Fiennders Keepers

In a satisfying historical romance, Marsh (The House of Eliot; coauthor of and actress in the TV series Upstairs, Downstairs) takes on the forbidding barriers of class and station in 19th-century England. Young aristocrat Richard Oliver Ormerod Fiennders has a close friendship with the gamekeeper's daughter, Mary Bowden, at Fiennders' Abbey. Their innocent infatuation is discovered by sexy head gardener, Sam Reade, who warns Richard's mother, Ann (his secret lover), not to interfere. Heedless, Ann does her best to break up the relationship by arranging that Mary be married off at 14 to the local blacksmith. No one is surprised when the marriage doesn't ""take."" George, Mary's husband, is soon having an affair with a young widow, with his wife's tacit approval. Meanwhile, Richard finishes school and marries an earl's daughter--a companionable union, but not his heart's desire. By the time George is accidentally killed, Richard has confronted the lie of his marriage. He shows up at Mary's cottage one New Year's Eve and never leaves. The story then flashes forward to the 1990s, to Mary's and Richard's great-grandchildren and their struggles and passions, an oddly tacked-on ending that breaks the spell of veracity that sustains the earlier portion of the novel. Despite this unwelcome distraction, Marsh's skill for characterization makes for pleasant reading. (May)