SO fun to revisit books you might have read years ago (this was originally published in 1966) or to read one from an author whose work stands up no matter when you read it. This is gothic in tone, with Christina trying to deal with a big ramshackle family home that might be haunted as well as smugglers. And love. It's a good read that will keep you entertained- perfect for a rainy day, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC,

This story is so much like the stories that Brönte sisters and Jane Austen wrote – in this romance story collide old customs, old inheritance, fixed marriages and blind lovers. Old family in England and new namely from America, old family feuds and new war from France. Misunderstandings and unexpected love.

Good read.

An historical romantic suspense with an eye catching title. A lot to enjoy about this novel, a dark, gloomy and isolated manor, smugglers, a heroine who is a strong and determined character and a dark and brooding hero.

Found the story did lag in places and didn't really feel any spark between the main characters Chris and Ross. Felt the chemistry between them to be lacklustre at times. Remember reading the novel as a teenager and thoroughly enjoying it but found this novel to be a bit weaker over time with a second reading.

This book's writing felt dated for today's market. I enjoyed the historical settings and the well developed characters but would hesitate to recommend it to many of my historical romance readers advisory requests.

I am sorry, but I did not like this book. The writing style was not for me.

Watch The Wall My Darling is an enthralling gothic romance. The female lead is strong and written well.

I love a good gothic romance. Rebecca, Jane Eyre...things of that ilk. Watch the Wall, My Darling was a book that I read in my teens, and reading this reissues reminded me how delightful these types of books are to me.

Our heroine, Christina Tretton, is from the backwoods of America, but now currently lives at Dark House in Cornwall. She's wonderful. Independent, capable, and handy with a pistol (a Napoleonic Annie Oakley, if you will. The hero/leading man is Ross Tretteign. He's exactly what you expect, born on the right side of the blanket, but everyone knows that he's the 'black sheep" aka - the crazy one.

This is more a story of a woman rescuing herself. Like Jane Eyre. Like Rebecca. It was a nice revisit with Christina.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Christina Tretton goes to her family's estate, Tretteign Grange. Her grandfather tries to arrange a marriage between Christina and one of two male cousins, as a stipulation to inherit when he dies. She becomes housekeeper and manages the estate, but which cousin should she chose to spend her life with when there are smugglers surrounding the estate, and France is threatening to invade?

The story has a strong female character, from America, who is not afraid to speak her mind. That part I really enjoyed because it wasn't a simpering female trying to use her femininity to get her own way. The book overall felt very dark to me, in a sense there wasn't much sunshine. I think of it being very dreary.

I did enjoy the book for the most part.

Nice description of the landscape but it was a slow read and not interesting.

This was a splendid copy that swept me away! I loved the drama, romance, and intrigue throughout. The only complaint that I had was the odd English phrases here and there, but aside from that, this book easily cracked my top ten favorites of this year!

If you want some reasons to read it: spies, French smugglers, strong female characters, old mansions, ghost stories, heroic characters...

There are so many reasons to love this book, and I am a fast fan of the author.

Thank you NetGalley for finding this book for me!

A classic Gothic Romance from 1966, now available as an ebook.

It's a bit flat, with the historical aspect more interesting that either the characters or the romance. It is 1804, and the southern coast of England is expecting Napoleon to invade at any time. When Christina Tretton travels to her estranged family's remote home, she runs afoul of smugglers in the marsh before she even reaches the house. Her welcome at Tretteign Grange is no warmer. When her grandfather decides that she must marry one of her cousins, tensions come to a head.

Not bad, but not great either.

The strong writing sucked me right in, opening with a carriage rushing up the dark coastal road in the driving rain, toward the house where Christina is not sure of a welcome. It’s been a very long time since I picked up either a vintage or contemporary Gothic Romance, and even if the genre isn’t my first choice for random reading, I was happy this came my way.

Our heroine, Christina, is an American come back to England, after her father’s violent death, to the family pile. Her father had left the stifling life under his father’s brutal thumb, with his French wife before the war with Napoleon, and she in turn left him with their eldest daughter, Christina. She has no one else to turn to, no other family, and so she sends a letter to her grandfather telling them that she is on her way back to them, her only flesh and blood.

The locals in Rye, of course, warn her about the “Dark House” and traveling there by night because “they” don’t like it (see the poem below). They could be anyone, as far as she knows, from bandits, smugglers, or the soldiers guarding the coast.
The story plays out beautifully against an interesting period in history when invasion of England by Napoleon appeared imminent. Hodge reverses some of the die-hard Gothic Romance tropes—the old butler is nothing but kind to Christina and the domineering-type mother is pretty ineffectual, though even that appears to leave a mark on her son, Ross. There’s an inheritance involved, and a competition for it, while meanwhile a French privateer hovers just off the coast, upsetting everyone. There’s a very harrowing and haunting scene towards the end when Christina finds out what happens if one doesn’t watch the wall as advised, and sees more than they should.

