I really enjoyed reading The Silk House.

The first three chapters really did have me wondering weather this book would be for me or not, but by chapter four I was really enjoying it. I just LOVE that the story involved weaving, literally and figuratively as it wove the stories of the characters together, and the buildings they lived and worked in, in more ways than one, over a few centuries.

The characters and the story were rich in detail and mystery. The story is beautifully written and I was hooked on each of the three protagonist’s stories. The characters are all likable and I started to worry about the fate of them, especially the women who lived in the 1700s.

My favourite character was Rowan, and I do wish there was more detail in the book about her...she was caring, smart, and underappreciated. I worried for her, with the constant threat of being called a witch and subsequent punishment looming over her throughout the story.

The Silk house is historical fiction but it also has a supernatural and mystery side to the story. With the story involving tales and hints of witches, ghosts and some kind of hidden society... there are bumps in the night, ointments and tinctures, and symbols all woven through the story to leave the reader wanting more...

Overall, this was a very enjoyable and satisfying book to read. I recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially with a hint of supernatural mystery involved. There is nothing menacing or too dark in this beautiful book about strong women.

The two timelines of the story weave together to create a great sense of mystery, which keeps your attention as a reader.
I loved the feminist ideas presented in the novel and the manner in which they were presented - this is a true credit to the author's writting.
Overall, there is a lot to love about this book - I need to go back and read some more of the authors work.

Every time I read a Kayte Nunn novel I think it’s my favourite one and then the next one comes out and I love it even more than the last!

The title says it all, the story is about a grand old building dating back to the 1700’s where it started out as a silk house.
Kayte Nunn’s book follows three women and their connection to the house.

In Present time, Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive English boarding school called Silk House. She is to look after the first intake of girls in 150 years. When unexplained events begin happening in the house leaving Thea unsettled she begins digging into the history of the house.

In the 1700’s Rowan Caswell becomes a maid for the silk merchant. She has a talent for using botanicals for healing which begins to attract the attention both good and bad of the residents of the town, for being gifted in this area is also seen to be witchcraft.

At the same time in London Mary-Louise Stephenson is trying to make her way as a silk designer but the career is dominated by men. Mary finds beauty in wild flowers and deadly plants which makes her patterns quite a contrast to those of the men. Arriving at Silk House with the unusual design it appears that the fabric has devastating consequences for all who wear it.

The story is beautifully written and I was hooked on each of the three protagonist’s stories. The Silk house is historical fiction but I also love the supernatural and mystery side to the story. It’s like the spooky stories told around the camp fire that have you looking over your shoulder and jumping at every noise.
I promise you’ll be so hooked on this story you won’t be able to put it down.

The Silk House was such a gorgeous story, and I was so blessed to receive an ARC copy from Hachette. I love historical fiction, and I especially love dual story/time lines, so this book was perfect for me. The writing style was beautiful, and it flowed perfectly despite switching POV frequently which was wonderful. The characters were all exceptional women who defied the cultural views towards women during the 18th century. I grew to love them all dearly! The gothic setting of 'The Silk House' was fantastic and mysterious, which really added to the intrigue and spookiness of the story. I was reading this home alone at night and my imagination was running wild! Usually I put books down at nighttime that give me the spooks, however, I was so delighted in the story that I couldn't bear to put it down. This is a spellbinding, and haunting story that will not disappoint! I cannot wait to read more of Kayte Nunn's novels!

I couldn't put it down! Another wonderful reading experience from Kayte Nunn (I so enjoyed The Botanist's Daughter & The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant, I couldn't wait to get lost in this newest historical fiction title).

Once again, Kayte's mastery of creating a setting for her stories drew me right into the world between The Silk House's pages. Rich in description but not too wordy, I felt as if I could enjoy the historic locations, creaky, haunted rooms and quaint English countryside, without ever leaving my chair.

The Silk House is another mix of strong female characters across several timelines, meeting through the mysteries of space and time. The gothic, ghostly overtones were fun, as well as a fascinating nod to silk production in the 1700s and female involvement in industry. While at times I felt that some moments with these characters were rushed, it does mean that the book is a shorter, easier read. I'd gladly be lost in it for a while longer though!

