The English wife blends the genres of mystery and romance in a historical novel set in the late nineteenth century. People who enjoy the Gilded Age will appreciate the various depictions the author provides of London, New York City, and the Hudson River area in this novel of mistaken identity. The mystery of the identity of the English wife shapes the novel throughout, but the plot includes some twists and surprises that keep it from becoming too predictable. In addition, the romance between the sister-in-law of the English wife and a newspaper reporter provide the pleasure of reading two interwoven love stories at once.

This was a rather tedious read. The story is interesting enough but there were so many details of the period (and I know for some people that would be their favorite part) that it took a long time getting to the actual story. I have a friend who loves period books, though, so I would definitely recommend it to her.

I wanted to like this book but struggled to finish it. The plot sounded wonderful but the book read very slowly. It was too full of unnecessary details and too thin on character development, and I can't recommend it.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lauren Willig’s The English Wife lends a distinctly American flavor to the Gothic family saga. Rather than a titled English family and their elegant country manor at the center, we have the upper-crust New York elite and their opulent Gilded Age mansions. Rather like the Vanderbilts, the Van Duyvils are of Dutch heritage; after arriving as immigrants centuries earlier, they now sit at the pinnacle of culture, with homes both in Manhattan and upstate along the Hudson.

The novel uses the popular dual-period format to unravel a series of mysteries. On the eve of his Twelfth Night ball in 1899, held on the grounds of his English-style mansion in Cold Spring, young Bayard (Bay) Van Duyvil is found right before he dies, stabbed with a jeweled dagger amid the snow and ice in his lantern-lit gardens.

His distraught sister, Janie, who faces social opprobrium due to her unmarried state, thinks she saw a woman’s figure underneath the ice – and Bay’s British wife, Annabelle, has vanished. What happened?

The papers, sniffing out a scandal, proclaim their theory of a murder-suicide. Rumors had been flying about Annabelle’s affair with her husband's architect. Janie was never close to Annabelle or her brother, but she knows them both better than that. She wants to uncover the truth, and her means to this end is through a newspaper reporter, James Burke. Strangely, in Bay’s last words, he spoke a man’s name: George.

Flashbacks to 1894 reveal the story of Bay’s meeting in London with a down-on-her-luck young actress named Georgie, who has been trying to escape a painful past and see her way out of her current predicament.

Willig knows the conventions of the gothic mystery well, revealing clues bit by bit, and sensing exactly when to upend readers’ expectations for where the plot is leading. She captures the trappings of affluence among New York’s high society members, the gossip that follows their every move (and in which they willingly participate), and the gilded prison in which they live. None of the wealthy characters has full agency, including Janie’s cousin Anne (a terrific secondary character), a sophisticated divorcee who trades barbs with Bay’s mother while chafing at her dependence on the Van Duyvils’ largesse.

The author also adds some deliciously tart observations on the era herself:

"They had been returned early, but already people were milling about, making sure of their seats. No one wanted to miss the trial of the century. Never mind that last year there had been another trial of the century and another one the year before that. There were still ten months left to the century and this was the trial of it. For now."

Janie’s romance is predictable in parts, but her feelings about her status as the family wallflower ring true. As its well-crafted mystery unfolds, the story also offers a reminder that nobody truly knows what it’s like inside a marriage besides the couple themselves.

(Published at Reading the Past)

Predictable in parts, surprising in others, The English Wife goes from difficult theater life in London to American grandeur in the late 1800s. Brother, sister, cousins, an evil mother - all very involved and jealous, with male birthright taking center stage. I found the story and it telling interesting, but not compelling.

THE ENGLISH WIFE is a titillating look at an elite family during the Gilded Age. It was hard for me to put down, feeling compelled to figure out who was telling the truth, who people really were, and what really happened to Bay and Annabelle Van Duyval. With its surprising revelations and its climactic ending, I was transfixed by the Van Duyval family and their lies and secrets.

From outward appearances, Bay and Annabelle were truly a golden couple, but when Bay is stabbed to death and his wife nowhere to be found, rumors of murder-suicide abound. Bay’s sister Janie cannot bring herself to believe that her brother would ever do such a thing and makes an alliance with local news reporter James Burke to share information with one another to uncover the truth. Together they unearth some shocking and unsavory secrets. Janie’s brother and sister-in-law were not the people she thought they were at all.

