"A super Regency Gothic"

I fell in love with Sandra Heath after reading her book LAVENDER BLUE. After that I have been devouring her titles - an impressive list of nearly 50 books I might add! So backtracking, I was delighted to see this re-done and released. Originally put out released in August 1986 as MANNERBY'S LADY, it is now called THE WHISPERING ROCKS. It's one super Regency read. As with all of Heath's tales, they are really "more" than a Regency. They often have strong overtones of Gothic or Paranormal themes, with strong British settings - done by a real British writer. As someone who was raised on Gothics, I am really glad to have found Heath.

THE WHISPERING ROCKS is really Gothic pure and simple, and no one weaves lore, atmosphere and mystery into her stories better. Sarah Jane Stratford is a beautiful woman, but being base-born, poverty has held her back. Then Fate takes a hand when she learns about her father, and she is suddenly pushed into the glittering world of the ton. Her father finally sought her out to marry her off to his heir. An oaf that evokes little liking in Sarah. She is hardly prepared for the viciousness of this new world, and soon finds herself the object of gossip. Her father is furious, so banishes her from London. Her reputation in shreds, she is sent to Mannerby to hide her shame, of which she is innocent. The brooding manner offers her a haven from the merciless tongue-waggings of the ton, but the sanctuary comes with a cost. Sarah's guardians are more like prison guards. No one seems to like Sarah and something sinister is going on. Sarah feels this oppressive isolation closing in on her, exacerbated by her new guardian's daughter Melissa, who delights in Sarah's torment.

Sarah feels a menace is following her and that it might have something to do with Hob's Tor (Hob being a nickname for the Devil). Locals whisper the place is evil.

Heath imbues her tales with the "real locale" of Dartmoor. Her books just have such textures and details writers try to reach and seldom do. This is one super Gothic, and shows the remarkable strength as a writer in the early years of this wonderfully prolific author.

Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted October 31, 2005

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A Gothic rewrite of the previously published Mannerby's Lady

Summary

Beautiful Sarah Jane Stratford had only known poverty—until Fate thrust her into the glittering world of wealth and fashion, changing her life forever. But when she becomes the innocent cause of scandal, she must escape the ton's merciless gossip—and head for far-off Mannerby.

There is safety in the manor that looms over the dreary moor. But it soon becomes her private prison—and her hateful guardians its wardens. Trapped and isolated, Sarah senses something sinister trailing her, and it might have to do with nearby Hob's Tor, which locals say is a place of evil. Now, strangers haunt her path and danger lies around every corner. And even as she begins to fall for a local nobleman, Sarah must watch her step...