Guilty Knowledge - Softcover

Clare Curzon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1860496873 ISBN 13: 9781860496875

Publisher: Virago, 2000

Synopsis

When policemen arrive at the Earl of Sedgwick's estate to enquire after a missing Italian gentleman, the Earl's daughter-in-law, Eugenie, realises that buried secrets may not remain concealed much longer. Secrets that have bound her to her dangerously unstable sister-in-law - the Honourable Isabelle Delmayne - ever since a trip abroad years before. Then, as the newly graduated daughter of a fashionable dressmaker, Eugenie had thrilled at the chance to accompany the young and beautiful, recently widowed Isabelle through Europe and Africa. But once embarked, the gloss of expectation had rapidly been tarnished by the bitter reality of Isabelle's capricious temper and her taste for subterfuge and unsuitable men. Torn between the demands of duty and station, and an increasing desire to be free of Isabelle, Eugenie had unexpectedly fallen secretly and deeply in love. Isabelle however, had been keeping a secret of her own - one that she intended Eugenie to keep too. Now, with the Italian's body dredged up from a river on the Earl's estate, Eugenie finds the only way to clear her name is to break from Isabelle's tyranny and the duplicity of the past.

About this title

About the Author

Clare Curzon has written romances under the name Rhona Petrie, and historical fiction under the name Marie Buchanan. Her other contemporary Clare Curzon crime novels feature Mike Yeadings and his Thames Valley team. She lives in Gerrards Cross.

From Publishers Weekly

Departing from her successful Thames Valley mystery series, Curzon tells with her usual elegance an intriguing tale of two very different women at the turn of the 20th century. Eugenie, Viscountess Crowthorne, and her sister-in-law, Lady Isabelle Delmayne, share an intricate seven-year relationship involving intimate secrets, blackmail and murder. The discovery of the body of an unknown foreigner near the family estate forces Eugenie to reflect on the possibly tragic consequences of the past. Fresh from school, Eugenie had accompanied the newly widowed Isabelle on a tour of the Continent. Only a few months go by after this tour before Eugenie learns the extent to which Isabelle will go to protect her own reputation at the expense of others, sacrificing even Eugenie's budding romance with an army officer in Egypt. The deceitful Isabelle blackmails Eugenie into helping disguise an illicit pregnancy and later into covering up the possible murder of an Italian doctor who knows too much. When Isabelle's child, Lucy, whom Eugenie adores, becomes a bargaining chip, Eugenie must make some painful personal decisions. The despicable Isabelle retains a few redeeming qualities, while the na?ve Eugenie develops into a discerning young woman. The identity of the dead man and his murderer, revealed at the climax, is almost secondary to the fascinating character study.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Virago
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1860496873
• ISBN 13: 9781860496875
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256