eBooks - Thrillers - Thrillers - J.P. Morrissey - Weekend at Blenheim, A
Weekend at Blenheim, A eBook
by J.P. Morrissey
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Weekend at Blenheim, A Summary
| In 1905, John Vanbrugh, an untrained but ambitious American architect, is trying to establish himself in his profession. One morning he is startled to receive an invitation from the Duchess of Marlborough, the American-born Consuelo Vanderbilt, who asks him to visit her at Blenheim Palace, the family home of her husband's family, the Churchills, and one of the largest private homes in England. Skeptical but recognizing the career opportunity this presents, Vanbrugh travels to Blenheim to meet the Duchess. He discovers that she is intrigued by the twin coincidences of his name and his profession, for 200 years before, as Blenheim was being built, the first Duchess of Marlborough dealt with a young architect named Sir John Vanbrugh. Seemingly on an impulse, the Duchess hires Vanbrugh to renovate her rooms at Blenheim, and invites him and his wife Margaret to join a weekend house party, which includes the foul-tempered Duke; his cousin, the young, witful Winston Churchill; the society painter John Singer Sargent, whom the Duke has hired to paint a family portrait; the Duchess' mother, Mrs. O.H.P. Belmont; Gladys Deacon, an American friend of the Duchess; and a Catholic priest, the enigmatic Monsignor Vay de Vaya. Almost as soon as he arrives, Vanbrugh realizes that the Duke and Duchess are at odds, each scheming to gain the upper hand. As Vanbrugh begins his work, he stumbles upon a series of letters between the original Vanbrugh and the first Duchess, which hint at an illicit affair. At the same time, one of Sargent's sketchbooks disappears, prompting a decorous but fervent search for it throughout the Palace. The mystery grows larger as a young housemaid assigned to assist Margaret disappears and is later found in the courtyard, strangled. From there, events spin out of control, with Vanbrugh soon realizing that he too has fallen victim to the dark, cursed history of Blenheim Palace. |
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eBooks - Titles - Authors - Thrillers - Thrillers - J.P. Morrissey - Weekend at Blenheim, A eBook