I really enjoyed THE ENGLISH WIFE. I savored watching Janie find her own voice as the book progressed. Told through “present day” and flashback chapters, the story was engrossing and interesting. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Willig threw in twist after twist until the harrowing reveal of the guilty party. Some of the characters are downright lithesome but still great fun to read about.

I recommend THE ENGLISH WIFE to any reader of historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was enjoyable enough - a bit sadder than I had anticipated from reading the description. The story begins with a murder and then switches back in forth between time periods navigating the courtship and marriage of the two victims, and the investigation by the victim's sister and a newspaper reporter.

While the courtship story is interesting, it drags a bit and the slow reveal about the nature of the relationship is both unexpected and somber. If the reader is looking for romance this is not the right book for them. The ensuing fate of their children is lacking mostly because the children are not fleshed out in any way - they are merely props to the story which is very sad considering what their future will look like.

The present day story is supposed to be romantic, but it doesn't feel that way. The main characters are not very interesting and border on stock. The main character is a mousy thing (I've forgotten her name already) under the thumb of her wealthy socialite mother and never really comes into her own over the course of the story. She's a bit pathetic, not at all interesting, and flat as a crepe. Side characters are almost interesting, but it's the mother who's the character that keeps you reading through until the end. It's obvious she's mixed up in the outcome from the beginning, but how exactly is the treat. Unfortunately the present day characters and their meddling in the world of detection does not pan out and they stumble upon the answer in a fiery ending more suited to an action movie than whatever type of book this is.

Is it a romance? Not really
Is it drama? Maybe?
Is it mystery? Eh
Is it historical fiction? It must be
Is it any good? Eh - it passed the time, but I'm not inclined to read anything else by this author

Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil seem to have a great life together in New York as the turn of the century nears. They give a ball to showcase their new home. Bay is found with the dagger in the chest. His sister, Janie finds him and thinks she sees Annabelle in the water but then she disappears and Janie is not sure. The newspapers go wild with stories about the couple and the numerous ideas of what happened. The story takes us back to how the couple met and their life up to this point. Janie wants the truth about thee deaths but does not know where to look. She forms an alliance with a journalist to get the information needed. The story has many twist and turns to it and we find out what is real and what is the "face" put forth for the public to see.

A story set in the luxe time of the Gilded age: the story is set in a mansion on the banks of the Hudson River, Illyria. Bayard is the son of an old, established Knickerbocker family, his wife Annabelle is English, having grown up in an old Tudor home. Together they are a couple deeply in love with young twins and a place guaranteed in society. A Twelfth Night ball ends with Bayard dead with a knife in his chest, his wife missing. Murder? Suicide? Both?

Told in two perspectives: Annabelle in flashbacks and Bayard’s sister Jane in the present time of 1899, clues, twists, motives and more are unearthed as Jane pairs up with a reporter to uncover the murderer and bring some closure. Back and forth the story moves, twists and turns galore. Every character in this story has secrets: some are uncovered quickly, others come with more surprise: twists are surprising with the occasional reveal being predictable if well-placed.

Much like my introduction to Willig’s writing, the story had moments of brightness and beauty, but there was something missing for me. Not utterly captivating due to the slow pacing and a tendency to have multiple elements introduced that don’t ever really connect to the story or help it move forward, the story is compelling in that ‘travel to a different time and see how many secrets you can guess before the reveal” sort of way. I will say, however, that the read was an easy one if I ignored the overuse of ‘belied’ and didn’t overthink the dialogue when it moved to trite and heavy-handed: this is a story that almost feels like an escapist’s dream of the time and the mysteries that surround it. Escapism is the word for this title – easy to follow along and engaging well enough to overcome some planning and dialogue difficulties.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=”https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9zl/”><a> I am, Indeed </a>

This amazingly slow read was very difficult to get through. I kept putting it down and forcing myself to get back to my Net Galley advanced copy. The main characters were tedious and the story was over developed with minutiae. I liked the dead characters best. A murder takes place and the sister of the victim enlists help to solve the murder. The totally unlikable mother is aggravating throughout the book. I love the time periods of the story but inn this case it is not enough to captivate the reader.

