The Wife in the Attic

By: Rose Lerner

Narrated by: Elsa Lepecki Bean

Length: 16 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

This daring Gothic thriller reinvents one of literature’s most twisted love triangles. Tensely romantic and deliciously suspenseful, The Wife in the Attic is perfect for fans of Jane Eyre, Rebecca, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Goldengrove’s towers and twisted chimneys rose at the very edge of the peaceful Weald, a stone’s throw from the poisonous marshes and merciless waters of Rye Bay. Young Tabby Palethorp had been running wild there, ever since her mother grew too ill to leave her room.

I was the perfect choice to give Tabby a good English education: thoroughly respectable and far too plain to tempt her lonely father, Sir Kit, to indiscretion.

I knew better than to trust my new employer with the truth about my past. But knowing better couldn’t stop me from yearning for impossible things: to be Tabby’s mother, Sir Kit’s companion, Goldengrove’s new mistress.

All that belonged to poor Lady Palethorp. Most of all, I burned to finally catch a glimpse of her.

Surely she could tell me who cut the strings on my guitar, why all the doors inside the house were locked after dark, and whose footsteps I heard in the night....

With devious sophistication, Rose Lerner weaves a haunting tale full of secrets and sharp edges. Will the governess’ loyalties ultimately lie with the master of the house - or with the wife in the attic?

©2020 Susan Roth (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

What I did not read in the reviews!

I was not going to read this book based on the reviews, but I had it downloaded and so I thought why not start it! This is a good book, and I think the negative reviews I read do not do the book justice! What stands out about this book is the performance. It was one of the best produced audiobooks I have listened to (I listen to a lot). All the voice suit the characters so well. The performance aside the book itself has great message in it. It deals with pain, fear and getting on with life and does a brilliant job of showing the impact of past generational trauma. I think all the characters are well developed. I appreciate a book that flows sequentially as it is easy to follow. I would say it is a cross between literary fiction crossed with a historical romance. As a straight white female I tend to seek out romance stories between men and women. The central characters are lesbians which is not revealed until you are more than halfway into the story. As this is not a central theme in the story I really enjoyed the book. In fact one of my criticisms might be that the story does not ever address how taboo this would have been in that time period, however because it is such a small part of the story, it seems plausible the characters did not have to deal with the impact this might have been for them through the duration of this part of the story.

Fantastic

Escape to another world, this story is gripping and exciting. twists and turns galore! I couldnt get enough. highly recommend!!

Annoying accent

I’m a bit disappointed, the story was good. As an English listener - the narration became in readily annoying. The actor is good and all and English accent is not bad, but it just became annoying because they obviously aren’t English and some of the pronunciations are really off. If having a narrator with and English accent is so important to the story - why not hire an English native actor?

Better than I thought

The setting of this book is not something I would normally be interested in but I was looking for something quickly to listen to while cleaning. I was interested in hearing more so I kept listening. Pretty good story.

interesting

though I didn't expect this book to have lesbianism in it, I still enjoyed the story. the love affair surprised me.

Great story.

The narrator was amazing!



The story had a very slick turn that I did not expect. It is well worth the listen.

Really enjoyed listening to this book

I felt this story was very interesting, loved listening to the narrator, felt the ended dragged on a bit. The story kept my attention and had some great twists and turns

Loved it!!

I thought everything from the plot to the performance was great! I would definitely recommend this book!

Easy to listen and calm

I was trying to think of what summed up this book for me. The store it self as a whole was easy to listen to calm. It is not a keep on on the edge book. but I did love the store line.

The booking begins with a young girl trying to find a job. When does fine a job it sounds almost to good to be true. There are people that are locked in their bedrooms and windows are locked at night. the store was told in a way that I wanted to see what was going on in that house. my heart hurt for poor Oivie as she looses everything she knows all for a job.

Simple love story

Was a bit slow at times but I enjoyed it still. Your basic love story set in the olden days. a very good listen. Would recommend to anyone.