We meet Tommy Green on his last day of school and he’s just turned twelve and is about to start working at the Crooked Ash Pit coal mine in South Yorkshire. Tommy comes from a large family, they live in a small company cottage, and once old enough everyone is expected to contribute financially. Tommy likes school and he dreams of a better life and instead he's stuck washing coal and thinking he’s never going to leave Grindley and see exotic places he's read about.

Josie Westgate lives three miles away in Arden, her father is a miner as well and he works for Winthrop Barridge and she’s never considered doing anything other than growing up to be a coal miner’s wife and having lots of children.

Tommy and Josie meet and become best friends and explore the countryside on Sunday afternoons and talk. The youngster are fascinated by Heston Manor, it’s been left empty for years after the eldest son died in a riding accident and Tommy’s sure the place is haunted.

I received a copy of The House at Silvermoor by Tracy Rees from NetGalley and Quercus Books in exchange for an honest review. The author’s grandfather Len was a coal miner, and she’s wanted to write a historical fiction story about coal mines, miners and their families and the rich aristocrats they worked for and how different their lives were and Ms Rees certainly achieved her goal and her grandfather would be very proud.

I had no idea that at the time young boys started working long hours in coal mines at the age of twelve, by fourteen they were toiling underground like their fathers and grandfathers before them. Going down in the cage, they could barely stand up in the tunnels, worrying about their lamps going out and being stuck in the dark, and cave-ins and knowing they could be badly hurt and killed.

A well written and really interesting story about overcoming obstacles and the power of friendship, how education is the key to escaping poverty and having ambition and grabbing opportunities when they come along and the fight for miners to be paid a fair wage.

I really liked and admired the characters in this novel, Tommy and Josie were delightful, and the supporting ones including Miss Emery and Miss Honeycroft, Master Walter and his father the Earl Sedgewick and Manus. However I detested Winthrop, Willard and Joss Barridge and I'm sure you will as well.

Five stars from me and a historical fiction saga full of secrets and mystery, lies and deceit, drama and romance and I highly recommend and I look forward to reading other novels by Tracy Rees.

This is not my first book by the author, and it will not be my last.
However, the ones i`ve read before i think i liked a tad more. This i just had a hard time connecting with the characters and the story.

I have really enjoyed previous books by Tracey Rees however I really struggled with the House at Silvermoor. I didn’t enjoy the plot and I found it difficult to finish.

My first novel by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. Great Historical fiction novel and every page kept me wanting more.

The House at Silvermoor allows the reader to escape into the past, and experience how people of differing social classes lived in the early 1900’s. Josie and Tommy are from different villages within the coal mining communities of Yorkshire. They meet as children, and the novel follows their lives into young adulthood. Both feel they are different from their families and have aspirations for a better life.
This book is great for fans of Downton Abbey and provides many plot twists. It is reliable in ensuring the characters with a sound moral compass come out on top, while the more shady ones get their comeuppance in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

An intriguing, emotional and heart-warming historical drama spiced with romance, drama and pathos, The House at Silvermoor is the wonderfully written new novel from best-selling author Tracy Rees.

Fourteen year old Tommy is good at his schooling and has a strong and powerful yearning for learning, knowledge and books. Tommy would love nothing more than to make something out of himself and to leave the black dust of the coal mines behind, but sadly that is not to be. A coal miner’s son, Tommy might be the most intelligent boy in the village, but sadly his destiny had been set from the very first moment he drew breath. Like his grandfather and father before him, Tommy is destined to eke out a living working from dawn till dusk down the coal mine. His dreams of bettering himself are doomed to fail because Tommy will spend the rest of his life being a miner and he is aware that it would be foolish to dream because nothing will ever come out of his desire to see the world far beyond the narrow and claustrophobic confines of the mining village he was born in.

