All of society believes former actress Helen Grey to be mad, but after a decade imprisoned in a crumbling Yorkshire asylum, she’s managed to cling to sanity. When a new doctor arrives, she finally sees an opportunity for freedom and she’ll do anything to not let it slip between her fingers. Dr. William Carter knows Miss Grey is using him, but he can’t blame her. She’s no madder than he is yet … he is yet she’s spent years in this place. He’ll help her escape, but they can’t cross the line and give into temptation–no matter how much he would like.Â
Helen and Will need to work together if she’s ever going to be free. It won’t be easy, not when her mysterious benefactor is determined to keep her locked up and hidden from society forever. When Helen is entangled in her own trap and begins to fall for Will too, she must fight not only for her liberty but for her right to love.
Each book in the Harcastle Inheritance series is STANDALONE:
* The Madness of Miss Grey
* The Ruin of Evangeline Jones
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The Madness of Miss Grey by Julia Bennet is the story of Helen Grey and Dr. William Carter.
Will start in life was the son of a housekeeper but after sponsorship was able to become a Dr. Now he is excited to be working with a Dr that he has admired at the Manor House Asylum. Helen is a illegitimate daughter of an actress and some aristocrat that she doesn’t know. When her mother dies when she is around 15 years old, she is kidnapped and placed in the Manor Asylum. Now in their present day Helen is 26 years old and working her way to getting out of the Asylum. But someone is paying the Dr and Nurse to keep her there. When she attempts to run from the manor again she ends up meeting Will. Helen starts to think that he may be her way out but Will knows that she might be using him. But what Will does know is that she is a sane as he is and that someone is keeping her in there.
Totally different take on a historical romance…enjoyed it.
Dr William Carter is a housekeeper’s son who was lucky to have a sponsor who paid for his education. He has a new job in an asylum, and is shocked at the way the patients are treated. The doctor in charge has a good reputation and Will has always wanted to work with him, but finds the man is nothing like he expected.
Miss Helen Grey has been a patient/prisoner in the asylum since her mother died ten years ago. The doctor in charge and the so called nurse who control her are in the pay of someone who wants her kept out of sight.
The way these places were run and the treatments they were subject to in that era is truly scary. Anyone could use any excuse to commit a person, especially women possibly forever. Our hero is a wonderful, honest man and a very good doctor. Our heroine is a brave woman who has somehow managed to survive the worst that life can throw at her.
A very entertaining story with great characters.
No, the trope isn’t new — try Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm, for one. But Ms. Bennet has done a beautiful job here. The protagonists are unusual and her writing took me deep into their minds and hearts. Loved every minute!
Historical romance classic! The Madness of Miss Grey unfolds like a classic old movie. Julia Bennet’s writing draws you into the story from the first few pages and holds you to the very end. Well written, the darkness of the plot is masterfully handled, balanced by a beautiful love story. Many historical romances seem to be created out of a cookie-cutter formula. This is definitely not one of them. A fresh, strong debut from a new author. Very much looking forward to reading more by her.
The Madness of Miss Grey
by Julia Bennet
WOW!! This was an amazing debut from this author and I was captivated by her writing. This was a well written romance it had plenty of mystery and intrigue. I loved the mystery to this story it kept me guessing and turning the pages. Helen Grey a young woman has been imprisoned in an asylum from the young age of fifteen but the catch is she’s no where near being insane, someone just wanted her out of the picture but for what reasons?
Dr, William Carter is the son of the manor’s housekeeper, he’s in charge of the asylum under the tutelage of a renowned Dr. He realizes that Miss. Grey isn’t insane and finds himself falling for the young woman. What he can’t understand is why she’s been kept away.
A really well written story that really is entertaining, intriguing with detail to the horrors of the asylum.
I recieved a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.
Yorkshire 1882 “If I go back, they’ll never let me go again.” That was the thought of Helen Grey as she met Dr William Carter as she tried to escape the asylum. This story pulled me in right from the first page and did not let go until the end. Helen had been in the asylum for ten years since she was almost sixteen . Put there by someone who did not want her known and with no way to escape. She wasn’t crazy, although at times with the way she was treated, it was almost hard not to be.
Will was the son of a former housekeeper for the home before it turned into an asylum. He had been able to train as a doctor and he hoped to get recommended by a staff physician, Dr. Sterling.
Thus the journey to helping Helen get out of the place. They are really attracted to each other, but she has been so mistreated it is hard to trust.
An almost gothic story (which I am a fan of!) that takes us down the path of how horrible the conditons of asylums where back in this time and how women were mistreated. Could Will help her and get her away or would it jeopardize his position?
Julia Bennet is a new author to me and I look forward to reading more by her and would recommend this story!
An unconventional love story. Will and Helen are doctor and patient when they first meet. The author gives a lot of detail on the care of psychiatry patients in the late 19th century. There is is also interesting conversations about the hypocrisy of the way moral thinking was used to curb women in society. There is a lot of fun banter with the dog Hector and his antics with Helen. Will and Helen overcome great odds to get the dream they both desired.
This is a wonderful book! I loved the story line and the characters. They were such strong characters; Helen enduring all that she did and Will being able to fight for her and go against the system. The reader was taken on an emotional roller coaster! The book makes you sad (for the situation Helen was in), mad (at the treatment received from “caretakers”), and happy (that someone helps Helen). I like how the author wrote about a subject/situation that unfortunately happened in history until the medical profession became more regulated and advanced in the psychological area. I couldn’t put the book down it was such a great book.