This week I read a short, quick book as I had to get through it before I packed up for my holiday!
Book 17 – Mistress of Mellyn, by Victoria Holt. This book is set in Cornwall, in the Victorian Era, and follows Martha Leigh as she takes up her post as governess to Alvean TreMellyn. Alvean is the only daughter of Connan, a looming, impersonal father, and of Alice who died a year earlier.
As the story unfolds it becomes clear that all is not what it seems in Mount Mellyn. As Martha learns more about Alice and her departure with another man, and questions are raised about Alvean’s parentage, it becomes clear that the story doesn’t add up. As Martha and Connan become closer, Martha feels her happiness disintegrating as fears and doubts about what happened to Alice – and what might happen to her – take over her thoughts.
Although I found this book perfectly readable, I wouldn’t say it’s one of Holt’s best. There is no sense of the brooding atmosphere or risk that she is normally so good at displaying, and the whole ‘terrifying ordeal’ section lasts only a few pages. It is clear pretty early on who is the danger factor, and it seems a little cliched that the governess and the master fall in love. I would go so far as to say it feels unbelievable, in fact. It has that Pride and Prejudice feel that by being rude and outspoken, a woman who is considered less attractive than those around her can in fact attract a rich husband… Only Martha has none of the wit and sparkle of Eliza Bennett and this book was written in 1960 when would have expected a more nuanced relationship to be explored.
I think other books reflect Holt’s abilities as a storyteller much more effectively than this one, and I will put that down to this being a change in style for her.
Happy reading
EJ
🙂
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