The Legacy

When they were children, Erica Calcott and her sister, Beth, spent their summer holidays at Storton Manor. Now, following the death of their grandmother, they have returned to the grand, imposing house in Wiltshire, England. Unable to stem the tide of childhood memories that arise as she sorts through her grandmothers belongings, Erica thinks back to the summer her cousin Henry vanished mysteriously from the estate, an event that tore their family to pieces. It is time, she believes, to lay the past to rest, bring her sister some peace, and finally solve the mystery of her cousins disappearance.

But sifting through remnants of a bygone time is bringing a secret family history to light—one that stretches back over a century, to a beautiful society heiress in Oklahoma, a haunting, savage land across the ocean. And as past and present converge, Erica and Beth must come to terms with two shocking acts of betrayal . . . and the heartbreaking legacy they left behind.

"Webb's binary multigenerational epic unfolds in split narratives set in 1900s Oklahoma and the present-day U.K., revealing that secrets long buried still have the power to hurt. Sisters Erica and Beth Calcott return to Storton Manor in Wiltshire, England, to settle their late grandmother's estate, despite the painful memories the location stirs up: decades ago their cousin Henry mysteriously disappeared; the primary suspect at the time was 'Dinny' Dinsdale, a local outcast and the first childhood crush for both Erica and Beth. As a girl, Erica was too young to grasp the details of Henry's fate, but 23 years later, now a strong and independent woman, she pleads with Dinny for answers, while older sister Beth, clinically depressed, wants to leave the past buried. Meanwhile, Erica discovers a photo of her great-grandmother Caroline posing with a mysterious baby in America, sparking an investigation into the mysteries of her ancestral history. Webb's (The Unseen) past and present, though equally realized, never intersect with much import; the two threads could easily exist as two independent books. Though the novel is choked with enough tragedy, melodrama, and lost love to make a soap opera dull in comparison, and recalls the work of V.C. Andrews, it will only truly grip fans of the genre. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

“A brilliant and absorbing drama.”
—Good Housekeeping (UK)

A fresh and exciting new voice in contemporary fiction, Katherine Webb debuts with a haunting novel about a secret family history. Already a sensation in the United Kingdom, Webbs The Legacy is a treat for every fan of upmarket womens fiction and literary suspense in the vein of bestselling authors Kate Morton, Sarah Waters, and Diane Setterfield. Taut, affecting, and surprising—a story that ranges from present-day England back to the American West in the early twentieth century—The Legacy embroils two sisters in an investigation into the strange, never solved disappearance of their cousin, a dark mystery that opened deep family wounds that never healed.

Katherine Webb grew up in rural Hampshire, England. She has lived in London and Venice, and she currently resides in Berkshire, England. Having worked as a wait-ress, au pair, personal assistant, potter, bookbinder, library assistant, and housekeeper at a manor house, she now writes full-time.