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Beneath the Attic

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 “I will probably be clutching Flowers in the Attic…on my deathbed.” —Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl

Forbidden passions have shaped and haunted the Dollanganger family since their first novel—Flowers in the Attic—debuted forty years ago. Now discover how twisted the family roots truly are, and witness the clan’s origins as a result of one wild and complicated relationship. In this evocative and thrilling tale from New York Times bestselling author V.C. Andrews, see Corrine Dixon as a young girl and discover the fascinating family history of the Dollanganger clan.

Two generations before Corinne Foxworth locked her children in an attic, her grandmother, a gorgeous young girl named Corrine Dixon, is swept away by the charms of rich, sophisticated, and handsome Garland Foxworth. After discovering that she’s pregnant, Garland does what appears to be the honorable thing and marries her in a huge ceremony on the luxurious Foxworth Hall grounds. Both families fervently overlook the pregnancy, happy for a suitable resolution.

Now the mistress of a labyrinthine estate, Corrine discovers that nothing is what is seems. Garland is not the man once captivated by her charms, and she’s increasingly troubled by his infatuation with memories of his departed mother.

Can Corrine survive this strange new life? Or is her fate already sealed?

Explore the origins of the legendary Dollanganger family in this page-turning, gripping gothic thriller. Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary Fiction Exciting
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This idea has completely run out of steam by this point. There is barely enough plot in the last two books to make one decent novel. Nicely read though.

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The new ghostwritten prequel of the Dollanganger saga focuses on the mother of Malcolm Foxworth and the tragic backstory of the first Corrine.
However this book was missing something - the language and dialogue broke the consistency of 18th century Virginia and this stood out as I read further into this novel. Corrine was a character that was supposed to be written out of place and time, but her obnoxious, overtly sexual and naive persona made her difficult to sympathise or like. There were also slight inconsistencies from the original series. The relationship with Corrine and Garland previously written as a loving and compassionate relationship, now is a creepy and inappropriate relationship. Their relationship goes into abusive and non consensual territory, making their relationship much more problematic and yet, it didn’t delve into the psychological and emotional consequences of said abuse throughout most of the plot.
Towards the end, this book seemed to find a narrative flow. The seeds of the conflict started to be planted, but everything before that just felt like filler - even plot points that would’ve caused real conflicts weren’t delved into. Corrine and Garland’s relationship could’ve been interesting if it wasn’t portrayed as romantic through the protagonist’s perspective throughout most of the novel - if Corrine saw it for what it was, the complexity of this flawed engagement would be interesting. Only when Corrine was in Foxworth Hall did the story actually give the storyline that dark edge, but it was nearly the end when that finally happened.

As I listened to the audiobook, Dara Rosenberg gave a strong dramatic reading and really gave the story emotion and character.

Had potential, but the story started too late.

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