Although the book started off slow and the story was a bit more of a soap opera than I usually I must confess that I truly enjoyed this book. Willig does a wonderful job of blending historical fiction and mystery together into one wonderful story. I loved the characters and found the mystery intriguing. The story is split between two stories, one in the past and one in the present. While this did slow down the plot a bit I didn’t mind the slower portions. The characters developed well and I especially liked watching Janie gain some footing and grow into a more capable woman who could stand up to her mother. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, particularly the gilded age in New York, mixed with mystery and intrigue.

From the New York Times bestselling author, Lauren Willig brings the glitz, glamour, and scandal of the Gilded Age to life in her latest THE ENGLISH WIFE – Rich in history, a mix of a gothic murder mystery, and romantic suspense.

A portrayal of culture, class, and privilege at the turn of the twentieth century mingled with dark secrets and numerous twists and turns.

Headlines New York, 1899. "Knickerbocker murders wife and kills himself. Murder and suicide on the Hudson."

Janie Van Duyvil and brother Bayard, and cousin Anne were best friends. Bay takes a trip to London and comes home with a new wife, Annabelle. Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life in New York. The perfect couple.

Then Janie and Anne find Bay at the glamorous Twelfth Night dinner party with a knife stuck in his chest.

Annabelle, the wife, is nowhere to be found. A final dying word "George." Annabelle has gone missing. Could it be a stranger or someone else? What secrets were they hiding?

Janie (an outsider in this prominent family) becomes obsessed with finding the truth about her brother and the mysterious death. Who was this strange and mysterious woman? Was she an imposter? Her past. Who murdered her brother?

With the help of a reporter, Burke — Janie begins to investigate and dig for clues. However, not sure who she can trust. Is there something between them? What about the secrets of her own family?

From London to New York, with dual timelines and a multitude of characters, Willig creates a compelling, dark, scandalous and atmospheric tale of mystery and intrigue— with hidden secrets, keeping readers guessing to the end.

Multi-layered, compelling, and skillfully written, THE ENGLISH WIFE is highly recommended for fans of historical fiction, romantic suspense, and mystery with a Gothic twist.

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

JDCMustReadBooks

I loved this historical fiction novel. Set in the late 1800s it flips back and forth between Janie and Georgie’s points of view. I love the twists and turns the story took. The dialogue was a little annoying in places but other than that I really enjoyed this book.

I gave this 4.5 stars at Romantic Historical Reviews.

The English Wife presents a unique reviewing challenge. A brilliant murder mystery, it’s difficult to review without spoiling its many secrets. And because much of the terrible pleasure of this novel lies in the painstakingly slow revelation of these secrets, I can only very generally touch on the events at its heart. But The English Wife is also a bittersweet love story – actually, two – and one of these (the relationship between married couple Bayard and Annabelle Duyvil) transcends simple categorization. Told in chapters that alternate between Before (the murder) and After, and detailing/juggling the lives of its principal and pivotal secondary characters, The English Wife sucks you in and never lets go until the killer – and the truth – are revealed. Ms. Willig kept this reader guessing and reassessing chapter after chapter… and as a mystery/ thriller, the novel is a success. Suspenseful, clever and surprising, The English Wife kept me on tenterhooks from start to finish.

Unfortunately, it’s less successful as an historical romance; Ms. Willig’s attempt to end the novel with a happily ever feels oddly inappropriate and distracting, and ultimately, detracts from the overall effect of the story.

Genevieve (“Jane”) Van Duyvil is attending a costumed Twelfth Night ball at the home of her brother Bayard and his beautiful wife Annabelle. Since the couple’s whirlwind romance in London, they have largely kept to themselves, opting not to live close to the family matriarch in New York City, and reside instead with their three year old twins at Illyria, their rural estate on the banks of the Hudson River. Rumors about the marriage are rampant – that Annabelle is cuckolding Bay with a live-in architect; that they’re unhappy together; that Bay enjoys a much too cozy relationship with his married cousin Anne; that Annabelle is an imposter – so despite the remote location, the party has drawn the curious crème de la crème of New York Knickerbocker society. Ever an observer, Jane finds herself watching and listening as guests cattily amuses themselves discussing and denigrating their (absent) hosts. Jane is dismissive of the rumors about Bay and Annabelle – she’s seen first hand how devoted the pair are to each other, but she remains quietly on the sidelines, ignored and dismissed by society and her family.

