"The House at Riverton"

A full book review of The House at Riverton by Kate Morton.

To be honest, I started The House at Riverton with the belief that it wouldn't be as good as Morton's other work, simply because it had lower ratings on Goodreads. I know, I probably shouldn't base the potential of a book on the opinion of others, but this time I did. I'm so glad that I can now say how wrong I was to think that.

Despite the slow, gradual start, which I find is actually part of Morton's writing style, I was nonetheless drawn to the storyline from the get-go. The mystery, the secrets, the deaths, all of them came together to produce an irresistible read. What was even more intriguing was how Morton teased us with the knowledge of a tragedy taking place, but not with the details that would actually set in stone. We did not know who was involved in this tragedy, or even the chain of events that were it's catalyst, only that it happened, and that it changed the lives of many.

The House at Riverton is the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death, and a lady who saw it all. The dual-time story is told through the eyes of Grace as she reveals the truth behind a well-known and misunderstood tragedy more than 50 years later.

*Please do not read past this point if you have not already read the book, as it contains spoilers*

“Photographs force us to see people before their future weighed them down, before they knew their endings.”

I have to say, I was shocked at the turn of events surrounding Hannah and Robbie in the last quarter of the book. When we were first introduced to Robbie, all we knew was that he had, in some way or another, contributed to the destruction of the Hartford family. However, immediately after learning this little interesting tidbit, Robbie exists stage left and isn't mentioned again for the next two-quarters of the book. Which is really quite interesting, if you think about it, because he is at the heart of the entire storyline. The story would not have been told, or written, if it weren't for Robbie's existence in the lives of the Hartford family. And yet, he is forgotten for most of the book.

For me, the mini-plot-twist that was Robbie and Hannah, instead of of Robbie and Emmeline, really surprised me. We knew, from as soon as Robbie 'saved' eleven-year-old Emmeline's life, that feelings would develop between the two, whether one-sided or not. That is what Morton intended for us to believe. At the time, I thought, "this is the man Emmeline will fall desperately in love in, and the man she'll most likely marry", and while the former did come true, the latter definitely did not. Far from loving Emmeline, Robbie actually used her to gain access to Hannah, who, as a married lady, could not be seen to form such a strong relationship with a man, albeit one who was best friends with her now dead brother growing up. (Of course, the smaller plot-line that involved Deborah and her unrequited infatuation with Robbie also played a big hand in that). In his desperation to run away with his one true love, when push came to shove, he actually demanded that Hannah shoot her own sister, so that she would not come in the way of their unraveling plans. Honestly, I never imagined that such a love triangle (or square, if we count poor Teddy) would happen.

Honestly, I feel sorry for Grace, and how badly the events of that night haunted her. She willingly and happily sacrificed so much of her life for the Hartford's, only to be blamed by Hannah for all of it at the very end. It was not Grace who made the decision to shoot Robbie. It was not even Grace who chose to cover up murder as a suicide. It was all Hannah and Emmeline. Though, I guess that was how servants were treated in those times.

I really liked Grace as a character, even though I did not always agree with her decisions. But her loyalty, her compassion, her ability to put the needs of others before her own, are all traits that made me really respect her as a character. Morton did an especially good job at portraying how well Grace grew as a person from the time she entered service as a fourteen year old, through the time she left after Hannah's death, until her time as an old grandmother on her deathbed. We felt like we were with her each step of the way, that we were living the events of the past right along with her. I know I would not have liked to hear the story from any other characters point of view.

As is the case with most books, however, there were definitely a few things that the story would have done so much better without. My main disappointment with was the Grace-Hartford connection; that Grace was actually the result of a love affair between Mr. Frederick (Hannah's father) and Grace's mother. There was so much potential in that plot-line, but nothing ever came of it. Sure, Grace eventually guessed the connection, but after that point, the author completely disregards it and does not bring it up again. I also find it a bit hard to believe that no one in the household ever brought up the matter the entire time that Grace was there, although mostly all of them knew of it. The entire sub-plot-line was completely underdeveloped and didn't add much value to the story as a whole - apart from to provide more validity to the level of loyalty Grace had towards her half-sisters, although even then it wouldn't have been strange for a servant girl in that day and age to develop this sort of connection.

The other main point was the Ursula-Florence development at the end of the novel. Again, although it added a nice magical touch to the story, it was by no means a value-add. Not only was it mentioned in passing in one of the last few pages of the book, but it also garnered absolutely zero reaction from Grace. How? Why? Hadn't Grace just earlier in the novel mentioned how she would have loved to see Florence, her niece, again, to see the type of person she grew up to be? Yet, when Ursula mentioned who her grandmother was, Grace did not do anything about it. It was as if it never even happened. True, Grace was too weak at the time to show any outward reaction, but her thoughts, which were still being shared with the readers, did not in any way acknowledge the discovery. Had Morton built it up further, or developed it after it was introduced, it would have been a whole different story.

As a whole, The House at Riverton was a very mysterious, intriguing, and enthralling read, with a wide array of interesting characters who were all so very different from each other. It's also extremely interesting how Morton shows the difference and clashes between the ladies of the ton before and after the First World War, how they went from having very few liberties in life, to having the right to dance at clubs, drink and smoke like men, and stay out all night. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking to read a historical-fiction or dual-time mystery novel.