Like its predecessor, The Meaning of Night, Michael Cox's The Glass of Time is an engrossing period mystery about identity, the nature of secrets, and what happens when past obsessions impose themselves on an unwilling present. In the autumn of 1876, nineteen-year-old orphan Esperanza Gorst arrives at the great country house of Evenwood to become a lady's maid to the twenty-sixth Baroness Tansor. But Esperanza is no ordinary servant. She has been sent by her guardian, the mysterious Madame de l'Orme, to uncover the secrets that her new mistress has sought to conceal and to set right a past injustice in which Esperanza's own life is bound up. At Evenwood, she meets Lady Tansor's two dashing sons, Perseus and Randolph, and finds herself enmeshed in a complicated web of seduction, intrigue, deceit, betrayal, and murder. Few writers are as gifted at evoking the sensibility of the nineteenth century as Michael Cox, who has made the world of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins his own.
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"I really enjoyed this much more than the first book in the series, but it was good to have some of the background to this story. Overall, I didn't find the mystery very difficult to fathom, but the tension waiting for the main character, Esperanza, to realize a major mistake was very good." — Jenn (5 out of 5 stars)
"I really enjoyed this much more than the first book in the series, but it was good to have some of the background to this story. Overall, I didn't find the mystery very difficult to fathom, but the tension waiting for the main character, Esperanza, to realize a major mistake was very good."
“Entirely wonderful…Chock-full of revenge, romance, duplicity, concealed identities, and murder most frequent.”
[Listeners] will find themselves deeply engaged by the elegant descriptive prose.
“[Cox] draws you in slowly until you feel hypnotized by the atmosphere and confusion.”
"[Listeners] will find themselves deeply engaged by the elegant descriptive prose.”
“Atmospheric and engrossing…Strongly recommended.”
“Bailey provides each character with a distinct voice…A fine mix of historical fiction and mystery.”
" I felt this was a gothic romance trying to become more important. "
" A most disappointing work and wholly unworthy as a satisfying sequel to the magnificent Meaning of Night. Entirely predictable, contrived and disingenuous. "
" The explanations were a little long-winded at times, but overall this novel had everything - suspense, mystery, romance, etc. I highly recommend it. "
" This was a pretty predictable book but still a fun quick read. "
" A worthy successor to The Meaning of Night. "
" Sequel to "The Meaning of Night". Fun, book of secret identities, written in the style of a Victorian mystery. "
" A great sequel to The Meaning of Night. Just as riveting as the first one. I really couldn't put it down! "
" I really liked this book, but can't give it more stars because I found it very hard to get through. It is a complex and interesting story of mistaken identity, in the gothic style. "
" Not quite as good as the first book, The Meaning of Night. But still a fun, engaging read with plenty of deception, sleuthing, and hidden identities. "
" pretty good mystery - again between a 3 and 4 "
" well i liked the first one this book was far and away much better. i couldn't put it down and would stay up til 2 every morning trying to finish it. "
" I had a hard time really getting connected to the characters until well into the book. But I did enjoy the second half a lot. "
" like the count of monte cristo - but a lot slower and a lot less exciting. the surprise ending was a shocker though "
" This was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. Be sure to read The Meaning of Night before your read this one it is also a riveter. "
" Fantastic and gripping throughout. One of the best reads I have ever encountered and now a personal favourite. The writings is majestic and the storyline compels the intellect. Amazing. "
" dLots of completely unexpected surprises in this book! "
" Sorry sequel to a fantastic original. Wish I hadn't read it. Didn't make me lose any respect for the first but didn't help either. "
" Not the kind of writing that holds my attention. I found it boring. "
" I tried so very hard to get in to this book but alas I failed. I'm not 100% sure what stopped me but no matter how many times I attempted to read this book it didn't happen. "
" Luv, Luv, Luv!!! "
" Loved it. I like the detail of the characters and language of the time period. Very well written. Great story. "
" Very enjoyable book! Now I have to go back and read "The Meaning of Night" again! "
" Well, personally, I think this book is more of an adult version so I do NOT suggest teens to read it, you'd get bored at the 10th page, like I did. "
" great read, but a bit confusing at times -- lots of characters! I finally decided to make a cheat sheet of characters to help keep things clear. "
" I really enjoyed this book. First thing by Cox that I'd read. Quick moving, great plot line, well done. "
" Weak sequel to The Meaning of Night. "
" Brilliant sequel to "The Meaning of Night." The author somehow manages to make the plot more complex and deep than the first book without confusing or muddling up the story. "
" What a fun and compelling read! A great Victorian page turner in the tradition of Rebecca. "
" This was an entertaining mystery set in the Victorian era - what's not to love. I might have even liked it better than the Meaning of Night. "
" Somewhat predictable and slow at times but a good yarn. I prefered the "Meaning of Night". "
" The book picks up twenty years after The Meaning of Night and I was not disappointed! "
Michael Cox is the author of The Meaning of Night, which was shortlisted for the 2007 Costa First Novel Award. He is also the biographer of the ghost-story writer and scholar M. R. James and coeditor of a number of Oxford anthologies of short fiction, including The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories. He lives in rural Northamptonshire, England.
Josephine Bailey’s impeccable narrations include the British classics Jane Eyre and The Secret Garden. She has also used her subtly nuanced style to enliven historical fiction and light romances. She has won nine AudioFile Earphones Awards and been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award.
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