Cavendon Hall

Some of my acquaintances claim that they don't read Barbara Taylor Bradford anymore; she's too old-fashioned.  I think that's precisely why I find her so appealing.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent reading her latest book Cavendon Hall (#389).  In her Foreword, Ms. Bradford states that Cecily Swann will be the central character in a new series of novels concerning the fortunes of the Inghams of Cavendon Hall and their loyal retainers, the Swanns.  I've just finished the first book, and already I'm impatient for the next.  That's the mark of an excellent storyteller for me.

This book should appeal to fans of Downton Abbey, or Fay Weldon's recent trilogy.  Like them, this Bradford series promises to be multi-generational.  Like her previous series, it's also set in Yorkshire.  Ms. Bradford's strong female characters generally don't just let things happen to them (although that's the key moment in Cavendon Hall for one of the Ingham women), they shape events around themselves to take advantage of them to boost their careers.  In this case, Cecily's promising future hinges on her extraordinary skills as a designer under her mother's tutelage working for the Countess of Mowbray at Cavendon Hall, along with her four beautiful daughters.  She is only twelve when we meet her, but she's already initiated  as an heir to the secrets the Swanns keep to protect the Ingham family.  All is not well at Cavendon Hall in the days leading up to World War I.   The War will change everything for both the Inghams and the Swanns, but will it break their centuries-old bond?

I can't wait to find out!