, hardworking, and clever, Janie knows she can be more than just a kitchen maid. But she isn't sure she possesses the courage -- or the means -- to break free and follow her passions.

Both Charlotte and Janie are ready for change. As their paths overlap in the gilded hallways and dark corridors of The Manor, rules are broken and secrets are revealed. Secrets that will alter the course of their lives. . . forever.

Adventure awaits.

On her five a.m. trek down the servants’ stairs from her attic room, Janie Seward paused on the second-floor landing. Her fingers itched to open the door. To see once again the thick carpet, the paintings in their gilt frames. To catch the scents of luxury.

Charlotte hadn’t been downstairs since she was five. Back when her brothers thought it would be fun to sneak a cute little girl into the servants’ hall to cover stealing cakes from the kitchen and flirting with the housemaids.

“There are no maps of life, Janie,” Harry said mildly.

Lady Charlotte Edmonds is tired of her upper class lifestyle. She is tired of always acting in sophistication and putting on airs for those around her. Little does she know another young lady in the house, Janie Seward, one of the kitchen maids, is also tired of the way her life is going and is contemplating breaking free from it. The paths of these two young women cross each other, coincidentally, and they share secrets with one another, secrets of their own hopes and dreams, secrets that would change their lives forever. Drama, intrigue, and the classiness of a wonderfully told upstairs downstairs story!

I must speak to all the Downton Abbey fans out there first! If you are a Downton Abbey fan, then this book is definitely for you. Reading this book took me back to my first time watching Downton Abbey and some of the characters are very reminiscent of those in the show. Now if you have not watched Downton Abbey, then please pick up a copy of this book and allow it to take you on an adventure in that world. Lady Charlotte reminded me so much of Lady Mary. The descriptions and the parallel worlds of the upstairs characters and the downstairs characters will be enough to draw anyone in to this book.

I personally loved seeing Charlotte and Janie interact and their worlds mesh together. After watching Downton Abbey for so long, I have picked up on a lot of proper behaviors for people in this time period. The etiquette was still there between both girls, but it was nice to see them ignore the invisible barrier that stood between them. Some of this story is a little predictable, but there are still several parts that were quite a nice surprise!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Scholastic in exchange for my honest review***