Mrs England by Stacey Halls

Synopsis
West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from 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.

Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband, and is far from the ‘angel of the house’ Ruby was expecting. As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew. Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby must face her demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there’s no such thing as the perfect family – and she should know.

Review
I have loved Stacey Hall’s previous two novels so was excited to be invited to be part of her new book Mrs England. Ruby May is a sought after Norland Nurse and when her employers decide to move to New York she doesn’t want to go with them. She is offered a position in Yorkshire to care for the four children of Mr and Mrs England, wealthy mill owners. What at first seems like the perfect position soon begins to tarnish, with strange events and a mistress who seems distant. Ruby has a feeling of unease, but she has secrets of her own that she doesn’t want exposed.

Mrs England is another brilliant novel from Stacy Halls, and like her previous books has a underlying sense of unease. The eponymous Mrs England is mistress of Hardcastle House, a place she grew up in with her family, wealthy from the indusrial revolution with their cotton mills. But, she seems very distant from her family, who she treats with disdain, especially her mother. She seems fragile,and disconnected not wanting to spend much time with her children, which Ruby finds strange. The title maybe Mrs England but the book mainly revolves around Ruby. Coming from an impoverished family, she gained a scholarship to the Norland Institute, and is much liked by her previous employer and those who run the institute. She came from a large family so loves looking after the four England children, but is confused as to why their mother is so distant and why she must report to Mr England instead. Ruby is enamoured with Mr England, his good looks, charm and his way with children; he seems the perfect husband and father. But of course no one is perfect, and Ruby sees cracks start to appear. Ruby has her own backstory which is drip fed during the book. She writes to her younger sister Elsie frequently, and we know Elsie has health problems which is why Ruby sends half her wage home every month to help pay for her care. However, we are left wondering why she has a bundle of letters from her father, unopened and hidden among her private possessions, and why she doesn’t want her photograph with the England family to appear in the paper.

Like in her previous books Stacey Halls is brilliant in the creation of her characters, especially the women in their roles as wife, mother, daughter and friend. As the book progresses Stacey Halls makes the reader question the characters, their back story and their actions. This adds to the suspense and menace of the book, we know somthing is wrong but not what. Taken what we know now about the danger of cotton mills it was fascinating to read the descriptions of how they work. The children love the ‘snow’ room where the cotton threads fall to the ground like snow, but we now know that that caused respiratory disease. Also shocking is the how the injuries, maninly to children, were just part of life at the mill. In contrast to the industrial setting is the stunning scenery of Yorkshire. The crags, waterfalls, flora and fauna are beautifully described, and whilst stunning also have their own menace, especially in bad weather and at night.

Stacey Halls seems to go from strength to strength with her writing. Mrs England is a wonderful read in both setting and character study. The tension, suspense and menace build slowly towards a surprising conclusion that had me totally enthralled. Beautifully written, and utterly compelling, I adored reading Mrs England, and was sad I had to finish it. I highly recommend this book and you can reade my review of Stacy Halls previous books here The Foundling by Stacey Halls The Familiars by Stacey Halls