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The English wife / Lauren Willig.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : St. Martin's Press, 2018Copyright date: ©2017Edition: First editionDescription: 376 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250056276
  • 1250056276
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 813/.6 23
LOC classification:
  • PS3623.I575 E54 2018
Summary: Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life in 1890s New York: he's the scion of an old Knickerbocker family, she grew up in a Tudor house in England, they had a fairytale romance in London, they have three-year-old twins on whom they dote, and he's recreated her family home on the banks of the Hudson and named it Illyria. Yes, there are rumors that she's having an affair with the architect, but rumors are rumors, and people will gossip. But then Bayard is found dead with a knife in his chest on the night of their Twelfth Night Ball, Annabelle goes missing, presumed drowned, and the papers go mad. Bay's sister, Janie, forms an unlikely alliance with a reporter to try to uncover the truth, convinced that Bay would never have killed his wife, that it must be a third party, but the more she learns about her brother and his wife, the more everything she thought she knew about them starts to unravel. Who were her brother and his wife, really? And why did her brother die with the name George on his lips?
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Book Book Bedford Public Library Fiction Fiction F WIL Available 32500005417580
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig comes The English Wife , a scandalous novel set in the Gilded Age full of family secrets, affairs, and even murder.

"Brings to life old world New York City and London with all the splendor of two of my favorite novels, The Age of Innocence and The Crimson Petal and the White . Mystery, murder, mistaken identity, romance--Lauren Willig weaves each strand into a page-turning tapestry."--Sally Koslow, author of The Widow Waltz

"Her best yet...A dark and scintillating tale of betrayal, secrets and a marriage gone wrong that will have readers on the edge of their seats until the final breathtaking twist."--Pam Jenoff, N ew York Times bestselling author of The Orphan's Tale

A Book of the Month club pick!

Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life in New York: he's the scion of an old Knickerbocker family, she grew up in a Tudor house in England, they had a fairytale romance in London, they have three-year-old twins on whom they dote, and he's recreated her family home on the banks of the Hudson and named it Illyria. Yes, there are rumors that she's having an affair with the architect, but rumors are rumors and people will gossip. But then Bayard is found dead with a knife in his chest on the night of their Twelfth Night Ball, Annabelle goes missing, presumed drowned, and the papers go mad. Bay's sister, Janie, forms an unlikely alliance with a reporter to try to uncover the truth, convinced that Bay would never have killed his wife, that it must be a third party, but the more she learns about her brother and his wife, the more everything she thought she knew about them starts to unravel. Who were her brother and his wife, really? And why did her brother die with the name George on his lips?

Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life in 1890s New York: he's the scion of an old Knickerbocker family, she grew up in a Tudor house in England, they had a fairytale romance in London, they have three-year-old twins on whom they dote, and he's recreated her family home on the banks of the Hudson and named it Illyria. Yes, there are rumors that she's having an affair with the architect, but rumors are rumors, and people will gossip. But then Bayard is found dead with a knife in his chest on the night of their Twelfth Night Ball, Annabelle goes missing, presumed drowned, and the papers go mad. Bay's sister, Janie, forms an unlikely alliance with a reporter to try to uncover the truth, convinced that Bay would never have killed his wife, that it must be a third party, but the more she learns about her brother and his wife, the more everything she thought she knew about them starts to unravel. Who were her brother and his wife, really? And why did her brother die with the name George on his lips?