A chance encounter with a young girl called Josie brings some much needed light and laughter to Tommy’s life. Unlike Tommy, Josie has never really thought much about life away from her village. Josie knows that she is set to repeat her mother’s destiny and become a coal miner’s wife and lead a small and inconsequential life in a mining village yet her meeting with Tommy changes her forever. Josie now starts to ask questions and becomes curious about the world and life in general. As the two become fast friends, little do Tommy and Josie realise that with the dawning of the new century, things are going to change for them forever…

The Sedgewicks of Silvermoor live in a world that is as far removed from the one Josie and Tommy inhabit as it is possible to get. Wealthy, glamorous and influential, the Sedgewick family have the whole world at their feet and every possibility and option available to them yet the twentieth century is going to bring into their orbit two young people who might just end up transforming their existence beyond recognition: Tommy and Josie…

The House at Silvermoor is a wonderful story of forbidden desire, impossible ambitions and devastating passion that will hold readers in thrall from page one. Tracy Rees has the terrific ability of bringing the past to life and of drawing her readers into an irresistible world that sparkles with glamour, emotion, drama, romance and atmosphere that is peopled by beautifully drawn characters that leap off the pages.

Tommy and Josie are two exquisitely rendered protagonists readers will laugh and cry with and cheer on to triumph against all the obstacles standing in their way.

The House at Silvermoor is another surefire hit for a wonderfully gifted and immensely talented writer who never fails to write books that steal her readers’ hearts: Tracy Rees.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book but in my opinion it took a little while to get going and to set the scene. I admit to not knowing much about the coal industry in England, but the treatment of the workers rung true for this time period. i enjoyed reading about josie and Tommy's love story and how they both broke free from the normalcy of life in their small villages. i'm interested in reading more by this author. I also enjoyed the "ghost" of the story and more that i don't want to spoil. if you like historical fiction you'll enjoy this book.

Thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for this copy, in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I have not read any previous books by Tracy Rees, but I am going to now.
This novel about two disparate people forming a friendship is a bit unusual for this time period. Their is great character development, and the author definitely shows she knows historical mores.
The only drawback I found was that it was a bit difficult and slow in the beginning. If you stick with it, I believe that you will enjoy the story.

Set in the late 1890s and into the early 1900s, Tracy Ress explores the themes of families and secrets in The House at Silvermoor.

The story follows Tommy and Josie who are friends growing up in mining villages in South Yorkshire. Their circumstances dictate that they will too fall into the pattern of having to work in the mines, but they have bigger dreams.

It takes a bit for the story to really get going, and thus I had a harder time getting into this novel. But it does pick up the pace, and there's some secrets revealed, along with some twists. The characters are likeable and you root for them to be able to make better lives for themselves. Overall enjoyable.

I recommend this to fans of historical fiction. As the characters are younger, I feel like teens who like that genre would like it as well. Pleasant read!

3 stars

Thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for this copy, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Terrific historical fiction- and a love story. Tommy and Josie live in Yorkshire mining villages where life is tough and they are meant to be grateful for whatever they have. These two, though, are strivers, both for each other and to improve their lot in life. It's atmospheric with great characters you will root for. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC,. Set in the late 19th/early 2oth century and so applicable to today!

Tracy Rees is a new-to-me author and it took some time to adjust to her cadence. This book is undeniably interesting. It paints an imaginative look at the hopes and dreams of a young couple in Victorian England while simultaneously highlighting the despair of decrepit working conditions, especially in mining. It showcases the difference between the haves and have nots.

It is not a quick moving narrative by any means, but it was intriguing. You truly get to know the characters and they feel like friends. Their history and development will have you cheering for the underdog more than once. Your heart may even be broken as your emotions are moved by the blights our friends encounter.

Overall, I would recommend this title as a slow read to indulge in over a few days. It was gritty, sweet, and passionate, but avoided pretty decoys in the sense that it remained raw in its appeal without adding unnecessary bows and ribbons. It’s touching and honest with a hint of scandal and mystery.

My thanks to Quercus Books for the opportunity to read and review this title via the NetGalley platform.

The House at Silvermoor by @tracyreesauthor


Tommy Green and Josie Westgate have grown up in adjoining mining communities. Mining is a part of life; as much a part of a person, as it is their income. No one questions their lot in life (at least not out loud) and one definitely doesn’t try to change it. The book follows their journey of friendship beginning as young adolescents and the challenges and tribulations they face. Together they explore what actually makes them happy and what it means to achieve it. How their dreams affect not only them, but their families.



