The Tutor's Daughter

I loved this visit to old England. The Tutor's Daughter is a mystery with a bit of romance. The mystery goes to almost the end and was a surprise to me.
Emma Smallwood and her father have accepted an invite to go and teach the younger son's of Sir Giles Weston, Rowan and Julian. Emma hopes that this change from the school he runs will help revive him from his depression.
Lady Weston meets them at the door, very surprised they are there. They are later shown to their rooms and told to stay away from the North Wing?
Emma and her Dad are also reunited with their formal pupils Henry and Phillip Weston. Emma harbors feelings for Phillip, where as Henry was always teasing and pulling pranks on her. There is also a young girl at their home, Lizzie Henshaw, who is Lady Weston's Ward. It will take you quite awhile to decide if she is a friend or a foe?
Henry Weston I found to be wonderful God loving man, he seems to really care for most anyone, including risking his own life.
Sit down and have a cup of tea, and enjoy this great story.

I received this book through Litfuse Publicity Tours, and was not required to give a positive review.

Emma’s father seemed to lose his enthusiasm and joy for teaching following his wife’s death. Determined to see her father happy again, Emma convinces her father to accept a private tutoring position for the two young sons of a baron. The older two sons were students at their boarding school years before and Emma is sure that some time away from home will be beneficial for both of them.

The manor holds many secrets – strange noises at night, odd behaviors from those living in the home, things disappearing from Emma’s room – all difficult to explain.

The older sons of the baron, Phillip and Henry Weston, are no strangers to Emma but with all that is happening in the house, Emma isn’t sure who to trust. Her past experiences with Henry make it even more difficult to trust him. During the time Henry attended the boarding school, he played endless tricks on Emma and the current happenings at the manor seem to mimic many of his pranks.

Emma’s emotions are conflicted though. Even though her past experience with Henry has been difficult, their present conversations and interactions tell her heart that he cannot be behind all of the secrets currently happening. She is torn between the friendship she holds with Phillip and the growing friendship with Henry.

When Emma stumbles onto a huge family secret, she believes all of the mysterious happenings in the manor will cease – but instead things grow even more difficult. Who should Emma trust for her safety and her heart?

My Thoughts on The Tutor’s Daughter
In a sense, this book reminded me of a cross between an Austen and Bronte book. The mysterious happenings in an old English manor, the troubling family secret – all combine together to make The Tutor’s Daughter a wonderful book from Klassen. Out of all of the books that I’ve read by her, this is one of my favorites {close behind is The Apothecary's Daughter}.

The relationship history between the main character Emma and the two brothers adds to the mystery behind the story, especially since there is a time difference and the reader knows there is some skew in perspective based on the ages of the characters. The development of the various relationships is fun to read and

Out of the entire story, I truly appreciate the big ‘family secret’ – which in that time frame would have been something that was very misunderstood and hidden. Klassen handles this situation well and even provides further explanation of the issue during that time period at the end of the book to help the reader understand it. {I can’t say more without spoiling some of the plot line}.

Add in a lot of suspense, several other parallel story lines that will intrigue you, and you have another great book from Klassen that you will want to add to your shelves {or your Kindle library}. Here are a few more books by Julie Klassen that I have also enjoyed: The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, The Girl in the Gatehouse, The Silent Governess, The Apothecary's Daughter, and Lady of Milkweed Manor. If you enjoy period fiction, you will really enjoy her books!

I liked the characters, the clues unraveling the mystery, and the ominously dangerous moments. A good regency era novel.