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Penniless and newly orphaned Briar Monroe finds shelter at Thornby Manor, a brooding estate above a mist-shrouded lake. But whispers of a dead wife, an estranged son and locked-away secrets haunt its corridors … Atmospheric, intoxicating and laced with peril – a spellbinding historical mystery of love, betrayal, obsession and a house that will not forget…
There – suddenly – was Thornby Manor.
I would never forget the first time I saw it…
A talisman of darkness, an emblem of death.
Warwickshire, 1891. Recently orphaned and left destitute, Briar Monroe accepts the protection of Lord Danville and the shadowed sanctuary of Thornby Manor. The great house looms above a mist-shrouded lake, its corridors heavy with secrets – not least the mysterious death of Lady Elizabeth Danville, and the unspoken tensions between her formidable widower and his magnetic son, Gabriel.
As Briar navigates the undercurrents of a household ruled by watchful servants and locked doors, she is drawn ever deeper into a web of suspicion, desire and fear. Whispers in the night, figures at windows, and a constant sense of being watched leave her questioning not only the truth about Thornby, but her own safety within its walls.
Atmospheric, intoxicating and laced with peril, Thornby Manor is a gothic tale of betrayal, obsession and a house that never forgets.
A simmering, haunting debut for readers who loved Jane Eyre, Rebecca, The Woman in White and The Silent Companions
Publisher: Orenda Books
Format : Ebook, Audiobook, Hardback (23 April 2026)
EXTRACT
CHAPTER TWO
Days later, I held Aunt Josephine’s letter to my chest as the train rumbled through the countryside and Oxford’s towering spires turned to chequerboard fields. Harbingers of winter had bleached them of their colour, and so the landscape rolled slowly by in barren bursts punctuated only by the trees, which flanked its borders like skeletons shedding skins of scarlet, amber, and gold.
‘England’s green and pleasant land,’ I whispered to no one. I wondered what my aunt would say, after so many months spent in the sunny climes of southern Spain. How unquestioningly she had forgone walks beside roaring seas and tea beneath porticos of whitewashed stone to come to the aid of a niece she had seen but once in years. She had missed my father’s funeral, a lingering chest complaint preventing her from making the journey. Had she known the depth of my plight, her letter told me, then she would have commandeered the ship herself. I felt a familiar tightening in my ribcage as my thoughts strayed to that day. The memory of my sister’s ashen face as raindrops dripped steadily from her veil. The small gathering that watched on in silence as the coffin was lowered into the slippery earth. My father’s end was as gloomy as his life was vibrant. When I lay awake at night, I could still feel the tremble of my mother’s hands as they clutched my sleeve. If only I had known the true frailty hidden beneath her touch.
I placed my forefinger and thumb between my collar and the skin that had begun to prickle at the base of my neck. The darkness was descending upon me again: the funeral, my mother’s pain; my despair, my unrelenting despair. Fear that throttled me so violently; as merciless now as it had been then. Tentacles of heat spread from my chest and wound their way towards my throat like a vine. My breathing became shallower and more insistent; my ears submerged in waves of static. Not here … not now … I closed my eyes and suddenly I was there. A dark corridor. An illuminated door. The thunderclap of my heartbeat. My mother’s screams…
What others are saying about Thornby Manor:
‘Gloriously and traditionally gothic, rich in mist, rattling windowpanes, hidden missives and feverish dreams … an addictive Victorian mystery’ Joanna Miller
‘A gripping gothic tale, simmering with menace’ A.J. West
‘Fuses the brooding sense of menace of a Brontë novel with the twisty notes of a suspense thriller. A deliciously absorbing gothic mystery’ Vaseem Khan
‘Atmospheric and accomplished … steeped in the gothic tradition of mystery and grief’ Essie Fox
My thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours for the place on the tour.
Stephanie Bramwell-Lawes grew up in the historic city of Bath and studied History and Ancient History at Exeter University. A lifelong love of literature led to a career in publishing in 2009, and her passion for books has only continued to grow ever since. Her favourite novels include Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, and anything by Tracy Chevalier. She currently lives in a restored asylum in Warwickshire with her husband and a small feline dictator named Ruby. Thornby Manor is her debut novel.
Author links: X | Insta | Orenda Books | AmazonUK
