The Legacy: A Novel

by Katherine Webb

Overview

“A brilliant and absorbing drama.”
—Good Housekeeping (UK)

A fresh and exciting new voice in contemporary fiction, Katherine Webb debuts with a haunting novel about a secret family history. Already a sensation in the United Kingdom, Webb’s The Legacy is a treat for every fan of upmarket women’s fiction and literary suspense in the vein of bestselling authors Kate Morton, Sarah Waters, and Diane Setterfield. Taut, affecting, and surprising—a story that ranges from present-day England back to the American West in the early twentieth century—The Legacy embroils two sisters in an investigation into the strange, never solved disappearance of their cousin, a dark mystery that opened deep family wounds that never healed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062077318
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/16/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	446,826
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Katherine Webb grew up in rural Hampshire, England. She has lived in London and Venice, and she currently resides in Berkshire, England. Having worked as a wait-ress, au pair, personal assistant, potter, bookbinder, library assistant, and housekeeper at a manor house, she now writes full-time.

Editorial Reviews

Webb's binary multigenerational epic unfolds in split narratives set in 1900s Oklahoma and the present-day U.K., revealing that secrets long buried still have the power to hurt. Sisters Erica and Beth Calcott return to Storton Manor in Wiltshire, England, to settle their late grandmother's estate, despite the painful memories the location stirs up: decades ago their cousin Henry mysteriously disappeared; the primary suspect at the time was "Dinny" Dinsdale, a local outcast and the first childhood crush for both Erica and Beth. As a girl, Erica was too young to grasp the details of Henry's fate, but 23 years later, now a strong and independent woman, she pleads with Dinny for answers, while older sister Beth, clinically depressed, wants to leave the past buried. Meanwhile, Erica discovers a photo of her great-grandmother Caroline posing with a mysterious baby in America, sparking an investigation into the mysteries of her ancestral history. Webb's (The Unseen) past and present, though equally realized, never intersect with much import; the two threads could easily exist as two independent books. Though the novel is choked with enough tragedy, melodrama, and lost love to make a soap opera dull in comparison, and recalls the work of V.C. Andrews, it will only truly grip fans of the genre. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Stunning, unforgettable....Webb’s skillful, urgent writing is impossible to put down and more impossible to forget.” — Booklist (starred review) on The Legacy

“An intelligent and addictively readable novel.” — Historical Novels Review on The Legacy

“Webb winds her way through three generations of women by following the path of grief created by a broken heart, crafting characters you care about and a story you won’t soon forget: poignant and completely engrossing.” — M. L. Malcolm, author of Heart of Deception

“This is a great yarn, spanning generations, with neat twists and a surprising ending.” — Prima magazine (UK)

“‘Has it all—mystery, intrigue, history and a great big old house.” — Radio Times (UK)

“A haunting novel of betrayal.” — Woman and Home (UK)

“A brilliant and absorbing drama.” — Good Housekeeping (UK)

From the Publisher

A brilliant and absorbing drama.

Good Housekeeping (UK)

A haunting novel of betrayal.

Woman and Home (UK)

Stunning, unforgettable....Webb’s skillful, urgent writing is impossible to put down and more impossible to forget.

Booklist (starred review) on The Legacy

An intelligent and addictively readable novel.

Historical Novels Review on The Legacy

This is a great yarn, spanning generations, with neat twists and a surprising ending.

Prima magazine (UK)

Webb winds her way through three generations of women by following the path of grief created by a broken heart, crafting characters you care about and a story you won’t soon forget: poignant and completely engrossing.

M. L. Malcolm

‘Has it all—mystery, intrigue, history and a great big old house.

Radio Times (UK)