by Melvyn Bragg
First published 1988
A charming stranger appears in the Lake District village of Buttermere, drawn by tales of Mary Robinson, the innkeeper's daughter celebrated throughout England for her natural beauty. Writers and tourists have made pilgrimages to glimpse this rural Venus, transforming her into a symbol of unspoiled English womanhood. The mysterious visitor courts Mary with practiced ease, presenting himself as a gentleman of means. She finds herself swept into a romance that promises escape from her simple life serving ale to curious visitors. Yet the man who wins her heart harbors dangerous secrets. He carries the weight of previous deceptions and a wife he has abandoned. As their courtship deepens into marriage, Mary remains unaware that her husband's past threatens to destroy the future she imagines. The collision between her innocent hopes and his criminal reality will test whether love built on lies can survive the truth.
Genres: fiction, romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, secrets
Setting: Buttermere, Lake District
Period: 19th-century
478 pages · Paperback · Sceptre / Hodder & Stoughton