And what would any small town be without some long-buried secrets? As Tommy and Josie are on this coming-of-age journey, there are revelations that made me say “Oooooooooooh my!” out loud (to those of you who know me personally, this is not shocking).



This book was delightful. The story had moments of triumph, but also heartbreak.
I fell in love with the characters. They were raw and I felt for them. I was cheering from the sidelines through their successes and cursing those that threatened to get in their way.



This was sugar and spice sprinkled with a touch of old-fashioned scandal and deception. For someone who hasn’t been able to leave her house in weeks, this book allowed me to be transported me to a small English village. I have the utmost praise for @tracyreesauthor.

In The House at Silvermoor, Tracy Rees takes us to the mining villages in Yorkshire in the late 19th – early 20th century. The story is told by youngsters Josie and Tommy, who have grown up in two mining communities, and we are drawn into their life, their thoughts, their sorrows and their dreams. Through their words we feel the harshness of life in the mining towns, the pride of the families and the strength of their traditions. Tommy and Josie also experience the contrast of their life and that of the aristocratic families who own the mines, and who also have their own traditions and limitations. They don’t belong to either of these worlds, but they seize the real chances they are given and throughout the book they discover that they can set themselves free, and others with them, through love, sheer hard work, willpower and hope. I loved the writing in this book, the research that went into it, and the fact that it builds on the inner life of Josie and Tommy and takes us into their hearts. There are a few twists in the story and this is why my review would not go into more details, because the joy of this book is to be immersed in the story, the setting and the emotions of its characters. This book is another beautiful write by Tracy Rees, and it seems to leave the door open for a sequel. I certainly would love to read about what happens next for Josie, Tommy and their friends.
Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author Ms. Tracy Rees for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "The House At Silvermoor"
#TheHouseatSilvermoor #NetGalley
@QuercusBooks @AuthorTracyRees #HouseAtSilvermoor

Set in South Yorkshire between the late 1800's and early 1900. Tommy Green and Josie Westgate are friends. They both come from rival mining villages. Tommy knows his life is destined down the mine. They both dream about a life out with the mining community. Tommy lived in Grindley while josie lived in Arden. Tommy's father and brothers work for the Sedgewick family of Silvermoor. Josies father and brothers work for Winthrop Barridge. Josies sisters also work on the coal face, washing the coal. Barridge's mines are more hazardous than the Sedgewicks.

This is a story about two youngsters who want to make a better life for themselves out with the mining community. The author has researched every inch of this era and the issues surrounding the mining industry. I liked the authors style in writing this book. It quickly grabbed my attention. I really enjoyed it. If you like historical fiction with a bit of romance, this book is for you. My first read by the author but it won't be my last. I do recommend this book.

This book is set in rural North Yorkshire in the late 1800s/early 1900s. It follows the lives of 2 people who live in nearby villages and the value of friendship.

This book is filled with emotion and twists and turns. It is beautifully written filled full of lyrical writing and it will touch your heart. It is a complete page turner. This book is a must read for fans of historical fiction.

I am taking part in the blog tour for THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR by Tracy Rees and published by Quercus on 2nd April 2020.

A rags to riches story in the vein of Catherine Cookson, THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR is my first book by Tracy Rees and having devoured this one I am eager to read more.

Set in Yorkshire at the turn of the 20th century, Tommy and Josie are little more than children when they meet. Both are from mining communities in neighbouring villages that rival the other with nothing more than the knowledge that their paths had already been mapped out for them by generations of tradition. For Tommy, it's to go underground as a miner - for Josie, it's to be the wife and mother of a miner. Together they form an unlikely friendship, chasing dreams, asking questions and sharing secrets...as we follow their journey from children into young adults.

At the age of 12, Tommy Green leaves school to begin work at the mine where his father and brothers work, and where his brother had died before him. But Tommy yearns for an education, to learn more than just what's expected of him. On his final day of school, he asks the schoolmaster what he may do to further his education, but the schoolmaster just shrugs his queries off as shirking his responsibilities to his family of miners. And so down the mine Tommy goes. But surely there is something more than this life? What's wrong with wanting to better yourself? What's wrong with wanting something different rather than what's expected?

