Book Review: 12 Days at Bleakly Manor

For a very long time, Charles Dickens was my favorite author. I seldom read Dickens anymore, but still have a fascination with Victorian novels and non-fiction. 12 Days at Bleakly Manor is the 1st book in the Once Upon a Dickens Christmas series by Michelle Griep. The plot is a standard manor house mechanism. A hodge-podge of people receive invitations to come to Bleakly Manor to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas. Each hopes to be the sole visitor remaining on Twelfth Night, January 5th, so they will receive their promised prize.

In December 1851, Clara Chapman receives a bizarre invitation to stay at an English manor house called Bleakly Manor. Normally, she wouldn't even consider leaving her ill aunt behind. But the 500 pound prize offered if she endures the full 12 days of Christmas may provide her only way out of impending poverty. Clara wonders what God is up to. She had wondered something similar when she stood at the altar awaiting her wedding, only to be jilted by her betrothed, Benjamin Lane. Someone stole her family estate and left her dependent upon her aunt. Was it Benjamin Lane?

She arrives at Bleakly Manor and meets several of the other individuals promised a prize. But who is the host and what is this odd game? Why are the rations so limited? And, finally, why is Benjamin Lane included in the invitation list? Can she ever forgive him? Moreover, who holds ill-intent against the assembled guests?

You will enjoy this book if you love any of the following things: Victorian England or Dickens, mysteries with a touch of romantic intrigue or stories that illustrate truths about religious experience, cozy holiday tales or atmospheric whodunits. Since I adore Victorian stories, I enjoyed this romp of a tale. It put me in the holiday spirit. The well-timed plot and structure kept me listening while attempting to whittle away the pounds on the treadmill.