Looking forward to more from this author in the future, she's now a comfortable favourite of mine.

Thea Rust is a new teacher at Oxleigh College, a prestigious boys boarding school which has accepted girls for the first time in its illustrious history. The girls are boarded in the mysterious old Silk House, and when strange and unexplained things begin happening, Thea starts digging into the history of the house. ⁣
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Meanwhile, in the late 1700s, Rowan Caswell begins working as a maid-of-all-work in The Silk House, and before long her knowledge of the healing properties of herbs and plants begin to draw unwanted attention - in a time not too long after women with such knowledge were accused of witchcraft. ⁣
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Also in the late 1700s, Mary-Louise Stephenson is trying to prove herself as a valid and talented silk designer in an industry dominated by men. When Mary’s designs and Rowan’s knowledge cross paths, it leads to a dark tragedy. ⁣
Is this too cheesy a line for a book with themes of witchcraft...? I was entirely spellbound! 🤣⁣
But seriously.... this book was so beautifully written. Any story set in a boarding school, especially in a building with a dark past, has my interest immediately. I love reading about places layered with the lives of those who came before, and Kayte Nunn wove the past and present together brilliantly. I loved every page of this haunting and otherworldly book, and that ending..... wow. ⁣

Set mostly in the present time with flashbacks to the 1760’s. Set mostly in Oxleigh in the UK. Thea Rust takes up a job at Oxleigh College to teach history while working on doctoral studies on witchcraft.
Thea settles into her assigned accommodation in an old house where she will be supervising 14 students aged 16 to 17 years.
I loved the description of the house originally known as the Silk House and the way the life of the people who originally lived in the house was woven into the story using flashbacks to 1768 and a time when the house was inhabited by a silk merchant and his wife and three servants. Prudence, Alice and Rowan.
Thea researches the history of the Silk House and gathers information about witchcraft in the area linking one of the servants that lived in the house being accused of witchcraft.
A history of an old house with a secret waiting to be discovered. I loved it

The Silk House is a haunting and spellbinding tale where past events are flowed through time to present day and woven together seamlessly in this exquisitely written and atmospheric ghost story about three young women.

Present Day - Oxleigh College is an exclusive boarding school in the English countryside and The Silk House is the residence where the female students board. Thea Rust has arrived from Australia to look after the very first intake of girls in the college’s 150 year history! Thea is also the new history teacher and a likeable character that finds herself researching the past history of the mysterious house after she witnesses some strange occurrences.

We are taken back to the year 1768 and follow the story of the family that ran the business and lived at The Silk House. Rowan Caswell is employed as a maid ‘of all work’ at The Silk House. When Rowan’s mother was alive she had taught her daughter how to make herbal tinctures and healing potions but Rowan dare not admit to having this knowledge to anyone.

For our third female protagonist we have Mary-Louise Stephenson who has a fondness of painting, she’s talented and forward thinking. Mary turns her skills to silk design but she’s finding it difficult as a woman to forge her way into a male dominated trade during this era.

I found this to be an absorbing and enjoyable gothic mystery story.


I wish to thank Netgalley & Hachette Australia for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Silk House is going to be one of my favourite reads for 2020. It was so beautifully written and descriptive I couldn’t help but fall in love with everything about it.

An historical fiction, narrated through multiple POV’s in vastly different eras, the story-line is interwoven superbly. In 1768 The Silk House is home to a wealthy silk merchant, his wife and their household in Oxleigh. Rowan Caswell is the new maid at the house and in times where people are suspicious of anyone slightly unusual and talk of witchcraft still swirls around, it is a troubling time to be meddling in anything untoward. With white-blond hair and a skill in herbs, potions and draughts, mystery soon starts shrouding Rowan and she must be extremely cautious that no one becomes aware of here abilities for fear of putting her life at risk.

Meanwhile, in London 1768, Mary-Louise Stephenson is the designer of stunning one of a kind patterns but has so far been unable to break into the male dominated trade. When the silk merchant makes an unexpected visit to her home offering her the chance for her patterns to become a reality she jumps at the opportunity. Thrown into the shady world of the merchant and creating silks that seem to hold dark secrets Mary is soon wondering if she has made a terrible mistake.

