Sea of Secrets: A Novel of Victorian Romantic Suspense (42 page)
Read Sea of Secrets: A Novel of Victorian Romantic Suspense Online
Authors: Amanda DeWees
When I started submitting that manuscript to publishers, a generous editor fished it out of the slush pile and took the time to phone me with feedback and suggestions. “Get further away from Shakespeare” was what his advice boiled down to. “Make the story your own.” But it wasn’t until years later that I discovered how to do that.
By then I was working on my doctoral dissertation under the guidance of Dr. Anne Williams, whose fields of expertise include gothic literature. I can’t remember when the epiphany hit me, but I realized that
Hamlet
was very gothic indeed—it had murder, ghosts, madness, dark secrets from the past, and a deeply messed-up family dynamic at the core. I had been steeping myself in nineteenth-century fiction and poetry, and I could easily see the story transplanted to that era. Hamlet himself seemed like a natural companion to such Byronic characters as Edward Rochester and Heathcliff.
The only wrinkle was that my feelings about Hamlet himself had changed: I had realized that in real life the brooding loner preoccupied with his own pain generally makes a crummy boyfriend. I had also read enough gothic romances to become weary of the rule that the moody dark man who treats the heroine with contempt is always destined to be the hero, while the nice fair-haired chap with decent manners inevitably turns out to be stringing the heroine along for some nefarious purpose. This time, I decided, the nice guy was going to be just that. The trouble was, nice guys were scarce on the ground in my source material. So Charles was invented out of the whole cloth to serve as Herron’s opposite and a contrast to the general angst.
The coda to my story is an amusing one: when I submitted
Sea of Secrets
to the editor whose advice had made such an impression on me, he responded that the story had now strayed too far away from its Shakespearean source material. But by that point, Oriel and the other characters had taken on a life of their own, independent of their Shakespearean counterparts, and I was happy with the story that had grown up around them.
Because the story has evolved so far from its origins, however, I’ve saved disclosure of the
Hamlet
connection for this afterword. My hope is that readers who recognize the echoes of
Hamlet
as they read will enjoy the Shakespearean elements in Oriel’s story, and that those who don’t notice the parallels will nonetheless enjoy
Sea of Secrets
on its own merits.
* * *
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Warning: Spoilers follow!
If you have not finished reading Sea of Secrets and don’t wish to know what happens, it’s best not to read the following questions.
- Sea of Secrets
is clearly inspired by Shakespeare’s
Hamlet.
What are some of the parallels? What are the biggest differences? Does
Sea of Secrets
give you a different perspective on
Hamlet?
Do the parallels between the two works enhance
Sea of Secrets?
If so, how? - Very rarely is the heroine, Oriel, addressed by name. Instead, those around her use endearments, nicknames, or other ways of referring to her (e.g., “daughter,” “Ondine,” “my dear”). What do these different forms of address reveal about each character’s relationship with Oriel? Who actually calls her by her name, and is this significant?
- The sea is a recurring presence in the book, and Oriel feels she has a special relationship with it. Why is this? In what ways does this connection manifest itself? Is the ocean a symbol? If so, what does it symbolize, and does this meaning change over the course of the story?
- Different characters offer a variety of perspectives on the late duke, Herron’s father. What kind of picture emerges from their descriptions and implications?
- A turning point in Herron and Oriel’s relationship occurs when he strips her on the night of the ball. Why does he do this? What does it reveal about his feelings toward women in general and Oriel in particular?
- Over the course of the novel Oriel gains two suitors. What traits in each man attract her? How are they different? What qualities in Charles may make him a better match for Oriel than Herron?
- How does Oriel change over the course of the story? In what ways does she gain wisdom or maturity? Do you feel that she is a stronger person at the end of the novel than she is at the beginning? What do you envision that her future will be like?
- Oriel is haunted by the fear that she may take after her father. Do you see any resemblances between them? What are her father’s chief personality traits?
- In the 1850s, when the story takes place, the position of Victorian women was still greatly limited. Based on the female characters in the story, what impression do you get of the expected role of the Victorian woman? In what ways do different characters adhere to that role or defy it?
- Sea of Secrets
follows in the tradition of classic gothic romance novels like
Jane Eyre
and
Rebecca.
What traditional gothic elements do you see in the story? Are any of the gothic conventions altered or overturned in this novel?
