is the slowest read of the series thus far too dark, Looking forward to it being over, . . and hoping the next one returns to her previous tone of writing, : William IV, Victoria the Railway Age George Hudson
The industrial age is sweeping through England and the Stephensons are planning the greatest engineering scheme ever undertaken a railway line from Liverpool to London.
At Morland Place, Nicholas had hoped that his brother Benedict had been banished for ever, But railway fever brings Benedict back to York as an engineer on the Leeds amp Selby line, When plans are formed to bring the railway to York, Nicholas not only fears his brother may steal his inheritance, but that the iron horse will destroy the very Morland lands.
The conflict between the brothers mirrors the nation's battle between old and new, I have read and loved all the previous ones to different degrees but did not enjoy this
one at all, I missed other characters Lucy, Sophie, Thomas etc who just vanished whilst the Nicky/Bendy saga was resolved, I found Bendy ridiculously wet in the previous book who lets themselves be accused of a hideous murder and banishes themselves from a beloved parent when they have an alibi! and he was just as bad in this one.
I couldn't wait for Nicholas to die and it all be over, In fact I basically skip read it until that happened and I could then relax and read it properly, Hopefully the next one will bring back other characters and hopefully Roasalind will either grow up / die of cholera and open up the way for Sibbella, This episode was darker than any other Morland Dynasty book so far, Some very Gothic happenings. Can't wait for the next one! The Morland Dynasty saga has reached the Industrial Revolution and the coming of the railroad about, I enjoy this series very much and continue to await each new installment eagerly, HarrodEagles does tend to intersperse lengthy bits of British history into her stories, but I don't mind that, If you can manage the history, the family saga is fascinating and I think the history is too, Recommended. Second Reading
Finally! After reading The Abyss a second time, I think I understand who the evil “PiePowder Man” really was/is, The Strangest Morland Dynasty so far, But. You have to keep reading!! Finally, he's dead, About time, too. I agree with the other reviewers this was a very dark book, It had very few likeable characters and frankly, while the Cain and Abel storyline had to be resolved, even Benedict made some stupid decisions that were just DUMB.
The major reveals were pretty odd and I just didn't think that they worked, I will continue reading the series as the next book deals with the other hidden girl, Charlotte, I find it interesting that the series has a lot of the same things happening over and over again, madness, fortune hunters, etc, but I think that HarrodEagles is really making a point about how no matter when you are living, or how modern you are the same kind of foibles can happen in any time period.
In spite of the low rating I gave this novel, I want to emphasize that I am a fervent fan of The Morland Dynasty Series sinceand that this novel is wellwritten.
BUT I must hasten to add that "sitelinkThe Abyss" is a novel laden with tragedies and various dark elements, Heartache and despair abound. The Morlands seem to be poised for an irreversible decline in their fortunes as Britain begins to embrace railways and the full force of the Industrial Revolution, Glimmers and sparks of hope and renewal show themselves here and there, which should encourage any reader to stay with the novel, Her usual tour de force, a great tale about Benedict and Nicky Moreland as well as great context of Victorian social customs and niceties, Particularly interesting was the background of the expansion of the railways, On top of all that, I find her writing style very fluid and never dull, taken from my Blog Postafter borrowing the book from the local library, Part of a series book, but it's possible to read as a stand alone,
It seems a strange place to start at BookI know, but actually this is a book that my Mother picked up on a library run during the snowy period in December.
and she just grabbed it and hurried back to the warmth of the log burner, In actual fact, she rejected it without reading it, . . I on the other hand, desperate for other authors to read, thought I would give it a go before it went back, I'm so glad I did actually and proves a point that you should expand your horizons in the literary field,
It couldn't be described as a love story exactly, but there is love found and love betrayed within its pages,
I am now keen to go back and read the otherbooks, Don't worry though as it is perfectly possible to read it as an individual body of work,
Set inin the height of the industrial revolution it's the story of Morland Place in Yorkshire, the story of Nicholas the owner of Morland Place and his younger brother, Benedict.
Nicholas had banished Bendy for ever, but it seems that the railway fever sweeping the country has brought his brother back to York, Stuck in the past, and hating the railway equally as much as his brother, Nicky in a frenzy of panic and a certain amount of cunning that goes wrong marries the sister of a childhood friend to stop any hope that his brother might have of getting his hands on Morland Place.
Since his banishment Bendy has carved out a life, albeit a lonely one, as a Railway Engineer, He falls in love with the beautiful Rosalind Fleetham, but lack of fortune means that he cannot have her, Luckily for him then an old mistress leaves him a vast fortune and he returns to claim Miss Fleetham for his own and assist in the plans to bring the railway to York.
With conflict aplenty, mental illness, depravity fed by a sinister steward and a certain amount of cruelty it's a brilliantly crafted tale, I would highly recommend you give it a try,
AStar read, I don't know which of the brothers was hardest to read about, Poor, mad, bad Nicki or painfully naive Benedict, whichever, it was a painful read, Cynthia Harrod Eagles aka sitelink Emma Woodhouse, sitelink Elizabeth BennettCynthia Harrod Eagles was born onAugustin Shepherds Bush, London, England, where was educated at Burlington School, a girls charity school founded in, and at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, where she studied English, history and philosophy.
She had a variety of jobs in the commercial world, starting as a junior cashier at Woolworths and working her way down to Pensions Officer at the BBC.
She wrote her first novel while at university and inwon the Young Writers Award with The Waiting Game, The birth of the MORLAND DYNASTY series enabled Cynthia Harrod Eagles to become a full time writer in, The series was originally intended Cynthia Harrod Eagles aka sitelink Emma Woodhouse, sitelink Elizabeth BennettCynthia Harrod Eagles was born onAugustin Shepherd's Bush, London, England, where was educated at Burlington School, a girls' charity school founded in, and at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, where she studied English, history and philosophy.
She had a variety of jobs in the commercial world, starting as a junior cashier at Woolworth's and working her way down to Pensions Officer at the BBC.
She wrote her first novel while at university and inwon the Young Writers' Award with The Waiting Game, The birth of the MORLAND DYNASTY series enabled Cynthia Harrod Eagles to become a full time writer in, The series was originally intended to comprise twelve volumes, but it has proved so popular that it has now been extended to thirty four, Inshe won the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award with Emily, the third volume of her Kirov Saga, a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia.
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