Pertaining To Dragonwyck

Anya Seton's Dragonwyck is the story of Miranda Wells, a farm girl who has always dreamed of being a fine lady. Her dreams seem about to come true when she receives an invitation to spend some time nannying a rich relative's daughter. Little does she know how much suffering this invitation will cause.

Pros: I thought the characters were pretty well formed. Miranda is something of a cliche, but I find that most heroines are. I really liked the doctor, Jeffrey Turner. Except for that one scene.

Cons: Miranda falls in love with a married man and then falls in love with another man after she gets married. The former is portrayed as wrong, but the latter is not. There's a little ghost story, but not enough to make the whole book a spooky tale - only enough to make it odd. Nothing explicit is described, but we see the effects of the abuse Miranda suffers at the hands of her husband. About halfway through the book I just wanted to skip ahead and read the part where Miranda's husband is dead (I had no doubt he would die eventually) and she can marry the other man.

My Rating: MT (thematic elements, physical and sexual abuse - nothing explicit described)