The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie KlassenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am a huge fan of Julie Klassen and she sure didn't disappoint in her newest novel! Miss Aubrey has been a disgrace to her family and even thought it's not appropriate for a young woman to be on her own, Mariah is sent to live with her Aunt Francesca Prin-Hallsley. She is only allowed to take her companion, Ms. Dixon with her.
Upon her arrival, Miss Aubrey and Ms. Dixon are assigned to live in the Gatehouse. It's not quite what they had intended on but it would make do! Shortly after getting settled in, Mariah is summoned to the "big house" where her Aunt resides. Her Aunt gives her a precious gift. One in which Hugh Prin-Hallsley (step-son of Aunt Francesca) wants...desperately.
This book is full of mystery, suspense, love, redemption, and comedic acting! We learn of Miss Aubrey's love for the theater and writing and of Captain Prince's adventures at sea. It's difficult for me to focus on a favorite part of this book because there were just so many!
I did learn a couple of things that I was not aware of from this time period: I did not know it was considered "inappropriate" to be a single woman beyond the teen years. I was also not aware that Jane Austen was not revealed as the author of her works until after her death since it was inappropriate for a woman to author books. The Author Note at the end of the book was very helpful to me in understanding this novel better.
Many thanks to Julie and Bethany House for providing a copy of this book to review for the CFBA tour!
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I would have liked to have seen more spiritual development. There were multiple mentions of the Mariah's and Matthew's spiritual issues that were never resolved later in the book. However, I immensely enjoyed The Girl in the Gatehouse and I heartily recommend it to anyone who is a fan of historical romances.
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