The Last Secret of the Deverills by Santa Montefiore - A Wonderful End to this Trilogy!

Love and forgiveness are the main themes of The Last Secret of The Deverills by Santa Montefiore. It concludes the fascinating trilogy about Kitty and Celia Deverill and their childhood friend, the daughter of the cook at Castle Deverill, Bridie, who were all born in 1900, and this final instalment takes them up to the 1950s.
Each book has focussed on a different girl, although the stories of the others carry on at the same time, and in this one, it's Bridie.
Also, the story of Maggie O'Leary who put a curse on the first Lord Deverill, after he took their land, that he and his descendants would be confined to roam the castle after death until it is returned to the hands of an O'Leary once again, is played out.
Bridie has returned from New York with her new husband, Count Cesare di Marcantonio to buy Castle Deverill, a place that she has always wanted to make her appear as good as the Deverill girls. Although she doesn't know it, her daughter (who she was told had died at birth leaving her twin brother, JP, to survive) Martha Wallace, has also returned to Ballinakelly to find her birth mother. But she thinks that it is Grace Rowan-Hampton because that's the name on her birth certificate.
On the way, Martha comes across JP in Dublin, who has been brought up by Kitty and her husband, as he was her father's son. They are instantly attracted to each other. What will they do when they find out the truth?
Jack O'Leary, Kitty's childhood sweetheart, also returns to the town, but now he's married. How will Kitty be able to mend her broken heart that she's tried to live with all these years?
There is a wonderfully satisfying conclusion to these stories with love and forgiveness winning over all. But I can't tell you how!
I have loved reading all these books and I'm glad to know that Santa Montefiore is writing another novel about the Deverills, starting in 1885. I can't wait!

The Daughters of Castle Deverill by Santa Montefiore - A Magnificent Sweep of a Novel

The Daughters of Castle Deverill by Santa Montefiore is the second part of a trilogy about Kitty Deverill, her cousin, Celia, from England, and Bridie, the cook's daughter: three girls who spent idyllic summers together at Castle Deverill on the west coast of Ireland in Songs of Love and War. (You can read my review here)
It is now 1925, and after a catastrophic fire which destroyed the castle, Celia has bought it and intends to rebuild it and make it grander than ever it was; Kitty has married her tutor, Robert, and is bringing up, Little Jack, her father's son with Bridie who has fled to New York and made a fortune marrying an elderly rich man.
So now, Celia has the castle at last; Kitty pines for Jack O'Leary (the man that she and Bridie both loved) who has also gone to America; and, although she's now very well off, Bridie yearns for her son, Little Jack.
Set against the Stock Market crash of 1929 which changes everyone's fortunes, this is another of Santa Montefiore's sweeping stories that she does so well, and I was totally immersed in its depth and breadth. It takes place from the west of Ireland to London, New York and the diamond mines of South Africa. It is romantic, atmospheric, yet also tragic and shocking.
This book also reveals more about the first Lord Barton* Deverill arriving in Ballinakelly to claim his lands (bestowed upon him by King Charles II, for his support to the Crown) and his relationship with Maggie O'Leary, who puts a curse on him and his heirs that their spirits will never rest from their wandering until an O'Leary owns Castle Deverill again.
It is through this curse that we see Kitty Deverill's ancestors, from the raging Barton, to her much missed grandmother, Adeline, a bit like a Greek chorus, observing the family's celebrations and, commiserations.
Told from many points of view, it's a magnificent sweep of a novel and the final part, The Last Secret of the Deverills is out now.

*In her introduction, Santa Montefiore tells how she chose Barton's name from the village sign along the A303 for Barton Stacey. I've often thought it would make a good name for a character, and she's beaten me to it!