Jane’s quiet observations are interrupted when Anne asks if she knows where Bay and Annabelle have disappeared to. The dancing is about to begin, the pair are nowhere to be found, and Mrs. Van Duyvil has sent Anne to retrieve them. After a brief conversation, Jane accompanies Anne outside to see if Bay might be overseeing the set-up in the garden for entertainments after the dancing. Frozen and cold, Jane is just about to turn back when Anne shouts out in panic. Turning, Jane thinks she glimpses Annabelle floating in the river… but in the blink of an eye she’s gone; turning towards Anne, Jane spots Bay on the ground with a knife in his chest. Dropping quickly to her knees next to him, she realizes he’s still alive and shouts for Anne to get help. But moments after he appears to gasp out a name – George – he dies in her arms.

From here on out, The English Wife unfolds in alternating chapters that detail, via Jane’s point of view, the newspapers rapacious appetite for the scandalous story – Was it murder? Where is Annabelle? Did Bay kill her?
Did she kill him? – and the evolution of the relationship between Bay and Annabelle before his murder and her disappearance. Ms. Willig painstakingly parcels out surprise after surprise in chapters detailing their complex relationship, and after the murder, as Jane tries to uncover the truth about what happened to her brother. Convinced Bay loved Annabelle and couldn’t have killed her, Jane forms an unlikely partnership with a reporter who inveigles himself into the Van Duyvil home. But as Jane discovers secrets about Bay and Annabelle – and reporter James Burke – she begins to doubt everything she thought she knew.

Reader, I can’t really tell you much about Annabelle and Bay before or after their marriage (#sorrynotsorry) – because doing so will spoil too much of the story. Deeply in love – but scarred in different ways and burdened with secrets – Annabelle and Bay turn to each other for salvation. But salvation, though lovely (it is! I loved them!), is temporary. And for Annabelle, the cost is steep and devastating. My heart ached as Ms. Willig slowly and inextricably revealed the secrets between this pair. The Twelfth Night ball represents a new, bittersweet beginning for them both but… well, I’ve already said too much. Suffice it to say, the relationship between Bay and Annabelle evolves differently than I hoped, but was profoundly moving nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Jane Duyvil tries to find her brother’s killer. Oppressed and repressed by her overbearing hurtful mother, Jane has always been a wallflower, accepting crumbs of attention from her family and society. Bay was similarly disinterested in her – preferring to give his time and affections (and more?) to their wild, disobedient cousin Anne; nevertheless, Jane believed Bay loved Annabelle and couldn’t have killed her. Determined to ferret out the truth, she strikes a deal with James Burke. She’ll share what she knows of the murder if he will help her uncover what really happened that night. I liked their ‘detective’ partnership, and the sense of purpose and identity it gives Jane. She finally sets herself apart from her mother and begins to live life on her own terms searching for her brother’s killer… but I wish Ms. Willig had devoted more time to Jane after her brother’s murder. I still don’t feel like I know her all that well.

As the novel slowly gathers momentum, we discover no one – and nothing – are quite as they appeared at the start. Ms. Willig does a terrific job blurring the line between ‘good’ guy and ‘bad’ guy, and deftly balances complex and conflicting truths in the lives of Jane, Bay and Annabelle. I still can’t decide who I like and disliked in this story, and I’m hopelessly conflicted about Bay. As I read, I kept thinking of the phrase: O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!

I loved and loathed The English Wife in equal measure. As usual, Ms. Willig’s writing is magnificent. She perfectly captures the period, setting, her primary and secondary characters – I can easily see it all in my minds eye – and the whodunit at its core is engrossing. I even felt the coldness of its bleak, wintry setting as I shivered through the pages. But it’s also a bittersweet and heartbreaking love story and I ached reading it. Darkly moving, tinged with melancholy, The English Wife is not quite what you expect, but it stays with you long after its last page.

