ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson

The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson is published by Moonflower Publishing and available now in paperback, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to Amanda Frost for the proof copy.

After a terrible tragedy, governess Julia Pearlie finds herself with no job, home, or references. When she’s offered a position as companion to Miss Olivia Richmond, her luck appears to be turning. But Mistcoate House is full of secrets.

Olivia has a sinister reputation. The locals call her the Mistcoate Witch, thanks to her tarot readings, and her insistence that she can speak to the dead. Her father, Dr Richmond, believes this to be girlish fantasy and is looking to Julia to put a stop to it.

Determined to prove herself and shake off her own murky history, Julia sets to work trying to help Olivia become a proper young lady. However, as she becomes a fixture at Mistcoate, it is soon clear that there may be more to Olivia’s stories than Dr Richmond would have Julia believe – not least because somehow, Olivia seems to know something of the darkness that Julia desperately hoped she had left behind.

As the danger grows, and the winter chill wraps around the dark woods surrounding Mistcoate, Julia will have to fight to uncover the truth, escape her past – and save herself.

Original, engrossing and deliciously creepy, this critically-acclaimed Victorian Gothic ghost story is perfect for fans of Sarah Perry, Erin Morgenstern and Jessie Burton.

The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond is the perfect read for spooky season. Julia Pearlie takes a role as companion to Olivia Richmond at Mistcoate House in Norfolk. This is the fresh start Julia needs after a tragic end to her previous position. She has her work cut out though: Olivia appears to have supernatural powers, her father is sometimes erratic, and the housekeeper, Mrs Hayes, seems to loathe Julia’s presence in the house.

This is such an atmospheric and truly compelling read. It’s set towards the end of the Victorian era and the sense of time and place is depicted perfectly. Mistcoate itself has a faded grandeur and felt like a dark and lonely place for Julia. In the nearby village, she makes friends but often feels out of place and her charge’s reputation as the Mistcoate witch doesn’t help.

The Yorkshire Times describes this book as being a cross between Jane Eyre and The Woman in Black, with a hefty dose of Mrs Danvers thrown in. I can’t do any better than that and what an endorsement! It feels true to the era, particularly the Victorian fervour for fortune telling and séances. Julia narrates her story and there’s always a niggling doubt as to whether she’s unreliable or not, but ultimately I loved her personality and she, Olivia and Mrs Hayes proved to be vivid characters who jumped off the page.

I loved this dark, historical fiction story. It’s twisty and eerie, with a huge amount of gothic splendour, and I was engrossed from beginning to end in Miss Pearlie’s account of her time with the Richmonds. A fantastic debut.

Louise Davidson was born in Belfast and has always worked in the creative arts in some capacity – from assistant to theatre directors to teaching scriptwriting classes in prisons to teaching English and drama to A-Level students. Growing up in Northern Ireland backgrounded by the Troubles led to a fascination with history, and this combined with her love of all things gothic inspired her to write her first book, a dark Victorian thriller set in a neglected and isolated mansion. Louise lives in London with her husband and step-son, and in her spare time is working on fulfilling her ambition to visit every museum in the city. The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond is her debut novel.