Books › The Pride of the Peacock
The Pride of the Peacock
First published 1976 · 664 pages
A classic gothic romance that trades the traditional misty moors for the sun-baked, secret-drenched opal mines of Australia.
What it feels like
Reading this classic romantic suspense feels like stepping into a beautifully crafted time capsule of the gothic genre. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, slowly ratcheting up the tension as it transitions from the gloomy, oppressive atmosphere of an English estate to the vast, sun-baked isolation of the Australian outback. The mood is steeped in brooding mystery and a creeping sense of ominous dread, balanced by an earnest, slow-burn romance. The prose is lush and slightly formal, perfectly suited to a pragmatic heroine navigating a labyrinth of family secrets and a marriage of convenience. It will thoroughly delight fans of sweeping, atmospheric mysteries who love watching a resilient woman uncover dark truths in an unfamiliar, dangerous landscape.
- Mood
- brooding
- atmospheric
- ominous
- sweeping
- Tone
- earnest
- suspenseful
- melodramatic
- romantic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- marriage of convenience · family secrets · isolation and reinvention · the corrupting power of wealth
- The writing
- Lush, slightly formal, and heavily atmospheric, leaning into the sensory details of both gloomy English manors and the harsh Australian outback.
- The arc
- Begins in a state of unloved isolation and moves through a labyrinth of suspense toward self-discovery and hard-won romantic trust.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave classic, slow-burn gothic romances where a pragmatic heroine must unravel a deadly mystery in an exotic, isolated setting.
Content notes
- emotional neglect
- mild peril
- murder
About the book
Only the strongest love can combat the dangers attached to this fabled opal stone
Victoria Holt takes readers on an exhilarating ride in this mesmerizing classic set in turn-of-the-century England. Raised in the shadow of her family's financial ruin, Jessica Clavering has never been understood or loved at the Dower House. But when a unique inheritance compels her to marry the owner of a fabled opal mine, she leaves her past behind in pursuit of a brighter future in Australia. It's only once they arrive on the far away continent that Jessica starts to uncover her family's dark past.
Description from Open Library.
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