The House in the Orchard

By: Elizabeth Brooks

Narrated by: Ell Potter

When a World War II widow inherits a dilapidated English estate, she uncovers a diary written by an adolescent girl named Maude Gower. Looking for answers, she begins reading, only to unravel more questions about the mysterious past and many secrets hidden deep within the walls of Orchard House.

In 1876, orphaned Maude is forced to leave London, and her adored brother, Frank, to live with a stranger. Everyone—especially Frank—tells her not to trust Miss Greenaway, the enigmatic owner of Orchard House, but Maude can't help warming to her new guardian. Encouraged by Miss Greenaway, Maude finds herself discovering who she is for the first time, and learning to love her new home. But when Frank comes for an unexpected visit, the delicate balance of Maude's life is thrown into disarray. Complicating matters more, Maude witnesses an adult world full of interactions she cannot quite understand. Her efforts to regain control result in a violent tragedy, the repercussions of which will haunt Orchard House for the rest of Maude's life—and beyond.

With each psychologically gripping turn, Elizabeth Brooks masterfully explores the blurred lines between truth and manipulation, asking us who we can trust, how to tell guilt from forgiveness, and whether we can ever really separate true love from destruction.

©2022 Elizabeth Brooks (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Hated the Ending

The writing was excellent, and the narrator was fantastic, but toward the end of the book, the story took a very dark turn. The ending left no closure at all, and I found myself extremely frustrated when the story just stopped with no real answers as to what really happened or who to believe.

Excellently woven story

"I shall marshall the facts in the form of a list" is just one of the sentences that struck me as the artful way in which this story was written. True to the eras in which elements of the story take place, and leaving the reader with unresolved questions. Whose perspective is to be trusted?

Not what I expected

It was much too slow and daily diary entries of a 13 yr old were just to tedious.

No closure

Well written and performed but the ending feels incomplete. I even re-listened to the last 3 chapters to make sure I didn’t miss something - nope.