Book Review : The House of Glass by Susan Fletcher
Here is a brief review of this month’s Book Circle book, The House of Glass, by Susan Fletcher. The story is about a partly disabled and naive young woman who has come to Hidcote Manor in the summer of 1914 to install exotic plants from Kew Gardens in the owner’s new glass house. She finds the house and its owner full of mystery, the house possibly haunted by the ghost of a young woman who had been buried in the gardens, and the owner mostly absent. She also has to cope with spiteful village gossip and feuds going back decades. A ‘Ghost Hunter’ comes to investigate the hauntings, but gets into trouble with both the staff and the owner. I won’t spoil the ending, but it is something of a surprise.
Hidcote Manor is a real place, a National Trust house with a lovely garden in Gloucestershire, which plays a significant part in the story. Hidcote Manor Website
The group had a fairly consistent opinion of the book, finding it enjoyable, but not so much as to read another by the same author. Most found the plot rather contrived, but the quality of the writing drew the reader in. Some of the words used to describe it were Surprising, Strange and Atmospheric.
