I have just finished reading this book . I have absolutely loved it and I highly recommend it . One of the favourite books I have ever read .
It is so atmospheric, the countryside in Yorkshire so vividly described and with such idetail. As a reader you are walking with her through the forests, in the crags , both in daytime and nighttime. I loved the characterisation of all the people in the book, every one of them do individual . The story is beautiful, delicate, intricately written and mesmerising . Nurse May was just so authentic and beautifully portrayed.
I was just sad t It’s finished now ….

Great atmosphere and really cool to experience life as a Norland Nurse, however it's extremely slow going... no action until almost the end, so I'd recommend this only to those that would be interested in a slow boil and thoroughly enjoy this time period. I personally geeked out on the Norland Nurse history. ( )

Mrs England is a solid book but nothing that's going to knock your socks off or leave you thinking after you finish and close the book.

The novel takes place around the turn of the century (1900) and revolves around Ruby May, a young and exceedingly (almost inconceivably) innocent nanny with a dark childhood secret. She takes a placement in Yorkshire caring for four children of a family who also have their own secrets.

So to start with there are mysteries seemingly abounding. There's the handsome and charismatic master of the house Mr England, who takes charge of everything including duties which would normally be a wife's responsibility, and his seemingly frail and incapable wife Mrs England who gets locked in her room for her own safety, the letters that Ruby May keeps unread in her trunk, the mysterious blacksmith who sends secret letters... Just, you know, lots of secrets.

There's a decidedly Mrs Rochester feel with the Mrs England storyline in parts as Halls makes you question what's really going on. Those moments were interesting and I was glad to see that it went somewhere in the end even if it was quite obvious.

The book is very readable despite the story never really going anywhere all that exciting (until the last few chapters). The suspense doesn't really build and the reveals of the mysteries aren't particularly shocking or unusual. The writing is steady if not exceptional and it was a quick, easy read.

This is the first novel I've read by Stacey Halls and I'd probably give another of the author's books a shot. ( )

An interesting and engaging gothic tale. It takes place in 1904 England . A young lady named Ruby May, trained as a Norland nanny, is assigned to a family living in an isolated estate of West Yorkshire. Nurse May finds the staff of the house to be quite unfriendly , the manner of Mr England to perhaps a bit over familiar. Mrs England, the mother of four children seems cold, withdrawn and rarely present. It's a most entertaining read. I've read her two previous books, The Familiars and The Lost Orphan and enjoyed them very much . ( )

http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2022/07/24/stacey-halls-mrsengland/ ( )