Amazing research!

So well researched! Fascinating, engaging, well structured with a good pace. A very interesting piece of history.

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a true story to keep you riveted

wonderful characters & a really amazing story so well read by just the right narrator.

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2 people found this helpful

Fascinating family mystery/history

I really enjoyed this book - it has intrigue, a love story, tragedy and history. Beautifully narrated at a good pace.

The only reason I haven't given it 5 is because at times it could be long-winded and there was repetition, which confused me!

I think I preferred Black Diamonds.

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11 people found this helpful

Enthralling story , excellent narration.

Excellent narration, enjoyed the first part of the book the best, feeling really intrigued by the mystery in the story. Later on I sometimes felt a little confused with all the comings & goings concerning the war and the many letters & perhaps the author over emphasised this aspect ( just a little) to illustrate the point of the story. Overall though really enjoyed this title.

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1 person found this helpful

Hidden story; family secrets

I read Catherine Bailey’s book about the coal dynasty in the north. It was a real eye opener and probably one of the best non fiction titles I’ve read.

Until Secret Rooms. Absolutely blown away by the story of Belvoir Castle. I lived in Grantham for some years, so I’m familiar with the castle, the estate and the area, but this book opened up a whole new history which was a revelation.

I’ve visited the castle numerous times over the years, but I had no idea about the stories that lie behind this book. Catherine Bailey starts on one journey but her intrepid investigation takes her down @ different route, in many ways, this reads like a thriller. The author discovers significant omissions in family archive papers. Her resolute exploration of other papers, letters and archived resources takes the reader on a truly unforgettable journey. The First World War is central, along with truth and deception . It works at every level. The final roll call, to my surprise, brought me to tears.

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Needs serious editing

I thorough enjoyed Black Diamonds so approached this with high expectations but was disappointed. The first few pages are a mess veering from a description of the castle, a dying duke, the doctors attending him, to maids polishing the ballroom floor and their fear of ghosts to the man who rang the dinner gong and back to the docs. Set in Belvoir castle, and focussing on three gaps in the family archives, the following story is interesting but very very repetitive in the manner of TV progs that remind you of the story after each ad break. Needs serious editing. Not really a patch on black diamonds.

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5 people found this helpful

Curious research around the 9th Duke of Rutland

Fascinating insight into a family’s quest to keep their son alive by keeping him out of the First World War. Not really a story rather the record of the research which uncovered the secrets of the 9th duke. I became curious about this story after a visit to Belvoir castle the ancestral home of the dukes of Rutland. A bit repetitive at times with lots about WW1. But I enjoyed the story, the narration was good

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Strange but true !!!!

Would you listen to The Secret Rooms: A True Gothic Mystery again? Why?

Yes I would listen to this book again because I found it a more compelling listen then many fiction novels. In fact at times I had to remind myself that it was not a novel.

What did you like best about this story?

That is was true, that the hero/villain of the plot had actually existed, and also the way in which the writer had set out to research one subject but uncovered the initial information which led to this book being written. I also found the methodology of the research interesting. Also, the book is not written like many non-fiction or biographical books. The prose is lively and perfectly read.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

No particular scene but overall the relationships between the different individuals was quite fascinating.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, not particularly, but neither was it a book that I did not want to finish.

Any additional comments?

I shall never visit Belvoir again without remembering this book and the secret rooms !!!!!!!

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6 people found this helpful

A little confusing sometimes, but AMAZING

If you could sum up The Secret Rooms: A True Gothic Mystery in three words, what would they be?

I don't do three words: I'd sum up by saying these family secrets are true; we've come to expect secrets/revelations to be of the costume drama variety and many seem disappointed when they are perhaps not on that scale. But these secrets/revelations are true, and the fact that at least one - if not two - would have been illegal/serious criminal offences surely cannot make them run-of-the-mill as some reviewers have suggested.

What other book might you compare The Secret Rooms: A True Gothic Mystery to, and why?

Black Diamonds also by Catherine equally deals with the history of a landed gentry family.

What about Stephen Rashbrook’s performance did you like?

His performance was excellent and kept me riveted, even through the more difficult parts.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had an incredible emotional reaction to the book when - having had a wonderful visit to Haddon Hall only weeks earlier - realised two of the figures being discussed were the two figures who had captured my imagination with their tragic story during my Haddon visit. It really made the entire story 3-dimensional from that point onwards.

Any additional comments?

Having recently become very acquainted with the story of two key figures from the book at Haddon Hall, this was an absolutely riveting listen for me. I would have given it five stars (particularly for the narration) save for the fact that I do think Catherine had lost the structure somewhat as so many things came to light.

It should be remembered this book came out completely differently to the book Catherine was actually researching; and so the revelations as discovered take the book in different directions. Some reviewers have commented this 'bogged it down'/made it confusing - I didn't find this was the case, but felt that - as with any researcher coming across pieces of information that need to be later linked together - we were presented with Catherine's raw research as she found it rather than 'tidy stories+summaries'. I can understand this would be irksome to people who like stories to be clean and neat - but this is the truth about a family, not a Downton Abbey episode. Some of the items discovered cannot be concluded because the evidence is not there to do so, and I admire Catherine that she had the courage to simply present the evidence and leave things open, allowing you to consider what may have happened instead of surmising a conclusion that could be totally untrue.

The only reason I have dropped a star is because the book presented the discoveries in the order Catherine discovered them yet wasn't particularly a book about Catherine as a researcher. Therefore items ran into each other in the order they were found, not a chronological order (i.e. we jumped about between the death of a Duke, his army career, back to a tragedy in his childhood and early life, back to the army, over to Charles I ciphers, then family feuds, etc). So, it was sometimes hard to keep track of what was discovery was linking to what. But I think the key is to remember this is all true: and if the evidence isn't there to provide a convenient Downton Abbey conclusion it's actually quite exciting to be left with 'well, what do I think happened!'.

If you like clean, drama-series stories and conclusions you probably won't like this; but if you would love to listen to the findings of a meticulous researcher who presents her findings and then says 'so what do you make of that then?' and you won't necessarily have a concluding answer because that evidence isn't there, you will love it.

Personally, in relation to just one of the revelations - having visited Haddon Hall and been touched by the personal tragedy the family experienced, the book gave me some understanding as to why - through unimaginable grief and a complete misunderstanding - John's mother may have reacted to him the way she did in his early life. Not to condone their parental actions at all (they were terrible and tragic) but - when grief can be described as a madness of the mind - the book can explain and give understanding to them, and show the terrible effects such a loss can have.

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent! Fascinating, compelling tale

Painstaking research has led to the revelation of a fascinating story. Couldn't' put it doesn't!

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1 person found this helpful