I loved Christina, again not a usual heroine one expects from the genre that typically had women in negligees running from dark houses in bad weather on their covers. She’s an American, tall, speaks her mind, and spends much of her time mediating. When a wounded man needs her help, she doesn’t hesitate to help out, though this puts her in danger. She gets afraid, angry, but keeps it contained. Plus, she’s got a secret, too.

Ross, the broody hero/antihero, is a typical, on the outside, Regency rake. He’s keeping a lot of secrets bottled up, and the family doesn’t want to trust him, so every time he disappears they backstab him and make plans around him. No wonder his uncle left for the states, it was saner!

Overall, I really enjoyed this story— the writing, the setting and characters, the twists in the plot.

American Christina Tretton arrives at her father's family home, intent on keeping the promise she made to her now dead parent. She is thrust into the middle of the secrets of "The Dark House". Can she navigate the danger without forfeiting her life in the process?

Christina was an interesting enough character. It almost seemed as though being American -practical, forthright, opinionated- was her entire character. She made no effort to understand the traditions of her family. It was all 'I am American and I am going to do things my way." Her acceptance of everything that came her way was a little unbelievable.

Those who filled "The Dark house" were appropriate for a Gothic style tale. Annoying, suspicious, and integral to the plot in turns, no one really stood out at all. Not even the hero of the tale.

The plot was a bit confusing from the start and it took some effort to continue reading.

Overall, I'm not sorry to have read a Gothic Regency, but I'm not so sure I will be in a hurry to reread it or anything like it again. For those who enjoy a story with a dark atmosphere and too many twists and turns to keep track of, this may be a book for you.

A clean Historical, action packed, suspenseful, until the last page! Must Read! I highly recommend! Thanks! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee 👒

What a delight. I understand this is a reissue - I can't wait to track down more of Hodge's work. Impeccably written, with great nuance of emotion and perfect scene setting. The Sussex smugglers and French spies - the marshes and unseen forces. This is a keeper for years to come. Plus, the love story keeps you waiting, in honest terms.

Buena historia, un poco predecible en ocasiones, pero fácil y rápida de leer, muy entretenida.
Se trata de la historia de una joven americana que llega a Inglaterra obligada por la promesa hecha a su padre en su lecho de muerte: debe pasar 6 meses en la casona familiar, donde es recibida por su abuelo y tía política, no sin antes haber vivido una aventura en un encuentro nocturno con bandoleros.
Esta es una novela romántica, donde no falta la acción... Contrabandistas, patriotas, una tía histérica, un abuelo dominante, primos con sus propias agendas... En fin, les dejo que lean el libro, creo que no se arrepentirán.

I was going to be clever and in my review compare the prospective of reading of this book between my young self and my fifty-year-older self. (Whoa how the heck did that happen) Um, no. Just about every other reviewer has done so.
Obviously curiosity was one of the main motivators in rereading Watch the Wall, My Darling (WtW,MD), along with a strong remembered fondness. When I was trying to reconstruct my reading history for Goodreads, Jane Aiken Hodge (JAH) was one of the first authors I pulled up, and WtW,MD one book that I remembered adoring.
I am thrilled to say I have no reason to make fun of my twelve year old self. I still love it.
A young American woman, Christina Tretton, travels to the wild harsh coast of Sussex, England where smugglers hold sway and the marsh people who eke out a hard existence live under the fear of the smugglers and threat of invasion from Bonaparte. She is there to meet her grandfather and to make peace with him, since her father who recently died had escaped the old man's iron rule.
It is currently 91 degrees out and I want to huddle under blankets, and put on every light in the house due to JAH's descriptive powers. No basement to scream warnings about, Just a gloomy seaside house, Tretteign Grange, with cloisters open to the sky and with hidden rooms.
Her characters are so finely drawn that I could tell you most everything about them including everything JAH didn't even get to describing. I realize now one of the characters is most likely gay, but fifty years ago she couldn't write that in a Regency and I was mostly too dumb to understand. However it was an important part of the story, not her strike for LGBT rights.
The story, the romance, is mostly satisfying. Of course I wish it was just a bit hotter, but then I wished that fifty years ago too.
I highly recommend this to new readers. I really needed a break after the books I've read this week, as much as I loved them. (This has been a great week for reading). It was just nice to sit back with a mostly relaxing book. It certainly did have times of suspense, but with these older books you always know all will come well in the end.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC and a chance to return in time, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A very nice regency romance with adventure thrown in, also not as light reading as for example Georgette Heyer. I was a little disappointed as I'd hoped for something gothic, but all in all a very enjoyable read.

Watch the Wall,My Darling was originally published in 1966.
Should we judge books by their cover? I've heard we should not but I do anyway. This cover really drew me in. This is a suspenseful historical gothic romance. The suspense really built up for me and I wasn't sure what to expect in this darkly atmospheric book.
Pub Date 23 Jan 2014
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Reader for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.