Raised in a poor yet genteel household, Rachel Woodley is working in France as a governess when she receives news that her mother has died suddenly. Grief-stricken, she returns to the small town in England where she was raised to clear out the cottage…and finds a cutting from a London society magazine, with a photograph of her supposedly deceased father dated all of three months before. He’s an … an earl, respected and influential, and he is standing with another daughter — his legitimate daughter. Which makes Rachel…not legitimate. Everything she thought she knew about herself and her past — even her very name — is a lie.
Still reeling from the death of her mother, and furious at this betrayal, Rachel sets herself up in London under a new identity. There she insinuates herself into the party-going crowd of Bright Young Things, with a steely determination to unveil her father’s perfidy and bring his — and her half-sister’s — charmed world crashing down. Very soon, however, Rachel faces two unexpected snags: she finds that she genuinely likes her half-sister, Olivia, whose situation isn’t as simple it appears; and that she might just be falling for her sister’s fiancé…
From Lauren Willig, author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Ashford Affair, comes The Other Daughter, a page-turner full of deceit, passion, and revenge.
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I read the book in one sitting, it was a great read. The book might be more a 4 stars than a 5, if I want to play the literary critic. But I am a reader, and I deeply enjoyed this book. It was the perfect read for the Holidays. The use of Shakespeare references and quotes was brilliantly used through the text.
Rachel Woodley is working as a nursery governess in France when the telegram comes. Her hardworking mother, the only person left to her in life, is dying of influenza. When she arrives back in England, however, Rachel finds that she is too late–the funeral has already occurred, and her only role now is to clean out her mother’s house and try to find a new position as a governess or possibly a typist. But when she finds a magazine clipping in her mother’s room, her whole world is turned upside down. Her father, whom she had always been told was dead, is not only alive but has a wife and two children and a high position in 1920s society. Instead of being an orphan, Rachel is the illegitimate by-blow of a selfish earl.
Flummoxed and enraged, Rachel falls in with handsome blueblood Simon Montfort who happens to also be a columnist for a London gossip rag. He offers to set her up as his cousin in an expensive flat with a whole new wardrobe so that she can infiltrate the earl’s family. Playing the part of Vera Merton, Rachel searches for two things: the reason why, and sweet revenge. But once again, things are not as simple as they seem. Although Rachel’s father shows no recognition of her, Rachel soon find that her half-sister Olivia is more to be pitied than envied. As she develops a sympathy for the earl’s family, she begins to call Simon’s ulterior motives into question and to question the legitimacy of her own complaint. Nothing can halt her desire for a final confrontation, however. As Rachel and Simon crash a house party at the earl’s estate, masks come off and characters are revealed, leading to a well-constructed ending where both Rachel and the reader gain their satisfaction.
I admired many aspects of Lauren Willig’s book The English Wife, but for me, this story of The Other Daughter was pitch-perfect. The excess and phoniness of the Bright Young Things and their love for all things Bohemian is displayed in glittering detail. Rachel’s outrage is wholly believable. Her transformation into Vera Merton is skillful and enjoyable as she tiptoes into an alien world and makes her mark.
My favorite part about this book definitely has to be Simon. He is a character of many layers–the consummate 1920s playboy splashing about in alcohol and fast women but with waters that run much deeper below that exterior. The literary banter between Rachel and Simon is brilliant (although possibly incomprehensible to those who don’t know their Shakespeare).
I made the mistake of beginning this book at around 10:30pm last night, planning to just read a little before falling asleep…let’s just say that it’s going to be a very long day today. Wholeheartedly recommended…one of my favorite reads from this year.
I love any book by Lauren Willig, and this one did not disappoint. Love getting lost in the worlds she creates!
This book kept me guessing and shocked me
This was a wonderful book. A young woman who is working as a governess in France to help her mother out during the 1920’s. The butler from the main house doesn’t like her much and delays giving her a wire telling her about her mother being sick, she asked for the time off and is let go from her position and when she gets home she finds out that her mother had been buried the day before and the gentleman who owns the cottage they lived in wants it back because the rent wasn’t paid for one week. She finds a article with a picture of her father who she thought was dead with his other daughter and find our he is a Lord. She go to a family relative to pay him back for the cost of her mom’s burial. Finds out that her father really is alive and she thinks she was born out of wedlock. So goes through a lot of twist and turns and finally finds out the truth of it all and it ends on a happy note. I love this book and recommend it.