The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

One of the best things about reviewing books is that sometimes I get to preview a book that isn't even on shelves yet. It is an amazing thing to hold a book and drink in the thought that I might be the very first reader to turn its pages. Okay, so maybe other people have already read it, but it doesn't hurt to hope does it??

As I held The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky the first thought I had was the pure joy of holding a new book. I am a new book addict. It doesn't have to be "brand new" to be wonderful, but that new book smell doesn't hurt. The second thought I had was "Oh, right. I am reviewing this one." This helped me come back down from the clouds.

I have decided to break this book review into sections about each part of the above novel. I am not certain if it will be a more entertaining format, but it doesn't hurt to mix it up once in a while.

~The Cover~

At first glance, or glances, I found the cover to be very appealing. The colors are beautiful. I love how the title is showcased. I LOVE the mansion in the background which is, you guessed it, Highland Hall. The back of the book is also lovely. I don't find anything disagreeable about the heroine being on the cover; however, I have begun to like the books where the main characters' faces are not shown, as seen on several of Karen Witemeyer's book covers. It gives the reader a hint of mystery and allows them to use their imagination. This book cover tells me exactly how Turansky (or the cover designer) views Miss Julia Foster, the governess of Highland Hall, which in the end became beneficial to me as I will later describe. So, yes the cover is appealing and the woman on the front playing the role of Julia Foster is most agreeable; however, I did not envision said person as I delved into the novel.

~The Setting~

1911. England. Highland Hall. Seems pretty generic. Granted, I did not personally experience post WWI England. But as an literary scholar I want to ask why 1911? In this novel there seemed to be no significance in the date choice. Though I would guess Turansky might use the first world war in subsequent novels. However, here one might think she pulled the date out of a hat. (I have often wondered how an author chooses a date and pulling one out of a hat might be the easiest method after all). England. What a novel idea! (pardon the pun) These days I do not find many Christian fiction novels set in England. There seems to be an overabundance of Western novels (some of my favorites mind you) and Contemporary novels. Turansky seems to be following in Julie Klassen's footsteps, bringing back the Jane Austen-like novel which I am very fond of. Highland Hall. As I mentioned before the cover does a good job of portraying the esteemed Highland Hall; however, I do not remember a description in the book itself. This may be due to my lack of long-term memory skills or it may not have been a memorable description. I will leave that up to you to decide.

The first thing I noticed about The Governess of Highland Hall was how similar it is to Dowtown Abbey. The setting plays a big part in this comparison. All three parts of the setting remind me of the beloved (well I love it!) television series (if you haven't watched it you must!). The setting of this novel is also reminiscent of Upstairs Downstairs, another BBC favorite. 

~The Characters~

This novel is about a governess, as the title suggests; however it is not just about this one character. As the novel progresses characters seem to come out of the wood work. But I am getting ahead of myself. As I mentioned before the heroine, Julia Foster, is very agreeably portrayed on the book's cover; however, her description is lacking in the book. I want to make it clear that Turansky does an excellent job painting Julia's inward self. It is easy to learn from Julia's character because she is such a strong Christian who only becomes stronger in her faith. Nevertheless, the novel lacks a solid description of Julia Foster's appearance. If it wasn't for the book's cover I would not know what Julia looks like. Yes, there are descriptions of her later in the book, but I needed to be introduced to her person at the beginning.

I found the same to be true for Sir William Ramsey's character. I had to use a process of elimination to determine William's appearance. The reader is told that William's children have red hair and freckles. William himself mentions, later in the story, that the children take after their mother in this regard. So I deduced  that William does not have red hair. Then the reader is told, even later, what William's brother looks like. David has a mustache and is shorter than William. To no avail, I still don't know what William looks like. 

This lack of knowledge continued with many of the characters. I felt that their heads and appendages were made out of question marks. So I used the old imagination. My comparison of this novel and Downtown Abbey did not stop at the setting it also leaked into the characters. For Mrs. Emmitt I envisioned Mrs. Hughes, played by Phyllis Logan. For Mr. Lawrence I saw Mr Carson, played by Jim Carter. For Ann, the maid, I saw Daisy Mason, played by Sophie McShera. You probably see a trend here so I won't bore you with the rest of my list. Many of the Dowtown Abbey characters appearance not only fit the bill, but they also had many of the qualities of Turansky's characters.

As the characters kept emerging I truelly wondered if Carrie Turansky watched Dowtown Abbey before writing her first draft. So many of the characters remind me of Downtown Abbey characters. To top it all off Turansky adds a love interest between lady of the manor, Sarah Ramsey, and the head gardener, Clark Dalton. Does this remind anyone of a similar lady and chauffeur?  

Although the descriptions of characters' personal appearances were lacking, their personalities were rich and by the middle of the book the amount of characters ceased to be confusing and I realized they all had a purpose to fulfill in the plot.

~Overview~

In the end, I enjoyed The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky. There were a few twists and turns that made it exciting and a happily-ever-after ending that everyone longs for. I think I would have liked it to end badly though. Or maybe if it would have ended with a cliff hanger I would have been much more eager to read the second book Turansky is now writing. However, as my sister just pointed out, it is Christian fiction...nothing every ends badly. 

Thank you to Carrie Turansky for a good read and to the publisher for sending me a copy of this novel in exchange for a honest review.