The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Fa

Description: The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey For fans of Downton Abbey, this New York Times bestseller is the enthralling true story of family secrets and aristocratic intrigue in the days before WWIAfter the Ninth Duke of Rutland, one of the wealthiest men in Britain, died alone in a cramped room in the servants quarters of Belvoir Castle on April 21, 1940, his son and heir ordered the room, which contained the Rutland family archives, sealed. Sixty years later, Catherine Bailey became the first historian given access. What she discovered was a mystery: The Duke had painstakingly erased three periods of his life from all family records—but why? As Bailey uncovers the answers, she also provides an intimate portrait of the very top of British society in the turbulent days leading up to World War I. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Catherine Bailey read history at Oxford University and is an award-winning television producer and director, making a range of critically acclaimed documentary films inspired by her interest in twentieth century history. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Secret Rooms and Black Diamonds. She lives in West London. Review "In pages more reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe than Evelyn Waugh… [Bailey] reminds us why this seemingly insignificant story bears telling." – The New York Times Book Review"With gripping detail and graceful prose…Baileys work can best be described as a work of probative history written with the storytelling skills of a latter-day Agatha Christie." – The Richmond Times-Dispatch "Populated with a bevy of real-life aristos who played by their own twisted and privileged set of rules, a searing portrait of family intrigue, dysfunction, and hubris—a la Downton Abbey—emerges." – Booklist "Bailey is a truly dogged detective… a compelling exposé" – Kirkus Reviews "Bailey deserves commendation for her meticulous research as well as her storytelling." – Publishers Weekly "Gripping. Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance." – The Sunday Times (London)"Compelling. A remarkable piece of research which throws a bright shaft of light on powerful people, hypocrisy and the First World War." – The Guardian Review Quote "Populated with a bevy of real-life aristos who played by their own twisted and privileged set of rules, a searing portrait of family intrigue, dysfunction, and hubrisa la Downton Abbeyemerges." Booklist "Bailey is a truly dogged detective... a compelling expos Excerpt from Book PART I 18-27 April 1940 Two doctors were already at the castle; a third, Lord Dawson, Physician to King George VI, was expected. It was mid-morning on Thursday 18 April 1940 and they were gathered at the entrance to a suite of rooms. The door leading into them was made of polished steel; the colour of gunmetal, it was the type used to secure a walk-in safe. The door was firmly closed. The light from the dim bulbs along the windowless passage cast pools of inky shadows around the waiting figures. Piles of cardboard boxes were stacked against the bare stone walls. Marked Secret - Property of His Majestys Government, they were secured with steel binding. The doctors - Dr Jauch, a GP from Grantham, and Mr Macpherson, an eminent chest specialist - had been in and out of the rooms since dawn. Shortly before eleven oclock, the first footman, dressed in an azure tailcoat and navy-blue breeches, escorted Lord Dawson across the Guard Room. A coldly sumptuous hall, it was the first point of entry to the 356-room castle. Rows of muskets, taller than a man, and hundreds of swords, their blades sharp-edged and glinting, lined its walls. From the vaulted roof hung the tattered remnants of regimental colours, captured in battle. Directly in front of them, a magnificent staircase swept to the state rooms on the upper floors; and yet, as the footman led the Kings doctor across the hall, he veered to the right, heading for its farthest corner. There, he ushered him through a discreet swing door. It marked the border between master and servant. They had stepped into the invisible world. Behind the Guard Room, the entire ground floor was devoted to the smooth running of the Dukes household. A gloomy hinterland of fifty rooms, some cavernous, some no larger than a priests hole, it was where the servants lived and worked. From here, a network of passages coursed through the castle: hidden routes, which spiralled up the narrow turrets and towers to the splendid rooms above, enabling the servants to carry out their duties unobserved. It was through this labyrinth of passages, deep in the servants quarters, that the footman conducted Lord Dawson, arriving at the steel door where the other doctors stood waiting. They were at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. Built in the Gothic style and situated on a ridge eight miles from Grantham, it belonged to John Henry Montagu Manners, the 9th Duke of Rutland. Aged fifty-three, he was one of the richest men in Britain. Three years earlier, he had carried the Sovereigns Sceptre at the coronation. His family had lived at Belvoir since the eleventh century. Looking south from the castles Flag Tower, he owned the land as far as the eye could see. Earlier that morning, the Dukes wife, Kakoo, had telephoned Lord Dawson. Her husband was desperately ill. He must come to the castle immediately. Up in the Flag Tower, the clock struck eleven. Ten minutes had passed since Lord Dawsons arrival, but he had yet to be admitted to see the Duke. The sounds of distant industry drifted along the passageway: shouted orders; the banging of tools; the clatter of footsteps approaching on bare stone. The sight of the Kings doctor in the passage immediately caught the servants attention. If there was something serious going on, the housekeeper and the butler would try and keep it quiet, George Waudby, the third footman, recalled. They might talk together, but theyd be tight-lipped in front of us lower ranks. We were their inferiors. We were the lowest of the low. We were never told anything. Everything we knew depended on what we saw or overheard. We all talked. We werent meant to, but we did, said Dorothy Plowright, the daughter of the boiler stoker. Every rank had its gossip: the upstairs maids, the kitchen staff, the footmen, they all had their grapevines. Until that morning, the servants grapevine had had nothing to report. They had seen and heard very little. We knew the Duke was unwell. He had been ill for a week. But we didnt realize it was serious, said George Waudby. We rarely saw the Duke. He spent all his time in his rooms. Every day, all day, he was in there. That had been the case for months. We knew this because they were in our quarters. Of course we had no idea what went on in there. Those rooms were absolutely secret. But we were told it was where the Duke worked. Nothing struck us as unusual. His routine hadnt changed. He had carried on working as normal. The servants had had no reason to believe the Dukes illness was life-threatening. Only two days previously, after spending the night at Belvoir, Lord Dawson had returned to London, satisfied that the Duke was on the mend. Before leaving the castle, he had issued a short statement to the press: The Duke of Rutland is suffering from pneumonia at his home, Belvoir Castle, and is now stated to be making satisfactory progress. The Duke, who is 53 and succeeded his father in 1925, was taken ill during last weekend. That morning, however, the servants had reason to suspect that the Dukes condition had deteriorated. Shortly after breakfast, three mysterious-looking packages were delivered to the castle. From that moment, they were on tenterhooks. The porter was on duty when the packages arrived at the lodge. Marked Urgent, they were addressed to Mr Speed, the Dukes valet. Two of the boxes were long and bulky; one was very heavy. The labels gave away their contents; they had come from Bartletts of Jermyn Street, Suppliers of Oxygen Tents. The castles odd-job men were summoned to take the packages to the entrance of the Dukes room, where Mr Speed was in attendance. Besides the butler and the housekeeper, Mr Speed was the only ser- vant the Duke allowed in his rooms, George Waudby remembered. The rest of us were forbidden to go in there. Details ISBN0143124730 Author Catherine Bailey Short Title SECRET ROOMS Language English ISBN-10 0143124730 ISBN-13 9780143124733 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY B Year 2013 Publication Date 2013-12-31 Subtitle A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret Place of Publication New York, NY Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2013-12-31 NZ Release Date 2013-12-31 US Release Date 2013-12-31 UK Release Date 2013-12-31 Pages 512 Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Imprint Penguin USA Illustrations 24-PAGE B/W PHOTO INSERT; 6 B/W MAPS; 3 B/W ILLUSTRATIONS Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:77885761;

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