The House At Riverton    by Kate Morton Order:  USA  Can Atria, 2008 (2008) Hardcover, CD      Reviewed by Joan Burton Ursula Ryan is a movie director who plans to make a film about certain events that happened at Riverton House in 1924, seventy five years before the story opens. Once a private home belonging to the wealthy Hartford family of England, it is now classed as a historical home and is open to the public for tours. There is only one person still alive who can help Ursula with information for her movie. Grace Bradley worked at Riverton House as a servant when she was a young girl of fourteen, before World War I. Like her mother before her, Grace spent many years connected to the family, especially to the two sisters Hannah and Emmaline. In the summer of 1924, the family was hosting a lavish party when a young poet, Robbie Hunter, committed suicide. Hannah and Emmaline were witnesses - and only they and Grace know the truth. Now at ninety-eight years old, Grace is living out her life in a nursing home. After she is approached by Ursula, Grace feels she wants to help tell the story of the Hartfords and the House of Riverton. Ursula takes Grace back to Riverton to tour the home and she is flooded with memories of the past. Some she welcomes and others she tries to ignore, but fate has other ideas. Grace knows that she will always be connected to the family. Grace narrates the story of her years at Riverton in flashback. The house is full of secrets, some revealed, and others left hidden. We are eye witnesses to an era of wealth and privilege before the war changed it all. The House At Riverton is a great novel. It takes place in a time when social classes were very apparent and significant, but when they came together they might shake a family's foundations. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Historical books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews