Boon's Bookcase

 Mrs England

by

Stacey Halls

West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly-graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple form a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there's something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England.

Ostracised by the other servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, soon a series of strange events will force Ruby to question everything she thought she knew . . .

Review

When Ruby May qualifies from the prestigious Norland Nanny College in London in 1904, no one is more surprised than her and she is soon placed with a family in London, but as they are emigrating to America, she feels she cannot go because of her own family in Birmingham, so when she finds out about a post in Yorkshire to look after 4 children whose parents own a cotton mill and are in need of a nanny, she asks to be placed with them. 

Charles England runs a cotton mill which belongs to his wife Lilian's family and at first Ruby thinks that Lilian behaves very strangely. She is distant to the children and spends most of the day in her bedroom, but as the weeks go on, it is Charles whose behaviour is taking Ruby by surprise. 

Ruby takes to the children immediately and soon builds a bond with them, but when they send their eldest daughter away to school, it sees the start of a turbulent time at Hardcastle House and Ruby feels out of her depth.

I loved this book (as I did all of this author's previous books) and the way the author describes the characters and places is fabulous. All her books are very well researched and this clearly shows in her writing.