Weaving. Healing. Haunting. The spellbindingstory of a mysterious boarding school sheltering a centuries-old secret…Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school in the British countryside only to find that she is to look after the first intake of girls in its 150-year history. She is to stay with them in Silk House, a building with a long and troubled past. In … the late 1700s, Rowan Caswell leaves her village to work in the home of an English silk merchant. She is thrust into a new and dangerous world where her talent for herbs and healing soon attracts attention. In London, Mary-Louise Stephenson lives amid the clatter of the weaving trade and dreams of becoming a silk designer, a job that is the domain of men. A length of fabric she weaves with a pattern of deadly flowers will have far-reaching consequences for all who dwell in the silk house. Intoxicating, haunting and inspired by the author’s background, THE SILK HOUSE is an exceptional gothic mystery.’The ghostly stories of three women who had all spent time at a mysterious boarding school are beautifully woven together in this spellbinding tale. An exceptional gothic mystery’ Woman’s Day’This spellbinding story intertwines three strong, fearless women in the pursuit of fulfilling their dreams’ Family Circle’The stories of three fascinating women weave seamlessly together in this atmospheric book set against the sumptuous backdrop of the eighteenth-century silk trade… a mystery that is so compelling I found myself racing towards the final pages. Utterly spellbinding’ NATASHA LESTERContains BONUS extract from Kayte’s heartbreaking love story and mystery, THE LAST REUNION
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This is a beautifully written story set across two time zones in 1760’s and now in England at a very old boarding school in the British countryside, for the first time ever girls are starting at the school and they will be boarding in a very old house known as the silk house, but when the new teacher and girls arrive strange things are happening.
Australian history teacher Thea Rush has just taken up a position at the exclusive boarding school in England 150 years old and this is the first time girls will be boarding, the school is also special to Thea in other ways, but when they move into Silk House there seems to be an eerie presence and when Thea starts to research the house she finds that it has had a very troubled past with accusations of witches and she is compelled to get to the bottom of the mystery.
In 1760 Rowan Caswell arrives at the silk house and becomes a maid, she works hard for the owners and she also has a gift for healing but must be very careful about what she does, she soon becomes wary of the other maid that works there Alice and for good reasons and when she is asked to help the mistress Caroline with a problem this changes lives.
Mary-Louise Stephenson is living in London with her sister and struggling to pay the bills, she is a gifted artist with her beautiful drawings of plants and insects but also her deadly plants that are beautiful to look at only, and is keen to get some of her drawings taken on by the silk merchants and become a designer in a male dominated world, when she is offered work by a silk merchant from Oxleigh she jumps at the chance but maybe in haste.
This is a compelling story, haunting in the stories that Rowan and Mary-Louse tell of their lives, Thea works hard to uncover the mystery which surrounds silk house and is pulled in by the things she discovers, a lot of hurt and secrecy had gone on in this house and it is now time for Thea to put a couple of people to rest eternally.
I loved this story from start to finish, a historical ghost mystery story that I highly recommend thank you MS Nunn for another fabulous story
An exquisite read from an author who is becoming an automatic go-to for me. Kayte Nunn has a beautiful writing style which is almost poetic at times. I find it similar to Kate Morton’s style, both authors a pleasure to read.
The Silk House quickly sucked me in. There were three strong storylines (past and present) that were balanced and equally fascinating, and stories of ghosts and omens and witchery that left me hesitant to turn out the lights at night! A small letdown was that the premise was full of potential, but the ending fell flat. I was racing through the pages to get there (because there was lots of suspense), but the ending didn’t deliver in a fulfilling way.
This can all be forgiven though, for The Silk House truly is a wonderful reading experience and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys history, witchcraft and things that go bump in the night!
4.5 stars.
A sweeping tale that spans centuries full of magic, ghost and some very strong women. Thea Rust is a teacher from Australia come to work at an all boys school that’s finally letting in girls. The year is 2019. The house they will be living in was once know as The Silk House. As a history teacher this intrigues her to no end. But something strange is going on in the house and even though it scares her she will not stop until she figures it out. Rowan is an orphan, the older sister of four boys who must work to pay for their support. In the year 1768 she finds herself in the employ of a merchant in The Silk House. It’s a dangerous time for women like her and she desperately tries to keep her knowledge of herbs and such to herself. But that us easier said then done when the mistress of the house demands her help. This sets in motion events that will reverberate through out the centuries. Strong females that want respect and everything they can get out of life. It’s interesting and full of surprises and definitely a five star read for me!
THE SILK HOUSE is such a satisfying read. This is the first Kayte Nunn book I have read, and it certainly won’t be my last.
This story moves between the present day and the latter part of the 18th century. Thea Rust arrives from Australia to take up a teaching post at Oxleigh College. She’s given residence at Silk House, a property once owned by a prosperous silk merchant some 250 years ago. Rumours of ghosts and strange occurrences have plagued the house since its early days, resulting in occupants feeling unsettled. Thea finds herself experiencing things that go bump in the night . . . but are they real or just a result of an overactive imagination?
As Thea starts researching the history of the house, readers are transported back into time when Rowan Creswell, arrives at the house as its newest maid. Rowan is not immune to the undercurrents of the house; a master, a mistress, and a small number of servants create an intimate atmosphere where secrets can’t stay hidden for long and jealousies quickly arise. Rowan is not only skilled in plant medicine but she has The Sight, and exposing her abilities to others would leave her vulnerable. She knows to stay quiet.
It’s clear that Nunn has done her research, and it was instructive and enlightening to read about plant medicine and silk fabric design. This is done mainly through the lens of women’s experiences in these vocations. The fact that women were easily branded as witches and that women struggled to be taken as serious professionals in industry are not new concepts to me so I appreciated Nunn’s choice in giving us more than superficial information about these topics. I appreciated learning about specific plants and their uses. I appreciated learning more about fabric design.
Nunn has done a great job in weaving several stories across time and distance. The story never lagged, the plot wove nicely between past and present, and every character played an important role in the continuation of the story. Highly recommended!
The Silk House by Kayte Nunn is a great historical fiction novel that weaves several characters and timelines into a wonderful story that has elements if gothic mystery, history, suspense, and kept my interest throughout.
I loved the complexity of the characters, the historic detail of the inclusion of the botanical elements and explanations, and the descriptions of the silk industry in England.
I also enjoyed the eerie feel of the novel, it added an extra layer of shadowing and mist-like overlay to the story that gave it a wonderful, chilling effect.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.