Now in 2019 Silk House is home to an exclusive Boarding School, Oxleigh College. History teacher Thea Rust has just moved from Australia to the UK to take up a position at the college, the same college her father once attended. This is the first time girls have been admitted into Oxleigh College, previously a school only for boys so Thea has the unenviable job of not only being new to the school but having to help with this unwelcome change in long-held tradition. When strange unexplained things start happening and rumours of Silk House being haunted start circling Thea is desperate to find out as much as she can about its history and what really took place there all those centuries ago.

The atmosphere is superbly rich and detailed with Gothic undertones throughout plus the ever present mystery of witchcraft. A truly beautiful story that I just couldn’t put down.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read this amazing book.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Hatchette Australia and the author, Kayte Nunn, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Silk House in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I loved reading this book. I was hooked from the start.
The characters, the settings and the narrative were rich in detail and intrigue. Both the past and present are woven together seamlessly. Such a spellbinding, gothic tale.
Well worth a read.

This wonderfully atmospheric tale immediately draws you in as the powerful secrets of Silk House are woven in over two timeframes. The past and present collide in spellbinding fashion leaving you with a tingle down your spine. Another enthralling read by the very skilful storyteller, Kayte Nunn.

A mysterious old boarding school. Women that harbour knowledge that is as much feared as it is revered. A centuries-old secret that is about to be revealed.

Don’t you just love mysteries that feature old mansions with a dark past? Especially those creepy ones where things go bump in the night and one can never be sure if there is a rational explanation or it’s due to ghostly activity. I am happy to report that Silk House made for a perfect setting! With two timelines slowly exploring a past mystery going all the way back to the 1700s, I knew I was in for a treat.

When Australian English teacher Thea Rust arrives to take on a teaching position in an exclusive boarding school in the English countryside, she is not prepared for the dark secrets the old house is harbouring. As the reader, I had a definite advantage over Thea by being fully prepared and ready for the skeletons to come out of the closet, and I was ready for the ride!

It can’t be an easy task for any writer to weave together two separate timelines and several characters from varying backgrounds into a story that flows smoothly and keeps the reader’s interest equally through all POVs, but Nunn totally pulled this off for me. Thea, with her antipodean expectations of equality and fairness is not prepared for the misogyny and favouritism she encounters from the heads of the exclusive boarding school, who have been forced to allow girls to attend for the first time in the school’s history. I thought Thea to be a well-rounded and relatable character, her innocence (or naiveté) from growing up in a very different cultural environment obvious from the moment she first set foot onto British soil. She soon finds that Silk House, her new home, also offers something uniquely British –ghostly activity related to a 1700’s injustice that had been committed in these very walls.

The timeline set during the 1700’s opened up a fascinating chapter in English history I knew nothing about, the silk industry in the east of England in the early eighteenth century. Featuring floral patterns based on real botanical specimens, these fabrics set themselves apart from the French fashion at the time. As in Nunn’s book, history books show that a few women were among the designers, a trade dominated by males. Two of Nunn’s characters bring all aspects of this interesting chapter in British history to life: Rowan, who is maidservant to a wealthy silk merchant and a herbalist and healer in her own right; and Mary-Louise, an impoverished gentlewoman who follows her dream of becoming a fabric designer and incorporates images of real plants from the area into her elaborate designs.

Strong feminist themes, including the women’s wisdom and knowledge of healing and herbalism still feared and denounced as witchcraft among the country folk in the early 18th century, made for interesting reading and a degree of foreboding and tension as our characters me their fate. I really enjoyed the spooky element of Silk House and thought that it had even more potential to be creepy, but with such a lot of elements to the story, it never quite played centre stage. My only disappointment was that the ending felt rushed and abrupt, and the very clever and unexpected twist towards the finale got a bit lost in the tying up of the many plot points. Some of the characters’ interactions towards the end also suffered from the rush to bring the story to a conclusion, which made it not as satisfying for me as I had hoped.

