From Library Journal
In this thoroughly enjoyable historical novel, Hetty Coppen grows up in Victorian England, where she is disliked by her mother and ignored by her father. When she discovers that her "mother" is really her stepmother, she is determined to uncover the other secrets that have continued to affect her family. This means traveling to Italy, where her real mother died, in an attempt to solve the mystery surrounding that death. In Italy, Hetty finds intrigue, romance, and the love she had always longed for as a child in the person of a renowned opera singer. Then threatening events call her back to London. Told in the first person, this enthralling story has both interesting characters and a terrific sense of place. Hetty is a likable, intelligent heroine and narrator, and this work is highly recommended for popular fiction collections.
Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., Mass.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Hetty Coppen always felt that her mother did not love her nearly as much as she did Hetty's younger sister, but why was a mystery. This tangled, Victorian family history moves slowly at first. The atmosphere and action liven up when Barraclough moves the story to Italy, where Hetty joins her aunt and cousin in an elegant villa. Hetty relentlessly quizzes her aunt, nanny, other relations, and servants, gradually piecing together a family portrait quite different from the one her English family led her to believe. Her older brother, a barrister, assembles many of the final pieces, tracking down a hidden will and some secret gravestones. Meanwhile, Hetty falls in love and foils a kidnapping by a crazed relation. Not your typical period romance, but it builds to a satisfying conclusion.
Denise Perry Donavin
