Set in Stone
by Linda Newbery
Our Price: $51.92
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Linda NewberyEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-08
ISBN: 0440240514
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Book Reviews of Set in Stone
Book Review: Stones Set in Scandal
Summary: 5 Stars
Set in Stone by Linda Newbery is an atmospheric Victorian gothic novel with stirrings of family drama, love, passion, and hidden secrets. What a tantalizing novel this turned out to be! I was expecting a rather predictable light and easy turn of the century gothic romantic suspense story and was pleasantly surprised to be led down other paths I had not anticipated, which is always so much fun to encounter. This enchanting novel is about the lives of one widowed father gone mad, Ernest Farrow, two teenager daughters; Juliana and Marianne who are opposites in temperament, one somber and withdrawn, the other an untamed wild girl with a vivid imagination. They are cared for by a doting spinster governess named Charlotte who has her own secrets she covets, and an invited local painter, Samuel Godwin, that is brought into their magnificent mansion they call Fourwinds, to teach the girls the art of drawing and painting.
The story, taking place just outside of London in the English countryside, opens dramatically with the youngest daughter Marianne colliding with her new tutor as he opens the gates to their home in a cloud of mist and fog. Immediate mystery and mayhem draws the reader in as Samuel's first impression of Marianne is that she is a madwoman recently escaped from an asylum. Nearly knocking him over in the street, she rambles on hysterically about needing him to help her find a certain lost Mr. Westwind, leaving Samuel to believe the girl deranged. Samuel listens to her incoherent hysteria, but thankfully is quickly rescued by Charlotte as she shepherds him and the crazed young woman into the house. Other proper introductions are immediately made to the other residents of the household. Samuel is soon swept up into what he believes is going to be a simple luxurious job of tutoring two young ladies. When the reader realizes that Samuel is basically of the same age as the two girls and even the governess, it is easy to assume that a romance with one of them is imminent. However, Samuel very quickly realizes he was manipulated into this household of mysterious occupants by Mr Farrow who dangled the carrot of advancing his art career, but had his own secret agenda for Samuel's true purpose amongst them.
This is a riveting story that brews and bubbles slowly, giving you the initial feelings of a Jane Austen novel touched by Victoria Holt or Phyllis Whitney, who were great authors of this gothic genre. Newbery creates a feel of sensual awareness between the players and soon evokes remarkable sensations and story attributes to make the reader wonder just what in the world is really going on behind closed doors and in the hallways of Fourwinds. All is not as it seems as shocking revelations are chiseled and carved into the pages offering glimpses into a family quite filled with corruption and deceit. Ample doses of horrible acts, family betrayals, and desperate actions that slowly unravel page after page, leave the reader gasping in shock and losing the ability to breathe, so absorbed they will be.
The author provides many impressions that fight for dominance in this story; love, family obligation, murder, mystery, sexually scandalous acts, and a nicely added dollop of art craftsmanship, all jockeying for position while arousing the reader for a compelling and curious read.
I have one complaint with Set in Stone. This story is marketed for young adults 9yrs old and up, and I honestly feel that due to the heavy content of this book involving sexual acts and violence, that this is more an adult novel and not for young teenagers. 14 yrs old and up would be fine, maybe, but I would certainly caution parents for younger children. There are no graphic descriptions per se, but the story details finely just what acts these characters are engaging in and leaves nothing to the imagination. Beyond that comment I loved this novel because it held so many surprises I had not anticipated, and I found Newbery's writing skill to be of a very high quality. Wow on this one!
Summary of Set in Stone
When Samuel Godwin, a young and naive art tutor, accepts a job with the Farrow family at Fourwinds, their majestic home, little does he expect to come across such a web of secrets and lies. His two tutees are as different as chalk and cheese - the beautiful younger sister Marianne, full of flightiness and nervous imagination, and Juliana, controlled and sad. With their governess, Charlotte Agnew, Samuel begins to uncover slowly the horrifying truth behind Juliana's sadness and Marianne's emotional fragility. Their discoveries change their perception of life at Fourwinds for ever and none of their lives will ever be the same again. With her usual brilliance and ease, Linda Newbery has written a haunting and faultlessly plotted novel with characters that leap of the page and stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.Teens Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Teens Books
13 Little Blue Envelopesby Maureen Johnson
HarperTeen; Published: 2005-08-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
Far Northby Will Hobbs
HarperTeen; Published: 2004-04-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.60
Price in other shops:
Things Fall Apart: With Connectionsby Chinua Achebe
Holt McDougal; Published: 1999-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.86
Price in other shops:
Holt Physicsby Serway, Faughn
Holt Rinehart & Winston; Published: 2002-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $26.95
Price in other shops:
Pe Holt Physics 99by Raymond A. Serway, Jerry S. Faughn
Saunders College Publishing; Published: 1999; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.90
Price in other shops:
Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Likeby Jay Williams
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1984-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $309.46
Dogsong----INSCRIBED----by Gary Paulsen
Bradbury Press; Published: 1985; Hardcover; Book
White Stallion of Lipizzaby Marguerite Henry
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1994-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $176.20
Wings. Aprilynne Pikeby Aprilynne Pike
HarperCollins Children's Books; Published: 2009-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Killers Cousin (Collins Flamingo)by Nancy Werlin
Harpercollins Childs; Published: 2002-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01