In Lauren Willig’s latest novel, The English Wife, she brings to life a Gilded Age tale of romance, tragedy, and mystery. Handsome, wealthy Bayard and beautiful Annabelle are the perfect couple, living in Cold Springs, New York, in 1899. They seem to have everything: a whirlwind romance, a storybook marriage, a lovely home, and two very beautiful children.
But every story has a dark side. Perfect couples are often not as close as they seem. There are rumors of infidelity and jealousy. There are secrets, that, when revealed, result in suffering for everyone involved, including the innocent.
During a Twelfth Night party at Bay and Annabelle’s new home, Bay is found murdered and Annabelle is missing. Who would have wanted Bay dead? Was Annabelle responsible or a victim of foul play? Why?
Bay’s sister, Janie, steps into the story at this point. She, along with reporter James Burke, work together to solve the murder, find Annabelle, and bring the killer to justice. As they work together, a growing friendship becomes a budding romance.
I would like to say that I loved this story. I can’t do that because it absolutely broke my heart. Bayard and Annabelle’s story was much darker than I would have liked, but it was so well written that I could not put it down. I wanted a fairytale ending for them. However, that was not meant to be.
There is a bit of twist at the ending that left me with a sense of hope for one of the characters. And the budding romance between Janie and James left me wanting to read more of their story. I will be waiting anxiously for the next title in this series. I do hope for a lighter, less depressing tale for them.
Readers of historical/romance/mysteries will enjoy this one. Just be aware that this series is darker than Ms. Willig’s Secret History of the Pink Carnation series. You will want to read something happy and light after you put this one down.

The English Wife by Lauren Willig is a beautifully orchestrated cacophony of love stories written in two parts: one from the recent past and the other written from the conclusion of the first but told together, jumping from one to the other. The first story is of Bay and Georgie: Bay a Knickerbockers' prince, and Georgie a chorus girl from London, who are soul mates. The second is between Janie and Burke; Janie is Bay's sister and Burke is the newspaper reporter who comes to her aid, several times.
Willig has been on my to-read list for a long time but this was the first opportunity (provided by NetGalley). It is a romance and a mystery, cleverly woven together so genres disappear beneath the joy of reading a well-crafted story. The characters are complex and driven, as well as misunderstood. The unveiling of each fault brings with it grief and explanation and leads us to the inescapable conclusion, which is a happy renaissance for each of the remaining characters.
This is a wonderful book; well researched and well planned. The message, things aren't always as they seem, is always timely and done so dramatically that it is difficult to imagine another ending. I highly recommend this book and plan to start a full-scale assault on Lauren Willig's other books sooner rather than later.

This was a spectacular book! The characters and character development were awesome. The plot was smooth and suspenseful. I couldn't put it down! I love the mix of history, mystery, and 'old money'! It makes this a must read book across several genres!

Loved this so much!! More review to come. The English Wife had just what I was looking for. Mystery, Romance and the quest to find out just what happened that fateful night.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34945222-the-english-wife" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The English Wife" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494294092m/34945222.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34945222-the-english-wife">The English Wife</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14469.Lauren_Willig">Lauren Willig</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2125509391">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Many thanks go to Lauren Willig, St. Martin Press, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.<br /><br />Bay and Annabelle Duyvil after a few years of marriage moved to their property in the country of New York City, built a massive mansion, and three quite the fete for high society to stop tongues from wagging as they always felt shunned. But soon after the dinner is served and dancing begins they cannot be found. Not to be found that is until Bay's sister , Jane, and his cousin, Anne find Bay's body in the folly and Annabelle's shoe and scarf floating in the river. <br />What follows is a two-fold story: jane's supported investigation into the deaths by a journalist and a trip into the past where we learn about Bay and "Annabelle's" relationship up to the minute of the event that begins the book revealing the means of the murder, which I will admit I just did not see as a possibility. I suppose if I really analyzed what I was reading it may have been obvious, but I really didn't think it would it that way at all. So the author sure surprised me! <br />Again it's my opinion that Willig wrote a great tale. I liked reading about Jane finding her self-esteem and independence. Her mother was a beast. My favorite quote, which I hope made the final printing is from the mother: Annabelle was not welcomed into the family at first. So Annabelle tried to impress upon Mother Van Duyvil of her lineage saying," a Lacey signed the Magna Carta", to which Mother replied,"that's all very well, but it isn't exactly the Declaration of Independence, is it?" That is appropos of her self-importance. Bay and Annabelle also have a stunningly real relationship that could be pulled from lives today. There is true understanding between the two of them. Willig did a good job on character development. I never got into her Pink Carnation series, but I'm thinking of giving it another try after reading this.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6595648-bam-the-bibliomaniac">View all my reviews</a>

Thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for providing me an ARC copy of this novel that I freely chose to review.
In case you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to read the whole review (you know I can go on and on), I love this novel. I recommend it to anybody who enjoys historical fiction with a mystery at its heart, especially if you enjoy gothic novels. If you love Rebecca and Jane Eyre, I would advise you to check it out. And, for the insights it offers on the society of the time (both sides of the Atlantic), I think fans of Jane Austen who are interested in novels beyond the Regency period will also enjoy it.
This historical novel, set at the end of the XIX century, starts with a murder and the mystery surrounding it. On the day when Annabelle and Bay, a couple of the best of New York society (Annabelle, the aristocratic English wife of the heir of the Van Duyvil dinasty) have organised a ball to celebrate the completion of their new mansion, he is found dead with a knife (a dagger from his costume) in his chest, and his wife is presumed drowned under the icy waters of the river. Janie, Bay’s sister, alarmed at the different versions of the story that circulate (either her brother killed his adulterous wife and then committed suicide, or his wife killed him intending to run away with her lover, although her brother is also accused of adultery with their cousin Anne…) and how they will affect her little niece and nephew, decides to try to find the truth. She chooses an unlikely ally (more unlikely than she realises at the time), a reporter (her mother values privacy, appearances, and reputation above all, and she appears to be the perfect obedient daughter), and the novel tells the story of their investigation, that we get to follow chronologically from the moment the body is discovered, in January 1899, for several weeks. We also get to read about events that took place several years earlier (from 1894 onward), when Annabelle (also known as Georgie) first met Bay, in London. She was working as an actress and they become friends. These two strands of the story, told in the third person, but each one from the point of view of one of the main characters, Janie and Georgie, run in parallel until towards the very end, and that offers us different perspectives and insight while at the same time helping keep the mystery going. The more we know about the ins and outs of the characters, their relationships, their families, and their secrets (and there are many. Other than Janie, who only starts keeping secrets after her brother’s death, all the rest of the characters carry heavy loads, sometimes theirs, sometimes those of others), the more we feel invested in the story, and the more suspects and red herrings that keep appearing. I have read some reviewers that complained about the story not being a mystery or a thriller. Well, a thriller it is not, for sure (although I found the reading experience thrilling for other reasons). It has some of the elements of a classic mystery of the era, with the added beauty of the detailed setting, the appreciation of the subtle social nuances of the time, the strong portrayal of the characters, and the beautiful language. You might guess who the guilty party is (I must confess I kept wavering between several possible explanations), and also some of the other secrets (some are more evident than others), but I thought it worked well, although not, perhaps, for a reader who is looking, exclusively, for a mystery and wants to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. This is not a book written following the rules of the genre we are so familiar with (nothing extraneous that does not move the story forward, kill you darlings, keep descriptions to a minimum) and, in my opinion, is all he better for it.
This book is full of great characters. We are limited to two points of view only, which might be biased due to personal reasons, and some characters, like Cousin Anne, generates strong emotions from all those involved (she never conforms, she steals the man her cousin Janie was going to marry, later divorces, and her attitude towards Annabelle is not supportive), but she has some of the best lines, and we get to understand her quite well by the end of the story. Janie, who has always been dismissed by her mother and ignored by the rest of the family, is an articulate, intelligent, cultured, and determined woman. Burke, the reporter, is a complex character with stronger morals than anybody would give him credit for, and Mrs. Van Duyvil, the mother, is a larger-than-life woman, whose influence is felt by those who come into contact with her, and she is far from likeable, and there are other characters that appear in a negative light. Even the “good” characters (Bay and Janie) have complex motives for their actions, and nothing is a black or white as we might think at the beginning.
As I mentioned above, the author (whose work I’d never read before but I’ll make sure to check) captures well the nuances of the time, the dress, the setting, the social mores (yes, a little like Jane Austen, although in a very different historical period), writes beautifully, and her choice of female characters as narrators allows us a good insight into what life was like at the time for women, whose power always had to be channelled through men. Times were changing already, and people keep referring to the Vanderbilts’ divorce, but this was not generally accepted yet, and certain things had to be kept hidden. The dialogue is full of wit and spark at times, and although there is drama, sadness and grief, there is also merriment, fun, romance, and very insightful comments on the society of the time (and yes, our society as well).
The book is full of literary references, historical-era appropriate, and most readers fond of the genre will enjoy the comments about books (and plays) of the time. I did. The narrative takes its time to explore the situations and the characters in detail, but I felt it moved at the right pace, giving us a chance to reflect upon the serious questions behind the story. Who decides who we truly are? How important are appearances and society conventions? What role should other people’s opinions play in our lives and actions? I don’t want to give any spoilers away (I enjoyed the ending, by the way, but that’s all I’ll say about it), but I thought I’d share some snippets from the book.
The juries of the world were made of men. A man could hold his honor dear in masculine matters such as gambling debts and never mind that he left a trail of ruined women behind him. Men diced with coin; women diced with their lives.
Georgie took a sip of her own tea. It was too weak. It was always too weak. She blamed it on the Revolution. Since the Boston Tea Party, the Americans had apparently been conserving their tea leaves.
“So you came rushing through the ice?” Janie didn’t know whether to be touched or shake him for being so foolish. “Slaying a dragon would have been easier. And warmer.”
Viola lifted her head. “I don’t want a lullaby. I want a story.” “Even better. I have a wonderful one about a prince who turned into a toad. You’ll adore it. It’s very educational.” (This is Anne. She has many wonderful retorts).
And this one must be one of my favourite sentences of the year so far:
Janie felt like a prism: fragile, but with the chance of rainbows.
In sum, a beautifully written historical fiction novel, with a mystery (several) at its heart, memorable characters, fantastic dialogue, and a gothic touch. Unmissable.

Unfortunately, this is just not for me. I thought there'd be a heavier emphasis on mystery. It reminded me of the classic Gothic novels and I've never been a fan of those. If you're someone who enjoys those books then I'd recommend this book for you.

*Apologies for the very late review, planning a wedding sure puts a dampen on one’s favorite past time: reading*


A delicious period drama that had me turning the pages as fast as I can. The murder mystery combined with the mysterious Annabelle Lacey’s identity gripped me from beginning to end. I especially love the storytelling style, LWillig juxtaposed Annabelle and Bay’s love story to the investigation of their deaths. The scandalous tragedies are layered in this one, and the revelation of the culprit’s identity is shocking and infuriating!

If you love Downton Abbey, then you’ll most likely enjoy this novel by Lauren Willig

THIS. I LOVED this novel!

Lauren Willig is a solid read for me, and this standalone delivers.

The book alternates between the past and present, which serves the mystery well, but irritates me! I had to force myself not to skip ahead!

The mystery itself is straightforward, but yet Willig plants her clues in a crafty, cunning trail with completely developed characters. Readers who want to play detective alongside Janie will be given enough clues to solve the crime before the drawing room moment and readers who choose to enjoy the ride will be shocked!

The setting of this novel in the Gilded Age worked. I wouldn’t consider this a true gothic novel; fans of the genre might be disappointed. However, there were plenty of suspenseful moments, scandalous reveals, dark passages, and romance to satisfy this reader!

If you are looking for a historical mystery with a side of scandal—this is it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

4 Stars - I recommend if you enjoy mysteries, historical fiction, and strong female characters.

When Janie finds her brother, murdered, at his mansion's opening costume party she knows there is more to the story that meets the eye. Her family, one of the richest in the United States, is very proud and suddenly has a ruined reputation. When no one else will seek to investigate her brother's murder more fully, she teams up with Mr. Burke, a journalist, in hopes of discovering the truth, and getting justice. The story shifts back and forth between Janie and Mr. Burke solving the murder, and her brother Bay and his wife Annabelle's past. Both plots reach their apex at once in an exciting revelation.

I haven't read a ton of mysteries, and I had not read any of Willig's other books (though The Pink Carnation has been on my shelf for OVER 10 YEARS!), so I didn't know quite what to expect. I was immediately swept up in the intertwined stories. I loved Bay and Annabelle, I loved Janie as she sought to find her place in the world. I loved that there were so many layers to this mystery, so many people involved, so many moving pieces. There were several twists and turns in this story, which I appreciated, and did not see coming. I did guess the murderer, but only toward the end (about 70% through). The climax of the story kind of blew me away though, and I enjoyed the resolution. Overall, if you enjoy mysteries and historical fiction, I think that you will enjoy this book!

