Overview

A plotting Duchess, a tragic death and a castle full of mystery - a true tour de force from the author of Black Diamonds, set in England's fairytale Belvoir Castle. At 6 am on 21 April 1940 John the 9th Duke of Rutland, and one of Britain's wealthiest men, ended his days, virtually alone, lying on a makeshift bed in a dank cramped suite of rooms in the servants' quarters of his own home, Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire. For weeks, as his health deteriorated, his family, his servants - even the King's doctor - pleaded with him to come out, but he refused. After his death, his son and heir, Charles, the 10th Duke of Rutland, ordered that the rooms be locked up and they remained untouched for sixty years. What lay behind this extraordinary set of circumstances? For the first time, in The Secret Rooms, Catherine Bailey unravels a complex and compelling tale of love, honour and betrayal, played out in the grand salons of Britain's stately homes at the turn of the twentieth century, and on the battlefields of the Western Front. At its core is a secret so dark that it consumed the life of the man who fought to his death to keep it hidden.

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9780141035673

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Reviews

Gripping. Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance Sunday Times 'Astonishing, jaw-dropping, superb. Horrifying, extraordinary Sunday Telegraph Extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat, enthralling. All the ingredients of a lurid horror. The plot is thick with destroyed documents, decadent aristocracy, betrayed honour and curses Metro Compelling. A remarkable piece of research which throws a bright shaft of light on powerful people, hypocrisy and the first world war -- Jeremy Paxman Guardian, Books of the Year Wonderful ... has everything: family intrigue and hatred, love and war, witches' curses, eccentricity, snobbery and a series of shocking secrets. No reader can finish it unmoved Sunday Express Teems with hypocrisy, deceit, parental manipulation and bullying. Bailey artfully shows how guilt, grief, pride and shame levied a heavy toll Literary Review An extraordinary detective operation -- John Julius Norwich Reads like a novel, bringing people and places to vivid life and no reader can finish it unmoved Sunday Express Excellent, beautifully crafted, fascinating Red Excellent. A fine, suspenseful, atmospheric tale, a less melodramatic and more nuanced Downton Abbey Daily Express

The mysterious death of a Duke and a castle full of treacherous goings-on make The Secret Rooms a gripping read for fans of Downton Abbey. As thrilling as any fiction, Catherine Bailey uncovers the darkest depths of a family with plenty of skeletons in its closet * Good Housekeeping * Bailey's fascinating book takes us to the heart of a family tragedy ... this is a horrifying story of love, despair, intrigue, snobbery and upper class eccentricity which reads like fiction but is amazingly - and shockingly - real * Lancashire Evening Post * Excellent. A fine, suspenseful, atmospheric tale, a less melodramatic and more nuanced Downton Abbey * Daily Express * Excellent, beautifully crafted, fascinating * Red * An extraordinary detective operation -- John Julius Norwich Teems with hypocrisy, deceit, parental manipulation and bullying. Bailey artfully shows how guilt, grief, pride and shame levied a heavy toll * Literary Review * Wonderful . . . has everything: family intrigue and hatred, love and war, witches' curses, eccentricity, snobbery and a series of shocking secrets. No reader can finish it unmoved * Sunday Express * Compelling. A remarkable piece of research which throws a bright shaft of light on powerful people, hypocrisy and the first world war -- Jeremy Paxman * Guardian, Books of the Year * Extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat, enthralling. All the ingredients of a lurid horror. The plot is thick with destroyed documents, decadent aristocracy, betrayed honour and curses * Metro * 'Astonishing, jaw-dropping, superb. Horrifying, extraordinary * Sunday Telegraph * Gripping. Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance * Sunday Times *

Gripping. Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance * Sunday Times * 'Astonishing, jaw-dropping, superb. Horrifying, extraordinary * Sunday Telegraph * Extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat, enthralling. All the ingredients of a lurid horror. The plot is thick with destroyed documents, decadent aristocracy, betrayed honour and curses * Metro * Compelling. A remarkable piece of research which throws a bright shaft of light on powerful people, hypocrisy and the first world war -- Jeremy Paxman * Guardian, Books of the Year * Wonderful . . . has everything: family intrigue and hatred, love and war, witches' curses, eccentricity, snobbery and a series of shocking secrets. No reader can finish it unmoved * Sunday Express * Teems with hypocrisy, deceit, parental manipulation and bullying. Bailey artfully shows how guilt, grief, pride and shame levied a heavy toll * Literary Review * An extraordinary detective operation -- John Julius Norwich Excellent, beautifully crafted, fascinating * Red * Excellent. A fine, suspenseful, atmospheric tale, a less melodramatic and more nuanced Downton Abbey * Daily Express * Bailey's fascinating book takes us to the heart of a family tragedy ... this is a horrifying story of love, despair, intrigue, snobbery and upper class eccentricity which reads like fiction but is amazingly - and shockingly - real * Lancashire Evening Post * The mysterious death of a Duke and a castle full of treacherous goings-on make The Secret Rooms a gripping read for fans of Downton Abbey. As thrilling as any fiction, Catherine Bailey uncovers the darkest depths of a family with plenty of skeletons in its closet * Good Housekeeping *

Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance, and a deeply dysfunctional family...gripping. Sunday Times Astonishing...jaw-dropping...It would spoil the book if I revealed the whole works, suffice it to say...what a family. Sunday Telegraph An extraordinary detective operation -- John Julius Norwich

Gripping. Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance * Sunday Times * 'Astonishing, jaw-dropping, superb. Horrifying, extraordinary * Sunday Telegraph * Extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat, enthralling. All the ingredients of a lurid horror. The plot is thick with destroyed documents, decadent aristocracy, betrayed honour and curses * Metro * Compelling. A remarkable piece of research which throws a bright shaft of light on powerful people, hypocrisy and the first world war -- Jeremy Paxman * Guardian, Books of the Year * Wonderful . . . has everything: family intrigue and hatred, love and war, witches' curses, eccentricity, snobbery and a series of shocking secrets. No reader can finish it unmoved * Sunday Express * Teems with hypocrisy, deceit, parental manipulation and bullying. Bailey artfully shows how guilt, grief, pride and shame levied a heavy toll * Literary Review * An extraordinary detective operation -- John Julius Norwich Excellent, beautifully crafted, fascinating * Red * Excellent. A fine, suspenseful, atmospheric tale, a less melodramatic and more nuanced Downton Abbey * Daily Express * Bailey's fascinating book takes us to the heart of a family tragedy ... this is a horrifying story of love, despair, intrigue, snobbery and upper class eccentricity which reads like fiction but is amazingly - and shockingly - real * Lancashire Evening Post *

Author Information

Catherine Bailey is the author of two bestselling works of twentieth-century history- Black Diamonds and The Secret Rooms. She lives in London.

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