All in all, THE SILK HOUSE was a multi-layered gothic mystery, tying a centuries old secret to the present, which manifests itself in the spooky happenings of Silk House, the perfect setting for such a story. With the rich historical context of the British silk trade in the early to mid eighteenth century, the book made both for entertaining as well as fascinating reading and I feel like I learned something about a chapter in history I knew very little about. Readers who like strong female leads and feminist themes will appreciate the rich cast of characters here who are each fearless in their pursuit of their dreams and destinies.

This is a beautiful, atmospheric story, with intricate weaving of the modern-day with the past, and the result is an incredible story that offers a cosy place to read and rest in for a time. With the perspectives of three characters, the story is built around a boarding house that is adjacent to a school that has never accepted women into its 'old boy' ranks. Thea, a school teacher, is getting used to the pervading misogyny that infiltrates the school, as well as the troubles that come with taking on young girls who are finding that they are not as wanted as they should be at the school. However, this is paired with the mysterious past of the house, and the story of a woman called Rowan.

Rowan was, by far, my favourite character. She had just the right balance of wisdom and shyness, and she was generous and sweet as well as a little bit witchy- the perfect combination. I gave this book four stars largely because I wanted a whole book just about her, more and more of her story, and perspective. She was just so well written and lovely and I found it was wonderful.

There's also the matter of the silk maker, Mary. Another smart woman underappreciated by those in her trade, she has amazing talent, and her story certainly taught me the most about the silk-making and decorating process. The book culminates in the point where all of their stories intersect, and the ending may not be quite what you expect, but it is still satisfying.

Stylistically, this is very much in the vein of older gothic mysteries with haunted houses and a sense not of menace, but mystery and intrigue, which was really well suited to this tale. I just really loved all the atmosphere that this book built, and found myself enjoying all of the walks in the gardens as though I was actually there. A perfect book to escape into, especially at the present moment!

‘I’m interested in persecution ideologies – specifically witchcraft in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England.’

Oh yes...so am I! Another novel that seems as though it has been perfectly tailored just for me. Kayte Nunn is an author of exceptional talent. I would put her on a par with Kate Morton in terms of creating a vivid atmosphere, the depth and layering of the story, and of course, bringing those historical settings to life. I am a big, long-time fan of Kate Morton, so I mean this as a compliment. Each of Kayte Nunn's novels seem flawless, and then she brings the next one out and you think, this is her best yet, and then she does it all over again, just continuing to go from strength to strength. Each of her three works of historical fiction have been vastly different from each other, truly unique stories, and yet they are united in a common framework: female agency, specifically, the lack of it within a woman's life throughout different periods in history and across the different social and economic classes. It's a theme she demonstrates throughout her narratives with blinding precision.


‘Here they were in a small back garden, stars beginning to pinprick the sky, the moon full and luminous. Five women holding hands in a circle in a garden after dark. In another time, they would have been burned at the stake for less.’


I am very partial to a bit of spooky in a story, particularly the kind that involves an old house with a myriad of secrets whispering from its walls and a reputation as being haunted.

‘Dodgy electrics, doors unlocking themselves and a possible infestation, not to mention the strange dream: Thea began to worry that something was very wrong with the house.’

‘They say the house wants something. Or wants to be rid of something.’


And then there's the witch angle, one of my favourites, as mentioned above. Kayte explores this through her character’s talent as a herbalist combined with a highly attuned second ‘sight'.


‘The plans showed the gardens , including a sketch of the parterre garden in the shape of a pentacle. A pentacle, she was well aware, was a shape linked with witchcraft, a symbol alleged to be employed in magical evocation, to foretell the future, or to have power over the devil , though it was also often associated with the element of earth. So, it had been there from the very beginning.’


This is a dual timeline narrative, present day setting along with the late 1700s, but told with three distinct female voices. The way their stories intersected was masterful and I was completely enthralled with this novel, devouring it over the course of one (very long) night. It is steeped in atmosphere (think Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Bone China) and the sense of foreboding that Kayte builds throughout is utterly gripping. You just know you're headed for something shocking, but it still catches you by surprise. The blend of herbology, weaving, and witchcraft, along with the strong feminist themes, makes this novel an absolute must read for any lover of gothic historical fiction. Brilliant, enthralling, and utterly perfect to curl up with for some winter reading. Preferably on a dark, stormy night.