Edwardian country house. An October shooting party. Lovers and spouses. Upstairs/downstairs drama. Eccentric children. A wandering philosopher. Village gossip. Poaching. A duck.
Put all of these together and you get a great little read! There’s a lot of characters and you don’t get a deep dive into everyone, but it’s a great little snapshot of a world that was vanishing in 1913 when this short novel is set. I didn’t actually connect with the romance at all; some of the other relationships and the children were much more interesting.
Beautiful descriptions of Oxfordshire countryside. Great analysis of the complex relationships and social rules that orbit the country house.
Not as brutal as it could have been; there’s a sense that more could have been done with this? It’s just such a great set-up!
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