Synopses & Reviews
In this enthralling and atmospheric tale of murder, revenge, and redemption, a young American struggles to make sense of a world he does not understand, where the price of acceptance may be murder.
John Vanbrugh is an outsider in the England of 1905: A determined but unsuccessful American architect, he has moved to London to make a new life for himself and his wife, Margaret. When he receives an unexpected summons to meet the dazzling Duchess of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace, he is skeptical.
The young duchess, Vanbrugh comes to understand, has her reasons. Like him, she is American-born: Consuelo Vanderbilt, one of the richest debutantes in America. Seemingly on impulse, the duchess hires Vanbrugh to renovate her rooms at Blenheim--a plum job Vanbrugh accepts. He and his wife join the weekend party at Blenheim, a group that includes the foul-tempered duke; his young cousin Winston Churchill; the society painter John Singer Sargent; the duchesss mother and American suffragette, Mrs. O.H.P. Belmont; Gladys Deacon, an American friend of the duchess; and the enigmatic Catholic Monsignor Vay de Vaya.
Almost as soon as he begins work at Blenheim, Vanbrugh uncovers a series of unsettling letters that hint at a long-concealed deceit. As he tries to grasp the meaning of this discovery, a sketchbook owned by Sargent is stolen and a young housemaid is found in the courtyard, strangled. It is then that Vanbrugh realizes he is caught in a maze of duplicity and manipulation with no way out. Struggling to uncover the treachery he sees around him, Vanbrugh is forced to reevaluate everything he thought about Blenheim, himself, even the very nature of truth.
Part mystery, part gothic morality tale, A Weekend at Blenheim is a compelling, mesmerizing, deeply satisfying novel.
Review
“A gripping tale of intrigue.” --Iain Pears
“A Weekend at Blenheim is elegant and terrifying. J. P. Morrissey weaves this mysterious tale with passion and precision, conjuring a gothic tale so chilling you wont be able to put it down.” --Adriana Trigiani, author of Big Stone Gap and Big Cherry Holler
Synopsis
In 1905, John Vanbrugh, an ambitious young architect, receives an invitation from the Duchess of Marlborough, the American-born Consuelo Vanderbilt, to visit Blenheim Palace and help her with renovations. Vanbrugh joins a weekend house party that includes a young Winston Churchill and John Singer Sargent, who has been hired to paint a family portrait.
Right away Vanbrugh learns that Blenheim has many dark secrets. The mystery grows as a young housemaid is found strangled in the courtyard. From there, events spin out of control, with Vanbrugh soon realizing that he too has fallen victim to Blenheim's cursed history.
Synopsis
Praise for
A Weekend at Blenheim“I think its safe to say that the present occupants of Blenheim Palace will blush with embarrassment or redden with rage when they read J. P. Morrisseys devastating portrayal of their ancestor, the ninth Duke of Marlborough, in his new novel, A Weekend at Blenheim. It is a fascinating nightmare of ducal superiority, snobbery, and stupidity, as financed by his Vanderbilt heiress duchess and as witnessed by a poor American houseguest.” --Dominick Dunne, author of Another City, Not My Own and People Like Us
“A Weekend at Blenheim is a superb reconstruction of the aristocratic autumn of Edwardian England. More than this, it is a gripping tale of intrigue that breathes new life into the ‘country house mystery with well-drawn characters, a stylish narrative, and the sophisticated parallels drawn between the baroque art of the palace and the even more baroque lives of its inhabitants.” --Iain Pears, author of An Instance of the Fingerpost
“J. P. Morrisseys descriptive powers are extraordinary and bring to life palaces and attics and paintings and gardens breathlessly.” --William F. Buckley, Jr., author of Saving the Queen and Stained Glass
“A Weekend at Blenheim is a remarkably engaging novel. Very few books manage to be this entertaining, clever, and well-written all at once. I recommend it heartily.” --David Liss, author of A Conspiracy of Paper
“A Weekend at Blenheim is an evocative, mesmerizing, turn-of-the-century page-turner that kept me enthralled and guessing word by word, from start to gasp-inducing last page.” --Sarah Ban Breathnach, author of Simple Abundance
About the Author
J. P. Morrissey is an editor and writer who lives outside New York City.