I loved the characters, the story, the twists, and this book was thisclose to becoming a five star, but there were some parts that went just a little too slowly for me. Although they were made up for, I will have to leave it a 4 star, but I really enjoyed this book overall.

2.5 stars

I had high hopes for this novel, but it fell flat for me. This genre is usually one of my favourites, but I had a hard time staying focused as I found my mind wandering between all of the side stories and different characters involved. The book itself felt quite drawn out and I wasn't pulled into the storyline.

This is my first novel by this author and I would be interested to try another one out as I do tend to enjoy these type of stories. Unfortunately, this one in particular just didn't work for me.

A big thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Lauren Willig for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I devoured the Pink Carnation series, but I've had mixed reactions about her stand alone novels. However, this one was fantastic! I enjoyed having an unreliable narrator (for Annabelle's chapters) because it kept me guessing on what was truth and what was not until the very end. The romances seemed very genuine and were balanced out perfectly by the mystery aspect. This was a success!

On the night of her brother and sister-in-law's Twelfth Night party, Janie van Duyvil finds her brother on the lawn with a dagger in his chest. Her sister-in-law, Annabelle, is missing, but Janie is certain that she saw Annabelle in the river just before she found her brother's body. Janie is determined to find the truth about her brother's murder no matter where it leads, but her socialite mother is more interested in maintaining appearances. Janie enlists the aid of journalist James Burke to discover the circumstances of her brother's death. The more she learns, the more she questions everything she thought she knew about her family.

After the initial discovery of the murder, the story alternates between Bay and Annabelle's history and Janie's search for the truth about their life and death. The parallel stories barely intersect. Although Bay and Janie are siblings, they were not close, and Janie has no role in their side of the story. From time to time there are hints of danger in Janie's part of the story, but Willig drops threads before the suspense has a chance to build. The female characters are strong and they all tend to overshadow the male characters they're paired with, even down to the 3-year-old fraternal twins. The book starts with a bang but it fizzles out by the end.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Lauren Willig has written an historical fiction/Gothic murder mystery set in the Gilded Age. I heave read all of Ms. Willig's books, and this is quite the departure. The biggest change is the author's voice. Her characters are usually so witty, with the dialogue very sharp. These characters are depressing even on their good days. The chapters go back and forth between past and present, the pacing didn't flow, and right from the start I knew that one of the main protagonists (Bay) was murdered. Therefore, as I started to read the book, and the author wanted me to care about the relationship between Bay and Georgie in London, and then Bay and Annabelle and his family in New York, I just couldn't. Bay is stabbed dead at a very young age. His wife is missing. The police think it's a murder suicide, but that's physically impossible, so it's up to the sister, Janie to track down the killer. There is no happy ending for this couple that Ms. Willig spent 2/3rds of the book getting me invested in.

Maybe it's my fault? Maybe.
Did I not realize this was a murder mystery where the MAIN PERSON DIES? No I did not. So granted, I don't mind a little mystery, but don't mess with my main characters. On a side note, I LOVE all the rest of Lauren Willig's writing. In fact I own all of her books, and I purchased this one too.

I look forward to her next book, and hope it's a little more uplifting.

I wanted to like this. I wanted to be enthralled by the mystery and enchanted by the time period, but I just couldn't get into this story. Maybe it was the combination of mystery and history that did not sit well with me.

The Gilded Age. A wealthy, attractive couple from a respectable family. They appear to have it all - two beautiful children, social status, a beautiful home. Until Bayard Van Duyvil is found murdered at the couple's Twelfth Night ball, his own jeweled dagger buried in his chest and his wife, Annabelle, is nowhere to be found. Cue the stranger from England, who claims Annabelle is an imposter as well as a murderess, and the newspapers go crazy. Everyone believes that Annabelle is the killer and that she has fled. Janie Van Duyvil, Bay's spinster sister, believes that to be false, and goes against her overbearing mother to try and find out the truth, enlisting the help of a journalist to try and find the real killer.

Told in two timelines, past and present, The English Wife takes us on a ride that is part family drama, part murder mystery, and part gothic romance. While it starts a little slow and keeping track of all the characters can be daunting, there are enough twists and turns to keep you interested, not to mention one of the most unexpected resolutions I've ever come across.

I've never read Lauren Willig before, so I don't know if The English Wife was her first foray into the genre or not. At times, it felt a little stilted, the writing a little odd. It was hard to keep characters straight, but that worked for me. Trying to figure out exactly who Annabelle was, thinking "OK, got it", then "maybe not ..." is something I actually enjoyed. The family secrets and intrigue were mind-boggling, yet not overwhelming. 

