Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.
My intro this week is from The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and The Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell
Blurb
The extraordinary story of the Druce-Portland affair, one of the most notorious, tangled and bizarre legal cases of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.
In 1897 an elderly widow, Anna Maria Druce, made a strange request of the London Ecclesiastical Court: it was for the exhumation of the grave of her late father-in-law, T.C. Druce.
Behind her application lay a sensational claim: that Druce had been none other than the eccentric and massively wealthy 5th Duke of Portland, and that the – now dead – Duke had faked the death of his alter ego. When opened, Anna Maria contended, Druce’s coffin would be found to be empty. And her children, therefore, were heirs to the Portland millions.
The extraordinary legal case that followed would last for ten years. Its eventual outcome revealed a dark underbelly of lies lurking beneath the genteel facade of late Victorian England. Goodreads
First Chapter ~ First Paragraph ~ Intro
It was a dark, windy winter evening a few days before Christmas 1879. The occupants of the saloon carriage of the train of the Great Central Railway Company that rattled from King’s Cross Station in the direction of Sheffield were tense and silent. In the carriage sat a young man of twenty-two. He was pale, with a high forehead and heavily hooded eyes. Also in the carriage sat five other people: two younger men, a sickly boy, a pensive and alert-looking little girl of six years old, and an older woman who regarded the other occupants with anxious attention. All the party were dressed in sombre black, the garb of deep mourning. Every so often, the countryside bordering the line would light up as the train approached a town: Luton, Northampton, Leicester or Nottingham. In the wells of shadow in between, nothing was discernable from the carriage windows, save – as the train toiled further north – the dark mass of Sherwood Forest.
I can’t resist this tale of lies, deceit and hypocrisy of Victorian England and that foreboding opening sets the tone well.
What do you think? Do you want to know more? Would you keep reading?
Yes, I think I would keep reading actually. Enjoy your book!
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Thank you Sandra!
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I love the sound of the blurb, so fascinating and different. I really want to know what happens, but the sound of the opening doesn’t completely draw me in. I would potentially keep reading though! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I hope you have a great week!
My Tuesday post
Juli @ Universe in Words
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Thank you for visiting, it is a book I’ve been looking forward to reading for quite a while.
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Very descriptive. I would read more for sure. Enjoy
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Thank you Diane 🙂
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This does interest me, Cleo – quite a lot! I enjoy historical mysteries, and this one sounds so intriguing! It’s especially interesting to know it was based on true events.
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I have to admit I’ve only just started this one but I’m so keen to find out exactly what happened during this extraordinary legal saga.
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What a great title. Hard to resist. I don’t read enough books set in this era. Definitely one I’d like to read.
Thanks for stopping by my post.
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It is a very long title – I do hope it is going to fit when I come to write my review 😉 thanks for returning my visit 🙂
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Interesting stuff!
My teaser this week is from a YA paranormal novel: http://pdworkman.com/excerpt-from-empath-by-becca-j-campbell/
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Thanks for leaving your link 🙂
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Sounds like a really good story. Enjoy!
Thanks for visiting my blog.
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Thank you Catherine 🙂
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Oh, the opener is so suspenseful and the hint of gloom and doom hangs over everyone. I want to know more! Thanks for sharing…and here’s mine: “EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES”
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I think it is a great opening – I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into this one properly now.
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And then you read advice that says don’t put too much description in the very beginning because it can bore people. I’m honestly not sure I would pick this up, it’s not quite my style, but to each their own.
So interesting–I’ve started doing analyses on the first 250 words of successful novels as I’m trying to revise the opening of my own. Will definitely be stopping by the blog you mentioned!
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I do hope Diane’s blog links give you some material to work with. I like this opening as I think it suits the mood of the book – as you say different things work for different people.
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The blurb totally confused me, but the intro was atmospheric and enticing. I would need to know a bit more about what direction this story would be heading but a solid “maybe” from me. Enjoy!
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Thank you – I have only just started this but think it is going to be a hit with me. 🙂
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The intro didn’t really grab me, but the title does! I’d keep reading a bit more based on that…
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It certainly is a long title – I’ve been looking forward to reading this for a while 🙂
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I would really like to read it. It’s very interesting. This is a true story, right?
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Yes, it is based upon real events – the book is lovely it has proper picture plates in the centre.
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I’m already intrigued by this book and waiting to hear what you think of it, and I must say the opening paragraph makes me even keener – nice writing style…
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I’ve only just started this one, it is a beautiful book and I do like the style so I’m looking forward to getting properly stuck into this one 🙂
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Well, that is a title. Really long. LOL
I love tales set in the Victorian era. It was such an interesting time. So buttoned up in some ways and very odd underneath. Always makes me think of rainy nights, fog, shadows, Jack the Ripper….
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It is a bit – I’m hoping it will fit on the title bar when I come to review 😉
Even better this one is based on real and very odd events which so far have involved a stately home, a railway and a cemetery!
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This sounds like a great read, Cleo! Thanks for stopping by mine at http://wp.me/pZnGI-mW
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I’m so glad you like the sound of this one – thanks for returning the visit.
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I was already checking my library to see if they had it. Not yet. 😦
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Hopefully soon 🙂
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I like the atmosphere the author painted in that opening paragraph. I could sink into this one.
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Thanks for stopping by Margot.
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I love the opening paragraph! It draws you right into the story and I would love to learn more about this novel… The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and The Missing Corpse sounds like a great read.
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It has me enthralled finding out exactly what happened which kept the Victorian public fascinated for so many years
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It’s not really a genre I read, but you have my interest.
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Thanks for stopping by to take a look 🙂
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I would keep reading, definitely 🙂
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🙂
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