Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

Wentworth Hall

by Abby Grahame

Anyone who loves Downton Abbey, will love Wentworth Hall.

Wentworth Hall is one of England's oldest estates and the Darlingtons are among the elite class of British society. But under all that wealth, there are secrets they do not want told.

18 year old Maggie and her mother have just returned from a year aboard where Lady Darlington has had baby boy, James. But he is not the only new addition to the house. They have also brought back Therese, their new French tutor, as well as welcomed the orphaned teenage twins, Teddy and Jessica, who have just lost their father aboard the Titanic. This adds to an already crowded house or Darlingtons and staff, all of whom have a penchant for gossiping about their employers.

As time passes, it becomes clear that Teddy and Jessica would rather be anywhere else and that Maggie is a different person then the one that left Wentworth. Her family's financial future rests with her finding the best husband and her parents are sure that is Teddy. When scandalous satires start appearing in the newspaper with details suspiciously similar to the goings on of Wentworth Hall, the Darlingtons are determined to keep their secrets to themselves and the affairs (both private and public) in order. And the first order of business is finding the culprit. But where to start? Downstairs? Or Upstairs?

Reviewed by rakesandrogues on

1 of 5 stars

Share
Not going to lie, I basically did nothing for an entire week and went through two seasons of Downton Abbey. (I was also bedridden at the time, but that’s not my point.) I was basically obsessed and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene. I’m a sucker for drama and period pieces and Downton just had the right mix.

So when I stumbled upon Wentworth Hall, I just had to pick it up. The book was pitched as perfect for Downton fans like me. I should have realized that was a bad sign. Despite my initial excitement to read Wentworth Hall, it turned out to be a poorly written book that tried to latch onto the Downton fever.

Obivously, I’m a girl who likes period dramas, but there’s a line where drama becomes excessive. I think that Grahame tries to pack too much in one book. Everything bad that can possibly happen is happening to the Darlingtons. Wentworth Hall is a pretty quick read, and I didn’t feel like anything was developed enough. There was little to no suspense or mystery. I basically figured out all of the secrets as soon as I met each character. Drama isn’t very dramatic when you know what’s going to happen.

I think that Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame could have been passable with the excessive drama if the writing was up to par. Sadly, I just couldn’t overlook the bad quality. The dialogue was poorly written and it made me want to constantly roll my eyes. How can I sympathize with any of the characters when they are constantly whining and being overdramatic? I felt like I was reading a telenovela… and not in a good way. I never really connected with any of the characters, so my interest level in the book wavered as I progressed.

The ending was rushed and practically came out of nowhere. If I had been enjoying this book, I would have been really disappointed by the ending. To be honest, I was just kind of relieved that this train wreck of a book was finally over.

Wenthworth Hall by Abby Grahame was just trying too hard to appeal to Downton Abbey fever.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 7 August, 2013: Finished reading
  • 7 August, 2013: Reviewed