This classic Gothic romance, hailed by the Boston Globe as a gem of its species, tells the spine-tingling story of a young woman caught up in an English manor's shadowed, violent pastand confronted by the very real dangers that lie within
Fanny Davenport has lived at Darkwater ever since she was brought there as a young orphan. She both loves and detests the forbidding English estate on the moors, haunted by the death of its long-ago mistress. When the scream of a bird caught in the chimney pierces the gloom one night, she knows it to be a harbinger of violent things to come.
It all begins when Fanny boards a ship to pick up two Chinese children who have been entrusted to her uncle's care. But Adam Marsh, the handsome stranger who hands over the sister and brother, may be an imposter. Then the children's elderly amah disappears. The reappearance of Adam Marsh only raises more questions. Can Fanny trust him? Is he her only ally against a cunning killer waiting to claim one more life?
Review
The manners and very proper morals of the time are as carefully authenticated as the tightly knit plot structure . . .The flavor of Jane Austen . . .There is a sly humor and a pretty wit. Her characters are very human . . . Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore. I guarantee you a rewarding evening by the fire. The Boston Globe
A dark mansion near Dartmoor, a charmingly sensible heroine, an unusually well-drawn villain, echoes of the Crimean War, an escaped convict on the moors, a touch of chinoiserieall add up in Darkwater to a delightfully readable tale.The New York Times
About the Author
Dorothy Eden (19121982) was the internationally acclaimed author of more than forty bestselling gothic, romantic suspense, and historical novels. Born in New Zealand, where she attended school and worked as a legal secretary, she moved to London in 1954 and continued to write prolifically. Eden's novels are known for their suspenseful, spellbinding plots, finely drawn characters, authentic historical detail, and often a hint of spookiness. Her novel of pioneer life in Australia, The Vines of Yarrabee, spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list. Her gothic historical novels Ravenscroft, Darkwater, and Winterwood are considered by critics and readers alike to be classics of the genre.