I have to say of all the plot points, I enjoyed Janie's character the most. Watching her evolve from the shy spinster, cuckolded by her mother and pitied by her scandalous cousin, to an independent woman capable of branching out and bucking social norms was a treat. It was second only to the great comeuppance of her mother (but that's a spoiler, so SHHH!). Another fascinating thing was the turn-of-the-century American setting. Being non-American, it's fascinating to me just how much those very English attitudes and societal norms were ingrained. 

The post-revelation, everyone picking their life up chapter was satisfying and almost hinted at a follow-up. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for it, that's for sure!

The English Wife is one part historical fiction and one part mystery/thriller! If you are a Book of the Month Club member and you were smart enough to pick this one for December, good job! This one is full of twists you won't see coming.
There are several characters but the two main perspectives you get are Janie Van Duyvil and Annabelle's. You will quickly realize that you are not sure who you can trust or if you can trust any of these characters AT ALL!? There are good guys and bad guys and people you will just love to hate-a whole enjoyable cast of characters. I will say there were a few points where things dragged a bit and were quite bleak and dark but those moments quickly pass. Overall this is a great winter-y, chilling read!

During a party, a murder occurs at the mansion of a prominent couple of New York society, The host, Bayard, has been found dead with a knife stabbed in his chest. His wife Annabelle has disappeared. The murder has caused a sensation among New York and newspapers are painting Bayard as a murderer who killed his wife because she may have been having an affair. Bayard sister’s Janie is saddened by the accusations made by the press and seeks to find out the truth. She enlists the help of a reporter to find out who killed her brother.

I found Janie to be a passive, weak heroine. Even though she is one of the main characters, I thought that she was mostly in the background. In the flashback scenes, I was disappointed that she made no real appearance and was only mentioned. I thought that since she is an important character in the novel, the author should have shown us an established relationship between Janie and Annabelle. During her chapters, she does not do much investigating, and I was disappointed that she did not solve the murder on her own, but that it was solved for her. Thus, Janie did not do anything in the novel. Instead, all the other characters around her like her cousin, her boyfriend, her mother all outshine her. Therefore, I found Janie to be a forgettable character.

Who is Annabelle, the titular character? I don’t want to spoil it, but I found her story much more interesting. Half of the story is told from her perspective. By reading her story, we learn of her identity and the truth of the secrets surrounding her marriage to Bay. Annabelle is a character that we can relate to and whom we empathize with. We feel for her when she faces prejudice for being an English wife rather than an American.

Overall, this book is about secrets, betrayal, and murder. Except for Annabelle, I found the characters to be one-dimensional. The murder was very predictable from the beginning. However, I thought that the book was well-written, even though I did not like that there were loose ends. The setting was very atmospheric. The book was hard for me to get into, and I would have loved it better had we focused on Annabelle’s story and left out Janie’s. Still, I would recommend this novel for fans of gothic fiction and mysteries, and I would be willing to pick up another of Lauren Willig’s books.

Not long after the war between the states were over, New York City boomed in the Gilded Age era and there was a wide line of class distinctions. In modern day standards, life of the rich during that period is a deep fascination for many, including myself.  Newspapers and journalism really took off during that time and in their view, the rich were ripe for the picking!  When I think of that era in New York, I think of shimmering lights, Gothic style mansions, slums of the poor, immigration, the American dream and high-society. Did the author of The English Wife capture this in her story? At first, I wasn’t feeling it but as the story development I began to see glimpses of the era come to life and in this story, not everything was as it seemed.

There certainly were a few twists and turns in the story and I have to admit, I didn’t see what was coming. I love that in a story! I wasn’t expecting to have a deep sense of empathy for Annabelle and Bayard but I did. Their family was the crème of society and they certainly suffered for it. Bayard sister, Janie, moved me the most and she was an example of feeling suffocation by living with strict rules of high society. They all were really…

City life in New York and the elitists were a contradictory crowd to say the least and the author of this story captures that. I will say this, I don’t recommend reading the prologue before diving in the first chapter. It was confusing and a bit all over the place. I made a mistake in doing so and I was really worrying I wasn’t going to like the story. This is a great murder mystery story and I will be adding more stories from the author to my reading list.

I rated this book three stars.

I obtained a eARC of this book through NetGalley from the Publishers for an honest review. 

Stephanie M. Hopkins