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

It is 1899, and Bay and Annabelle are the golden couple of Gilded Age New York, enjoying a life of wealth and privilege. That is, until Bay is found murdered during a masquerade ball, and a missing Annabelle is accused of the crime. Bay's sister Janie defies her autocratic mother to investigate what really happened, with the help of an attractive journalist. Parallel to Janie's story is that of young singer Georgie, who struggles to make ends meet in 1894 London. But from whom is Georgie running, and what is her connection to Janie? Willig, best known for her best-selling "Pink Carnation" series, has a knack for creating sympathetic characters and fully fleshed settings, adding some juicy plot twists to this atmospheric period piece. VERDICT Fans of historical mystery series such as those by Victoria Thompson or Lawrence H. Levy will appreciate this stand-alone drama. [See Prepub Alert, 7/0/17.]-Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Fans of romantic suspense will best appreciate this whodunit set in 1899 from bestseller Willig (The Ashford Affair). Janie Van Duyvil feels insignificant and out-of-place at a fancy Twelfth Night dinner party that her brother, Bay, and his wife, Annabelle, throw at the ancestral family home in Cold Spring, N.Y. Her self-pity is quickly superseded by horror after a cousin of hers stumbles on Bay lying on the ground outside the house, bleeding from a dagger wound. Bay utters the name George before expiring. Annabelle's subsequent disappearance and a tabloid's instant assertion that Bay murdered her before committing suicide heighten the tragedy of his death. Determined to exonerate her sibling, Janie turns investigator, finding passion and love along the way. Flashbacks to 1894 London introduce a woman known as Georgie and describe her initial encounter with Bay, interrupting the momentum of Janie's story line, and awkward prose ("Fragments of poetry danced through her mind like crystal baubles") is a minus. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Willig, author of the popular Pink Carnation series, transports readers to the last decade of the nineteenth century in her latest offering. Tragedy strikes at a ball at the home of handsome, wealthy New Yorker Bayard Van Duyvil and his lovely English wife, Annabelle, when Bayard is fatally stabbed and Annabelle disappears. Bayard's sister, Janie, is certain she saw Annabelle floating unconscious in the river by the house shortly before Janie and her cousin discovered Bayard. The newspapers paint the shocking events as a murder-suicide, with Bayard as the perpetrator. Janie is determined to get to the truth, and when she catches nosy but charming reporter James Burke snooping around her house, she decides to enlist his help. Sparks fly between the two as they discover Annabelle may not have been who she claimed to be. Willig alternates between Janie and Burke's investigation in 1899 and Bayard and Annabelle's courtship five years before to reveal both Bayard's and Annabelle's many secrets. The pages fly fast and furious in this thoroughly engaging, suspenseful yarn.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2017 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

In the late 1800s, a woman investigates the mysterious circumstances behind her brother's death.Janie Van Duyvil has always felt like a wallflower, even among her own family. Her brother, Bayard, and her cousin Anne were best friends, leaving her out. Her imposing mother clearly favored Bay while expecting Janie to follow all her orders. When Bay takes a trip to London, he comes home with a mysterious new wife, Annabelle. No one seems to know much about Annabelle's past, especially not Janie. But when Janie and Anne find Bay dying during a lavish party at his house, a knife stuck in his chest, everything changes. Annabelle is nowhere to be found, and Janie is the only one who hears Bay's final word: "George." As people gossip and the papers invent stories about Bay and Annabelle, Janie wants to find out the truth. Rumors swirl: that Annabelle was having an affair, that Bay murdered her, and that Annabelle might actually have been an imposter. Together with a reporter named Burke (and against her mother's wishes), Janie begins to secretly investigate Bay's life and the circumstances behind his death. As she learns more, she starts to wonder whom she can trust. Is her own family hiding things from her? What about the man from Annabelle's past who claims to know who she really was? And does Burke really care about her, or is he just using her to get a story? The multitude of characters can be a bit confusing at first, but as the plot picks up, the novel turns into an engaging read. Willig (The Other Daughter, 2015, etc.) creates a story that is full of rich historical details about the Gilded Age in New Yorkthe jewels, the luxurious fashions, the opulent homes, and the scandal that lurked behind the beautiful exteriors. The mystery is not easily solved, and readers will find themselves guessing until the very end. And though the story is primarily about the mystery behind Annabelle and Bay, it also features a satisfying romance between Janie and Burke.A dark, romantic mystery full of twists and turns. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Lauren Willig majored in renaissance studies and political science at Yale University, studied English history at Harvard University, and received a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. She started writing the Pink Carnation series during law school. She practiced as a litigation associate at a large New York law firm for a year and a half before deciding to become a full-time writer.

(Bowker Author Biography)

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