Cover Image: Nettie’s Secret

Nettie’s Secret

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Member Reviews

Though it took me a while to get into the book, once I did it became an enjoyable summer read. I enjoyed much of the book, especially Nettie's character and her struggles as a female writer. I also enjoyed Byron's quest to find his family. However, some of the other characters did irritate me, especially Constance, and Nettie's father. I sometimes felt the plot was dragging, having no clear direction, but seeming to be just a ever-changing group of people wandering around Europe.
Despite this, I definitely enjoyed the book.

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An enjoyable story with interesting characters and fascinating details of life in those times. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this type of book.

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I found it difficult to get into the book to start with but it was worth persevering. I love historical novels and this one did not disappoint.

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This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it
The characters are well described and likeable
Well written and engaging
It’s a long book but it’s easy to get back into after a break.

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This is the first book I've read by Dilly Court. It took me a while to get into the book and whilst I quite enjoyed it I did think the plot was rather weak in places and the ending was quite predictable.

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Loved this book and the characters were amazing. So well written, I was in all the places Nettie visited with her, such a good read. A real heartwarming story.

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I love Dilly Courts books and have enjoyed and read most of them. But this one i couldn't get into, i found my mind wandering whilst reading it. It just didn't hold my interest at all. and some of it seemed unbelievable. It isn't like her other books and i was sorely disappointed, i can't understand where she was coming from with this one and am sad to say i read half of it got bored and gave up. I really hope she goes back to the stories we all love.
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity.

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This book would make a great summer holiday read. Romantic drama at its fluffiest. The story is a little silly but completely untaxing and easy to read. It’s very ‘Mills and Boon so if this is your thing it’s a perfect book for you.

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Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
A very good read and one I can highly recommend to others.
I could not put this down.
Thoroughly enjoyable with an amazing cast of characters that you cannot help but engage with.

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I found this book a little light to my taste. It was a pleasant and easy read. I found the characters to be fun and the story to be interesting. I liked the main character and this is always a good thing. It is the sort of book I would read happily on holiday.

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Interesting characters and as always with Dilly Court's books, I enjoyed the historical aspects. The changing settings are also really fascinating. Another great read and a must for anyone who already enjoys the author's books. A great writing style that never fails to draw you in.

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As always another great book Dilly would highly recommend it. Looking forward to your next book. We'll done

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Good characters in this story set between London and France. Interesting and unusual storyline with some funny moments.

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Absolutely loved this story of Nettie and her dad Robert's troubles when he becomes embroiled in trouble with the police by painting forged paintings.
It's a very readable easy read and I thoroughly enjoyed it .
one to recommend

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Dilly Court is one of my favourite authors, this book is really good, I was hooked & I lost myself in the storyline, I would definitely recommend it

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Brilliant saga very much in the vein of Catherine Cookson.
Lovely characters that evolve and interact with each other.
A great romp across England France and Spain with villains lovers and a brilliant central character Nettie
Just can’t recommend it enough

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This book kept me interested and I enjoyed getting to know all the characters. I liked the fact that itwas set in different countries and even though the story line was fairly exciting, you felt that the pace of life was very peaceful. I did feel that there were some unconvincing coincidences though. Having said that, I enjoyed the book - it was well written and easy to read.

Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Having never read any of Dilly Court's work, or stories of this style I was unsure whether I was going like the book. It took a few chapters to fully adapt to this writing style as it is very haphazard. The way her characters jump around with their feelings, it almost feels like a farce in the style of twelfth night . I know very little of this era but I'm not sure friendships and your friends status meant you could travel most of Europe even though you are borderline destitute. The characters also have a fickle edge to them, they feel love one minute then are unsure or not too bothered in the next. The descriptions used in some of the areas made them easy to imagine but I never felt completely caught up with Netty's feelings. Overall I liked the book, it was a very easy read but I didn't feel much of a connection to the story. It was missing a personality, however I would happily try another of this style in the future.

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A bit late to the party as this is the first book I e read from Dilly Court and I loved it. An interesting story line, fabulous characters and easy to read. Following the story of Nettie and friends this book goes between London, Kent, France and Spain. Unlike some books it’s obvious and easy to realise which country a particular chapter is in and which characters are taking a lead. I shall certainly be reading more of Dilly’s work and enjoying her work. If you want some holiday reading this is a must.

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Well I think Nettie wrote her own Gothic novel in this story with its ups and downs and the frequent villains and flitting from police and and and...
I really enjoyed this book after a slow start. Do persevere as it gets better. The fake paintings are very current as there was an article in the Guardian newspaper on Saturday 15th June claiming that a museum dedicated to the work of Étienne Terrus (a friend of Matisse but lesser known) has now discovered that most of the paintings (60%) are fakes.. https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/jun/15/french-art-museum-full-of-fakes-etienne-terrus
It seems that top artist fakes are now too easily found so people are copying the work of lesser known artists. But when this novel is set, fakes of well known artists were much rarer. Amusingly earlier this year it was discovered that what was thought to be a fake Botticelli was actually real!
So Nettie lives in dire poverty in reality with almost no protein and in the slums of London with a father who is profligate yet without earning much at all.
To find out a little more about Victorian life, wages and cost of living I did a little exploring. I found the following quote from Dickens:
There are several grades of lawyers' clerks. There is the articled clerk, who has paid a premium, and is an attorney in perspective, who runs a tailor's bill, receives invitations to parties, knows a family in Gower Street, and another in Tavistock Square; who goes out of town every long vacation to see his father, who keeps live horses innumerable; and who is, in short, the very aristocrat of clerks. There is the salaried clerk—out of door, or in door, as the case may be—who devotes the major part of his thirty shillings a week to his Personal pleasure and adornments, repairs half-price to the Adelphi Theatre at least three times a week, dissipates majestically at the cider cellars afterwards, and is a dirty caricature of the fashion which expired six months ago. There is the middle-aged copying clerk, with a large family, who is always shabby, and often drunk. And there are the office lads in their first surtouts, who feel a befitting contempt for boys at day-schools, club as they go home at night, for saveloys and porter, and think there's nothing like 'life.' Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836
For interest I found the following statistics:
For the average coffee-stall keeper, general labourer or female copy clerk in the City the wages/salary was – £1 per week: http://victorian-era.org/the-victorian-era-wages-salary-earnings.html

So you can see that it was very difficult to make ends meet unless you were middle class earners.

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