The Clockmaker's Daughter - Kate Morton

The Clockmaker's Daughter

By Kate Morton

  • Release Date: 2018-10-09
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 578 Ratings

Description

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Homecoming—“An ambitious, compelling historical mystery with a fabulous cast of characters…Kate Morton at her very best.” —Kristin Hannah

An elaborate tapestry…Morton doesn’t disappoint.” The Washington Post

"Classic English country-house Goth at its finest." New York Post

In the depths of a 19th-century winter, a little girl is abandoned on the streets of Victorian London. She grows up to become in turn a thief, an artist’s muse, and a lover. In the summer of 1862, shortly after her eighteenth birthday, she travels with a group of artists to a beautiful house on a bend of the Upper Thames. Tensions simmer and one hot afternoon a gunshot rings out. A woman is killed, another disappears, and the truth of what happened slips through the cracks of time. It is not until over a century later, when another young woman is drawn to Birchwood Manor, that its secrets are finally revealed.

Told by multiple voices across time, this is an intricately layered, richly atmospheric novel about art and passion, forgiveness and loss, that shows us that sometimes the way forward is through the past.

Reviews

  • Fantastic

    5
    By leggs444
    Loved this book! It weaves together people and history within a house in a beautiful way. I’m not sure why other reviewers say questions aren’t answered in the end. It answered every question and more, if you’re paying attention. I highly recommend this book.
  • An amazing and beautifully told story

    5
    By PolgaraAZ
    Once I found myself past chapter 2, it was very difficult to do anything else but read, read, and read some more. So many stories elaborately intertwined, like tracing a rose vine back to the original stalk only to be distracted by yet another pretty flower along the way. This book is full of deep meaning, often forcing moments of personal introspection. It the type of story that lives with you long after you’ve put it down. I loved the character development, the descriptive setting of Birchwood Manor and the back-and-forth sway of jumping from one generation’s era to another and learning how they all tied together. If you didn’t believe in ghosts before, you might after reading this book.
  • Not my first choice

    3
    By Allie's a Zoolanderfan.
    I had a tough time following this plot line
  • Good but takes some work to follow

    4
    By Thewalkinglady
    This was a difficult book to get “into” - so many time changes and characters that seemed completely independent. I kept with it and when I read the statement by Birdie about jumbled jigsaw pieces from countless puzzles collected over time, I realized that this described the book. The addition of the Chronology of Birchwood Manor at the end of the book finally helped me connect some of the “puzzle” pieces. Not all was resolved at the end of the book, but that was okay - I am happy to make my own ending or … perhaps, there will be a sequel.
  • The Clockmaker’s Daughter

    2
    By jerseycat53
    I’ve loved all of Kate Morton’s books, except this one. I’m forcing myself to read the last few chapters. I regret buying this book!
  • The Clockmaker’s Daughter

    4
    By cohillips0957
    A fascinating read with a very unsatisfactory ending. Too many loose ends and unanswered questions. I read the last page, expecting a conclusion in the next chapter but there wasn’t a next chapter. It’s like the author couldn’t think of a way to end the story.
  • Couldn’t finish this

    1
    By Made up name 69
    I have read several other books by Kate Morton and enjoyed them all. I couldn’t get past the first 100 pages on this one before I had to quit. Too confusing. Couldn’t remember all the names. Just couldn’t do it.
  • The Clockmaker's Daughter

    5
    By DaMamma7
    I so enjoy all of Kate's books - the mystery, the going back and forth in time keep the story interesting. We just moved to a new house (named Thornbury Manor) and it made me ponder the people who lived here before me - even before this house was built. I am looking forward to her next novel.
  • SO DISAPPOINTING!! AVOID THIS!

    1
    By Megantoad
    Oh my gosh, this was so hard to get through! It was about 100 pages too long. I found the story idea interesting and usually enjoy reading books by this author. However, this book went on and on full of "fluff" and circling around avoiding getting to the point. So many unimportant side trips. I literally was able to skip pages & still felt like it was droning on & I hadn't missed a thing of importance. And then the ending was so anticlimactic & abrupt after all the circling around to get there I was left feeling disappointed and annoyed. This was not her best story at all. I'd wait and check it out from the library if you feel you must read it. Perhaps this fulfilled something for the author, but honestly, I felt like it was a book written to satisfy a contract.
  • The Clockmaker’s Daughter

    3
    By KTS177
    I was disappointed in this book as I really liked her earlier works. It skips backwards and forwards in time and can get confusing trying to keep up with the characters and interwoven plot. I also thought it ended abruptly and left several assumptions hanging.