Tommy found himself fascinated with the Sedgewick family who lived at Silvermoor, and who owned the mines in which the village worked. Ever since his 5th birthday when the villagers were invited to attend the christening party of their newest addition Lord Walter, Tommy has felt an affinity to the family. He even secretly imagined that he was the long lost son of the Earl who would take him under his wing and that he would live at Silvermoor. But it was just a dream.

It was on one Sunday afternoon when Tommy was out walking, instead of attending church with his family, that he found himself near the village of Arden and the silent halls of Heston Manor, where the feared Barridges had once lived before the death of their heir. Winthrop Barridge, a cruel and hateful man many feared, owned the mines of Arden and ran them with a brutal hand. He was in a daydream when he came across a pretty young slip of a girl with the blackest eyes and the reddest hair he had ever seen picking bluebells and violets for her sister's wedding. Her name was Josie.

At 11 years old, Josie Westgate knows she is nothing special. Her ma reminds her of that fact daily, should she ever get any ideas above her station. She is one of four daughters and one son, the second youngest with little Tansy the last of them all. On the day she meets Tommy, her ma sent her out to pick violets for her older sister Alice's hair for her wedding. At this time of year there was only one place she knew to find them...and that was in Heston Manor grounds. After collecting the violets she gathered some bluebells for herself until a surprise appearance by the gamekeeper in which he bullies her and tramples on those she held in her shaking hands.

In Tommy, Josie finds a kindred spirit. He comes to her rescue and warns her to steer clear of Heston grounds, for even in the village of Grindley folk knew not to cross paths with the Barridge's gamekeeper. Every Sunday, the two meet in the lanes between their villages to walk, talk and dream of a better life beyond that which is expected of them.

For both Tommy and Josie, life couldn't be more different and yet still be the same. Both are from mining families in mining communities living hand to mouth. And yet that is where the similarities end. Tommy is from a loving family with thirteen mouths to feed but they are happy. Josie is from a bitter and disparate family who have mainly daughters that cannot earn a living down the mines to keep food on their table...and a secret that threatens to destroy everything she has ever known.

One night, Josie is shocked to discover that her parents intend to send her down the mines and her dear friend Miss Embry knocks on Tommy's door in the middle of the night, begging for his help. After her father locks her in the coal shed and the house soon goes off to sleep, Tommy deftly opens the shed to rescue Josie and they run off into the night.

As fate intervenes and a chance encounter with a stranger at Heston Manor, Tommy and Josie find themselves at Silvermoor on a promise from one of the family. They are welcomed with open arms, given food and warmth and a place to sleep as both their stories take on different turns. Although Tommy remains down the pits, Josie is taken into service in York but spends many weeks and months back at Silvermoor with Lady Coralie, for whom she is now a lady's maid.

And all the while, both Tommy and Josie await for his chance at a different life... Will it come? Or will Tommy be destined to remain down the pits forever? And die the same death as his brother before him?

Told solely from Tommy and Josie's perspectives, THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR is a beautifully written tale weaves both their stories together with an expert hand. As readers we watch those stories unfold as Tommy and Josie overcome heartache, tragedy and loss to find love, happiness and contentment. From Grindley and Arden to Silvermoor, York...and beyond!

Beginning in 1897 through to 1905, THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR is a captivating journey at the turn of the century surrounding the South Yorkshire mining community and the house at the centre of it all - Silvermoor. It is a sweeping tale of love, loss and family that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

There is so much to just love about this book with plenty you'll love to hate and even more you'll love to love. A novel to get swept away in, to lose yourself for a day, to just enjoy the journey and to savour it once it's over. THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR is everything and more. It is a must for fans of historical fiction. It is Catherine Cookson of the 21st century.

I would like to thank #TracyRees, #NetGalley and #Quercus for an ARC of #TheHouseAtSilvermoor in exchange for an honest review.

