The Gilded Cage by Luisa A Jones
Genre: Historical fiction, Romance
Read: 13th August 2023
Published: 22nd June 2023
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
1897. Rosamund bows her head and steps slowly down the aisle. The satin of her gown whispers against the stone floor and a single tear falls into the bunch of yellow roses twisted in her trembling hands. Despite rumours of his cruelty, Rosamund has no choice but to become this man’s second wife.
After her wedding, Rosamund finds herself trapped in Sir Lucien Fitznorton’s lonely country estate. As she wanders the chilly halls, made shadowy by drapes of heavy velvet, she longs for the lost comforts of her childhood home, where she was the beloved only daughter to a doting father, now buried miles away. As a young woman with no fortune of her own, only death can release her from this misery.
Until she meets Joseph, her husband’s gruffly handsome new chauffeur. With his mop of salt-and-pepper hair and lilting accent, Joseph is from another world. One of clambering children and tea at scrubbed kitchen tables, the hollow scratch of hunger and long hours of hard work. Despite their differences, they find themselves increasingly drawn to one other.
But Sir Lucien is not only cruel, he’s devious too, and soon Rosamund finds herself caught in a dangerous web of secrets and lies. Is Rosamund’s fragile marriage nothing but a golden cage, trapping her between two men who desire her… and to what end?
One holds her captive and the other offers a hope of escape… but who really holds the key to Rosamund’s gilded prison?
A gripping and emotional historical novel, fans of Lucinda Riley and Tracy Rees won’t be able to put this book down.
MY THOUGHTS:
I had been eagerly awaiting reading this historical tale and was devastated when my request was declined on Netgalley. However, I managed to purchase the title anyway such was my desire to read it. And I was not disappointed! I love losing myself in sweeping historical tales and this one was no different. It had a Downton-esque element to it with perspectives from the servants as well as the lady of the house. But it also has a much darker side, one that is sensitively handled despite its horrific nature.
Beginning in 1897, Rosamund Pelham is dealt a savage blow when her brother Tristram marries her off to the aging and ghastly Sir Lucien Fitznorton, citing debts left by their father and having to sell her childhood home with no means with which to keep her in the manner to which she is accustomed. But nothing could prepare her for marriage to Sir Lucien. From their wedding night, he staked his claim on the virginal Rosamund using brute force and taking what he saw as rightfully his. His abuse is horrendous and depraved, abusing her in every way imaginable. And sixteen years later, the once bright vivacious young woman is silenced and now trapped within a gilded cage.
Household staff suspect what goes on but theirs is not to reason why nor to question their betters. But what makes them better? Class, power, money, aristocracy...certainly not morality, kindness or compassion. Lady Fitznorton's ladies maid, Nellie Dawson, is perhaps the closest to her ladyship to see the damage he leaves behind. The bruises on her wrists, back, neck, the scratches and welts across her breasts, the cigar burns on her abdomen, the scratches on her thighs. Yes, his Lordship may be aristocracy but he is a brute and a cruel one at that. Every morning, Nellie bathes Rosamund's wounds and draws a bath filled with lavender scent to ease her aches left from the previous night's brutal ministrations. Immobilised and traumatised by her husband's cruelty, Rosamund is eventually unable to function and becomes a shell of herself, devoid of life and spirit. Her one rebellion is to refuse food so that she may have that little bit of control that would keep her body repugnant from him. But still it doesn't stop his abuse.
When Sir Lucien purchases a new motor car, he also employs a new chaffaeur with the engineering and mechanical expertise needed to maintain it. And so Rosamund meets Joseph, who unwittingly steps into her life and shows her kindness again. When Sir Lucien and his spoilt daughter Charlotte travel to London, Rosamund uses her new-found freedom to learn to drive and undertakes Joseph to teach her. The experience is as exhilerating as it is dangerous, for if any staff loyal to Sir Lucien himself were to choose they could report her activities to her husband who would then find new ways of torturing her. And pay for it, she will, make no mistake. Still, Rosamund gains a confidence she has not felt since the passing of her dear papa. But is it enough to see her through what is to come? For doubtless, there will be repercussions. Esepcially as rumours begin to fly about Rosamund spending so much time with the chaffeur, and soon she realises that may have endangered not only herself but that of Joseph and his position at Plas Norton.
Oh, how I loved this book! I devoured it late into the night and then immediately picked it up the following morning and would not put it down until I had turned the last page. And even then, it left me wanting more. And yet, it ended just perfectly. I loved the Epilogue and thought it the perfect ending through Nellie's eyes.
This book is perfect for fans of "Downton Abbey" or any historical fiction and will appreciate the Downton-esque similarities throughout. I particularly like Rosamund's maid, Nellie, who has very aptly a voice in this story and while she may have thought her ladyship to be cold and aloof to begin with, it isn't long before loyalty wins and she becomes a wonderful ally, fighting Rosamund's corner from below the stairs. My heart went out to Rosamund who finds herself trapped in a marriage to an abusive brute from which she sees no escape. Lusia's elaborate depiction of the abuse and its psychological trauma is both horrendous as well as accurate. The description of Rosamund's curling into a foetal position to protect herself; her seemingly cold and aloof nature; her act of rebellion to starve herself; her entire demeanour is one of resignation to her circumstances. She sees no end in sight to the torment inflicted on her night after night after night and the new and depraved ways in which her husband finds to further humiliate and control her, to keep her wings clipped and trapped in her gilded cage for all eternity. It is heartbreaking to read and one can be forgiven for feeling a rage towards the brute who mistreats her so. Honestly, it is difficult to see her so broken and terrified of her husband. His voice was the most brutal of all.
And then there is Joseph. Normally, I don't reconcile infidelity in any way but fiction is fiction and anything goes. And while we do venture into Lady Chatterley territory, I still feel it is done sensitively. Joseph allowed Rosamund to find her confidence, her inner strength and the courage to step out of that cage that kept her bound for so long. He also gives his voice to the story along with that of his wife Mary, and it leaves the reader to wonder just how this will all play out.
There is so much to love about this book, as well as some not to like. But the ending was a surprise. I didn't see it taking that road but it was a lovely divergent to the tangled mess left behind otherwise.
Expertly crafted, THE GILDED CAGE is a heartbreaking tale of despair, sorrow, strength and resilience. But it is also one of hope. I cannot praise this book highly enough and I will eagerly look out for more of the author's work if this one is anything to go by.
A well deserved 5 stars!
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Luisa studied Classical Studies at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London. Her previous jobs have included tour guide in an historic house; teacher in both primary and secondary schools; careers adviser; and corporate trainer/assessor.
Luisa loves using her creativity for crafting and baking, as well as writing historical and contemporary fiction with romantic elements. She and her husband are the proud owners of Gwynnie, a Volkswagen camper van built in 1974, which inspired the story behind Luisa's first book, Goes Without Saying. They have three children, a dog, and two cats.
Becoming an author fulfilled a lifelong ambition.
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