Synopses & Reviews
and#147;I found myself addicted to Rutherford Park, much as I was to Downton Abbeyand#8221; (Margaret Wurtele on Rutherford Park). Now comes the new novel of Rutherford Park by the acclaimed Elizabeth Cookeand#133;
When May came that year in Rutherford, it was more beautiful than anyone could ever remember. More beautiful, and more terribleand#133;
From inside their sprawling estate of Rutherford Park, the Cavendish family had a privileged perspective of the world. On the first morning in May, 1915, with a splendid view that reached across the gardens to the Vale of York, nothing seemed lovelier or less threatening. And yetand#133;
At the risk of undoing the Cavendish name with scandal, William and Octavia Cavendish have been living a lie, maintaining a marriage out of duty rather than passion. But when their son Harry joins the Royal Flying Corps in France, the Cavendish family are forced to face the unavoidable truths about themselves, the society in which they thrive, and the secrets they can no longer bear.
In the wake of a terrible war, the emotional shifts between a husband and a wife, a wife and her lover, and a mother and her children, will shake the very foundation of the Cavendish family, and change the uniquely vulnerable lives of all who reside at Rutherford Park.
Review
Praise for Wild Dark Flowers: "A charming, intriguing novel. Some scenes are reminiscent of two popular TV series, Upstairs, Downstairs, and Downton Abbey, which have similar subject matter. Her research is excellent. The various battle scenes in France are completely riveting, and her portrayal of the sinking of the Lusitania is heartrending. This book is a perfect summer read." --Historical Novel Society
"Simply delicious...Like and#8220;Downtonand#8221; ...as addictive as a soap opera." --Record-Courier
Praise for Rutherford Park:
and#8220;A breathtakingly beautiful book. Cooke portrays an aristocratic dynasty that in 1914 was poised on the brink of extinction, as ponderous as the huge dinosaurs but just as magnificent. The exquisite intimacy of the writing and of the haunting love story drew me into this elegant world so entirely that I couldn't imagine ever leaving it. The vivid characters and understated heartbreak of their conflicts, above and below stairs, are depicted with sensitivity and insight. Superbly researched, a real treat.and#8221;and#8212;Kate Furnivall, author of The Russian Concubine
and#8220;I found myself addicted to Rutherford Park, much as I was to Downton Abbey. I reveled in delicious detail about life in a great country estate, all the while waiting to learn: would Octaviaand#8217;s family survive or would they be torn apart by the forces converging on them: personal failings, societyand#8217;s excesses, and Europeand#8217;s Great War?and#8221;and#8212;Margaret Wurtele, author of The Golden Hour
and#8220;Beautiful, melancholy and richly detailed, Rutherford Park elegantly depicts the lives within an English country house on the cusp of a new age. Elizabeth Cooke evokes classic authors like Vita Sackville West and Frances Hodgson Burnett.and#8221;and#8212;Natasha Solomons, author of The House at Tyneford
and#8220;Reminiscent of Catherine Cookson, a heart-aching story of an old world order and class divides set against Edwardian England.and#8221;and#8212;Judith Kinghorn, author of The Last Summer
and#8220;With its vivid descriptions and memorable characters, Rutherford Park drew me in from the first page.and#160; Richly textured with historical details, the novel captures perfectly the pre-World War I mood and atmosphere of the grand Yorkshire house and the lives of those who inhabit it.and#160; The final page left me thoroughly satisfied, yet wishing for more.and#160;Thank you, Elizabeth Cooke, for a wonderful story and the promise of another.and#8221;and#8212;Kelly Jones, author of The Woman Who Heard Color
and#8220;Comparisons with Downton Abbey on the eve of WWI are inevitable, but Rutherford Park gives a more comprehensive and realistic look at the farms and mill villages that sustained the great houses and shows us the inevitable cracks in their foundations.and#160; Compelling.and#8221;and#8212;Margaret Maron, author of the Judge Deborah Knott series
Review
Praise for The Wild Dark Flowers:
“A charming, intriguing novel...a perfect summer read.” —Historical Novel Society
“Simply delicious…Like Downton...as addictive as a soap opera.” —Record-Courier (Ohio)
“Fine, fine historical fiction!” —The Best Reviews
Synopsis
Return to the statley environs of Rutherford Park and the embattled Cavendish family
from the author of The Wild Dark Flowers.
The rain fell softly on the day that she was to be married
Sometimes the longing for the old untouched days at Rutherford would return to her; the innocence of it all, the feeling that England would never change
Charlotte Cavendish has been dreaming of her old home at Rutherford Park. It is April 1917; she is nineteen years old. And everywhere there is change. The war still rages on the Continent, where her brother fights for the Royal Flying Corps. Her parents marriage is in jeopardy, with her mother falling for a charming American in London.
But not all is grim. Charlotte is marrying Preston, the blinded soldier whom she nursed back to health. Her parents couldnt be happier about this. The young man hails from a well-established and wealthy family in Kent, and hes solid and respectable. They hope hes the one to tame their notoriously headstrong daughter.
But as time passes, Charlotte slowly comes to the realization that she is not truly happy. And for a reason she is only just beginning to understand. A reason she dare not reveal to the familyor the world
About the Author
Elizabeth Cooke lives in Dorset in southern England and is the author of twelve novels, includingand#160;Rutherford Park. She has a long-established reputation for vivid storytelling and historical accuracy. Elizabeth's family originate in the North Yorkshire Dalesand#151;Bronte countryand#151;and her grandfather worked at Kiplin Hall there, where he was one of the "downstairs" staff. His life, and Yorkshire itselfand#151;both its outstanding natural beauty and the industrial life of its mill towns and citiesand#151;were the inspiration for Rutherford.