Histfic set in Durham – The Deception of Harriet Fleet – Helen Scarlett

Submitted: 3rd November 2020

Durham drama with Helen Scarlett

Histfic set in Durham – The Deception of Harriet Fleet – Helen Scarlett – One of my favourite novels is Jane Eyre, so when I got the chance to read a novel about a girl who goes to a remote house to look after her new charge…..

There’s going to be secrets here I thought. A dark house in Durham, a child with secrets and a house whose walls will reveal the unexpected. The new governess is called Harriet and we’re told that it’s 1871 and that Harriet would not have taken the job of governess in such a remote place unless she wanted to hide from something or someone.

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A HISTORICAL TALE TO TRANSPORT YOU TO DURHAM

I was very excited to read a novel set in 1871 which takes place in Durham. There’s something very gothic and stately about Durham anyway so to have this kind of novel sat there seemed perfect somehow.

The scene setting is strong – Harriet applies to be a governess at Teesdale Hall and I got all the feels of windswept countryside, a large gothic manor house and a sense of foreboding.

Harriet’s discovers that she is to spy on her charge – teenage Eleanor. Eleanor acts oddly and it’s not just your usual teenager behaviour. There’s something not right in this house and this sense lingers and builds as you read. There are also rumours that the ghost of a murderer haunts these walls….well… reading this on a dark night suddenly took on a whole new meaning!

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This novel has wonderful moments and a few surprises too which was nice. I thought it said a lot in a few words or chapters as the writing was very well crafted. The story flowed easily and I found the main character easy to identify with.

There’s some serious issues here too regarding the role of Victorian women. Women had to stay home and do what their husband said. Unmarried women were expected to marry for money and not love. Even in a big house, the women feel trapped and confined which in fact, they are. A husband who wanted to tighten his grip on his wife’s freedom or behaviour, could send her to an asylum. On his word alone. Men decided the fate of their wives and other women in general. For servants and the ‘lower classes’, the man of the house could have his way and the servant would be the one to get dismissed, in serious trouble, or worse.

There were Whispers of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher here for the calm before the storm feeling the book carried. The mystery was strong and the overall visit to Teesdale Hall made me glad it’s fictional but I also really wanted to go for real!

A debut novel from an author who is definitely on my TBR pile with her upcoming books.