Winner of the 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award for historical mystery/suspense
A curse…
In 1854, seventeen-year-old chambermaid Clara Crofton was dismissed from Gravesend Hall for having fallen in love with Richard Blackwood, the younger son of the house. Alone in the world, Clara found a tenuous position as a seamstress, but she always blamed the Gravesend curse for the disaster that had befallen her—and for Richard’s death soon after in the Crimean War.
A proposal…
Now, more than eighteen years later, Richard’s twin, Atticus, seeks out Clara with a strange proposal: if she will marry him and live with him as his wife in name only to ease the mind of his dying father, Atticus will then endow her with a comfortable income for the rest of her life. Clara knows that he is not disclosing his true motives, but when she runs out of options for an independent life, she has no choice but to become Atticus’s wife.
A deception…
For Clara, returning to Gravesend as a bride brings some triumph… but also great unease. Not only must she pretend to be a wellborn lady and devoted wife to a man whose face is a constant reminder of the love she lost, but ominous portents whisper that her masquerade brings grave danger. “This house will take from you what you most treasure,” her mother once warned her. But the curse has already taken the man Clara loved. Will it now demand her life?
Length: 290 pages ~ Sensuality level: mild ~ Book club discussion questions ~ Available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook
Widowed on her wedding night!
Sybil Ingram is at a crossroads. Once she was the toast of the London stage, but now that she's 28 years old—very well, nearly 30—her draw isn't what it used to be, and her theater troupe is foundering. When her trusted mentor asks her to take the blame for his financial misdeeds, Sybil sees no choice but to retire from the life she loves and move to America to marry New York City hotel magnate Alcott Lammle. But her path to happiness is cut short when Lammle dies suddenly—and in financial ruin.
Widowed, nearly penniless, and unable to return to England, the determined diva sets out to stake a claim on Brooke House, an eccentric neo-Gothic manor in the wilds of the Hudson River Valley. She soon finds, however, that a ghostly presence wants her gone. Even worse, her claim is challenged by the most insolent, temperamental, maddeningly gorgeous man she's ever met: Roderick Brooke, a once-famous former violinist whose career ended in a dark scandal.
Soon it’s a battle of wills as Sybil matches wits—and trades barbs—with Roderick, finding herself increasingly drawn to him despite her growing suspicion that there is a connection between him and the entity that haunts Brooke House. But an even greater threat arises in the form of the mysterious, powerful queen of local society, Mrs. Lavinia Dove. For reasons that Sybil can't imagine, Mrs. Dove is determined to oust Sybil from her sphere… and the lengths to which she will go are chilling indeed.
By turns mysterious and moving, sparkling and spooky,
Nocturne for a Widow
follows a spirited heroine through adventures in life, love, and death. From the colorful theatrical world of late-Victorian London to the American wilderness, Sybil's travels will test her mettle—and her heart.
Length: 280 pages ~ Sensuality level: mild ~ Available in ebook and paperback
A captivating young adult paranormal romance trilogy comprising
The Shadow and the Rose
,
Casting Shadows
,
and
Among the Shadows
“A satisfying supernatural YA tale that effectively mixes high school, magic, and mystery.” —
Kirkus Reviews
on
The Shadow and the Rose
In the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains, Ash Grove High School for the Performing Arts draws the brightest and most talented teens. But beneath the peaceful surface, supernatural forces are at work…
The Ash Grove Chronicles are a unique and refreshing young adult paranormal romance series. In
The Shadow and the Rose
,
Ash Grove junior Joy Sumner must rescue enigmatic teen model Tanner Lindsey from his seductive, supernatural mentor, the supermodel Melisande. In
Casting Shadows
,
Joy and Tanner confront the aftermath of recent events as their friends Maddie and William struggle with an upheaval in their friendship—and supernatural danger. In
Among the Shadows
,
Tanner finds himself in an alternate reality where Joy doesn’t know him, and when an old enemy returns he must persuade Joy to help him set things right.
Filled with humor, danger, magic, and romance, the
Ash Grove Chronicles
are a fresh new experience in young adult paranormal romance fiction.
Download
The Shadow and the Rose
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Age level: Suitable for older teens (17+)
Atlanta native Amanda DeWees received her PhD in English literature from the University of Georgia and likes to startle people by telling them that her dissertation topic was vampire literature. Besides writing, Amanda’s passions include theater, classic film, Ioan Gruffudd, costume design, and the preservation of apostrophes in their natural habitat. Visit her at
amandadewees.com
for book extras and other delightful diversions.