The House At Silvermoor by Tracy Rees is an epic historical novel set in the south Yorkshire coalfields and beginning in 1897, moving into the new century.
The reader sees the hardship of the time. The miners are at the mercy of their superiors and the coal face. Their days are long and dangerous. Their futures bleak. It takes guts, determination and dreams to break out of the mould. The reader ‘experiences’ the hand to mouth existence. If the miners don’t work, they don’t eat. Tragedy is never far away.
The turn of the century saw a society very much divided into the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’ There was a strict hierarchy that was seldom breached.
Against this backdrop, friendships form. Some friendships always think of others first, even sacrificing their own dreams. Some are kind and loyal.
In contrast there are some cruel families who regard their children as their property. “By taking his daughter I had taken his property.” Child abuse was not unknown.
The characters are all wonderfully drawn, eliciting some strong emotional responses from the reader.
Education is important. Education will help you rise above your roots.
I absolutely loved The House At Silvermoor. It was a riveting read that I could not put down.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

Having love 'The Hourglass' I was very pleased to find The House at Silvermoor.

A really enjoyable read. It took me longer than usual to read but that's down to the current world situation and being very distracted by the news.

I loved the story of life in a mining village, and how narrow horizons turned into big dreams.

I hope Tracy writes a follow up!

Expectations and generalisations are an odd thing. When I first read the the blurb for ‘The House at Silvermoor’ and saw it is set in a South Yorkshire mining community, I hesitated. But I decided to place my trust in the author, Tracy Rees, because I read and loved her ‘Amy Snow’. What a good decision it was.
Inspired by her grandfather Len, Rees researched coal mining at the turn of the century. This research informs every page but never interferes with her story of Tommy Green from the mining village of Grindley and Josie Westgate of nearby Arden. When they are twelve they meet in a country lane, talking over a dropped bunch of bluebells. Rees is excellent at world creation: the hard grind of the mining families, the lack of options, the durability and sense of inevitability of the families, the autocratic families that rule the mines, the temptation of the unknown. Tommy is destined to work in the pits of the Sedgewick family of Silvermoor where his father and brothers work, where his brother Dan died in an accident. Josie’s father and brothers work in the nearby pits owned by Winthrop Barridge, where standards are lower, the work more hazardous, and no compensation for widows of miners killed at work. Her sisters work at the mine too, above ground, washing coal.
As the story starts, it is Tommy’s last day at school. His destiny is to work in the pits despite wanting more, something different, despite his dreams. Dismissed by his schoolteacher as the best of a bad lot and accused of false pride, Tommy is tongue-tied. ‘In quite real terms, my tongue had lodged in my throat in a glutinous lump, and I could neither swallow nor speak’. That night, in a rite of manhood, he is taken poaching at midnight by his father to Heston Manor, the rundown estate owned by Barridge and patrolled by guards. Entrance is forbidden but food is scarce so the risk is worth it. Josie’s sister Alice is marrying and she runs to her secret place in the grounds of Heston Manor to pick wildflowers. She is caught by the gamekeeper Paulson. She lies her way out of an awkward situation, runs towards home and bumps into Tommy. It is a lovely meeting between two adolescents, on the brink of their lives, both rebels, both smart enough to talk their way out of trouble, and both capable of getting themselves into trouble.
The relationship between Tommy and Josie is at the heart of this novel as they navigate the difficult paths deemed to be their fate. Both want more, both struggle with restriction and each supports the other. Into the picture come Arden shopkeeper Dulcie Embry, who inherits the village shop from her uncle and is determined to prove it is a job for a woman, and who becomes a particular friend of Josie; a mysterious ghost that haunts Heston Manor and rides a white stallion; and Lord Walter Sedgewick, son of the earl and five years younger that Tommy, who was christened on Tommy’s birthday. This connection runs throughout the story in ways I did not expect and opens up new friendships and loyalties that cross the rigidities of class.
It is the turn of the century, the promise of the 1900s brings expectations, new opportunities and tradition challenged. This is a story of love, loyalty, the fight against exploitation, the hope of goodness. It is the story of a family mystery and a romance, bound up with the rapidly changing social history of its time. Excellent. A note about the cover design; beautiful, but completely irrelevant to the story.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

A tale of miners lives and opportunities. The sections of the book involved with the miners families and communities was incredibly well written. Two lives who want more than mine working for their destiny. I found the dialogue of the gentry less believable, but this can be forgiven as the ret of the book is a real page turner. 4* review.