by Natasha Solomons
December 2011
Plume
Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly. ~ Notice pinned to the door of Tyneford Church by departing villagers, Christmas Eve, 1941
It has been a long time since I last read a book that brought me this much joy while simultaneously causing me to sob uncontrollably upon finishing it. A friend recommended this one and I started it thinking "I'll just read it slowly in between my other more exciting young adult fantasy books." Well within about ten pages it was the only book I was reading, as fast as I could, desperate to completely immerse myself in the beautiful English countryside and the stately house at Tyneford.
It is 1938 and nineteen-year-old Jewish Elise Landau can no longer stay in the glittering city of Vienna. But visas are extremely hard to come by, and Elise is forced to find work as a housemaid in an English home in order to escape Austria. Now, rather than attending glamorous parties with her friends, Elise is serving drinks. When she would have once donned beautiful gowns, she is now hemming them. Instead of meeting new and exciting young men, Elise is, erm, still meeting new and exciting young men. The young master of the house to be exact. (nudge nudge wink wink) But no place is truly safe, and war is coming to Tyneford.
I don't want to give much more away. Yes, the characters are a little cliche. Almost to the point that I was using characters from Downton Abbey as points of reference. But that was perfectly forgivable seeing as how I love Downton Abbey and don't currently have any new episodes to watch. The story itself wasn't groundbreakingly original either, but the background story that deals with a novel in a viola was powerful and mysterious. Elise endured so much in order to love not just once, but twice in her life (I have to admit to being a little disgruntled about the love story, but never mind that). The House at Tyneford is a beautiful, romantic tragedy set against the backdrop of Jane Austen's English countryside, right before it disappeared forever.
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