Book Information:

I tried to like this book, I found it hard to connect with the characters (they could have been on a soap opera). This book wasn’t for me but that doesn’t mean others won’t enjoy it

I loved this book. I would never have guessed that it would end the way it did. From the beginning until the end it held my attention making it hard to put down. It starts with Bay (who very well off) in England not sure what he's going to do with his life. He meets a girl (Georgie) who is nothing like anyone else he knows and they fall in love. He brings her back to the US. His mother isn't happy and so begins the tragic end.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

I got completely caught up in this beautifully written book. From the very first pages, filled with a murder and many questions, I was captivated and wanted nothing more than to sit by the fire and read.

I loved the beautiful descriptions of place and the very well written characters. I felt like I knew Bay and Annabelle, and Janie, my favorite. Even the secondary characters were well developed and I loved that.

The mystery was well written and kept me guessing until the very end. And oh what an ending it was.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction, with well developed characters who you can’t help but love and a mystery that is delicious. I enjoyed this one very much.

I've been a fan of Lauren Willig since the days of her Pink Carnation series. She has always weaved together fascinating stories that pull you in and keep hold of you until the very last word. The English Wife is no exception. Once again, she has written a story that captivates the reader while sending them on a journey.

Every chapter of this book offered up another piece to the puzzle being put together. So many questions seeking answers that you get to search for, along with the characters. You step into the world that Bayard and Annabelle created. You're there for their first meeting. You watch as they fall in love and form a life. In fact, you're cheering them on as they do. And you are baffled when one is found dead and the other is missing. You have as many questions as the characters do.

You bond with Janie as she decides to boldly seek the truth of what happened to her brother and his wife- no matter what the truth turns out to be. You are baffled with every clue that is uncovered, and you try to make the many pieces fit.

The English Wife will set you on a course to uncover the truth you never knew was hidden. And, like me, you will be gripped with every clue you find as you try to put the puzzle together.

The description of the book as a gothic murder mystery set in the Gilded Age piqued my interest. The first pages start off with a bang with a murder on the night of a grand ball. From there the story is told in a dual storyline, alternating between the recent past and the present as the murder victim’s sister, Janie, teams up with a reporter to discover what really happened to her brother Bay and his missing wife. There are plenty of family secrets and intrigue to uncover. The ending had a surprising twist, and it was satisfying to see one character in particular get her comeuppance, even if the method didn't quite work for me. Janie was my favorite character and I enjoyed seeing her gain confidence as the story progressed.

Unfortunately, after such a strong beginning, the pacing was off and I found the story slow and often confusing. I found myself skimming parts of it. This was my first book by this author and the writing style and the tone often read like a romance novel, which is a genre I dislike, so this is a case of it's me, not the book.

Recommended for fans of the author and those who like their mysteries melodramatic and slow burning, with a very large dose of romance.

*I received an e-galley of this book from Netgalley

Murder and Intrigue in Gilded Age New York

An exotic Renaissance themed house party ends in tragedy when the owner, Bayard Van Duyvil and his wife Annabelle, are murdered. Bay is found with a knife in chest in the back garden. Annabelle is presumed to have drowned in the river. It’s a scandal for the old New York family, doubly so since Annabelle is English and society has suspected that she’s up to no good.

Janie, Bay’s sister, believes that there’s more to the tragedy than is being reported. She joins with Burke, a newspaper reporter, to find the truth no matter where it leads.

The book presents a well researched picture of the gilded age. The background and descriptions are very well done as are the character’s motivations. My favorite character was Janie. She had been beaten down by her mother, who wanted to be the arbiter of society, but Janie maintained her independence even working with poor women who were trying to better themselves.

The mystery is not a police procedural where witnesses are interviewed. We’re led to the solution through getting to know the characters. Two English girls are involved, Georgina and Annabelle. Are they two different people, or the same? Bay is an illusive character. He’s wealthy and handsome, but almost too good to be true. Does he have a secret?

I enjoyed the plot and the background of New York in the Gilded Age. I recommend this book if you enjoy well written historical novels with interesting characters and background.

I received this book from St Martin’s Press for this review.