More About The Acquisition of Elizabeth Grace
On New Year’s Eve of 1961, while visiting family in England, sisters Sophie and Olivia’s lives are forever changed with the ill-fated discovery of a sapphire and diamond bracelet gifted to their mother, Elizabeth Grace Bennett Bannister.
Their mother, a Baron’s daughter within the English aristocracy, grew up roaming the vast and beautiful estate of Harrington Hall. After the events of that fateful evening, Elizabeth Grace all but disappears from their lives, and the sisters are left to discover why their mother never returned home to Toronto, Canada.
When Sophie and Olivia receive the opportunity to return to England years later, a series of disturbing buried secrets and scandals surrounding the characters of Harrington Hall begin to emerge. With elder sister Sophie taking the lead, they set out to reconnect with their estranged English family, and finally find answers to their looming questions: What happened to Elizabeth Grace? And what other ghosts does Harrington Hall hide?
The Acquisition of Elizabeth Grace is a beautiful coming-of-age story that explores the nuances of fraught mother-daughter relationships, the loss of love and wealth, and the difficult nature of wrestling with ghosts of the past.
More about Gwen K. Harvey
Gwen Harvey is an accomplished entrepreneur, active foundation director, and the founder of a well-established Toronto-based family wealth strategy firm. With over three decades of honing her writing skills through business commentary, her passion for storytelling led her to venture into creative writing. She is currently enrolled in the Creative Writing Certificate program at the University of Toronto. In addition to her professional achievements, Gwen cherishes her role as a mother of three. Alongside her husband and their rambunctious Bernese Mountain dog, Bear, she divides her time between Toronto and Mulmur, Ontario.
Thoughts About The Acquisition of Elizabeth Grace
True confessions...this gorgeous cover pulled me in. Who wouldn't want to wear that dress? Even though it's been YEARS since I actually wore a formal gown. But I'd love to experience that magical "going to the ball" feeling again. Enough musing! On to the book -
Reading this book was like driving on a winding road. I never knew what was around the next turn and was constantly surprised. Sophie, with some help from various relatives and friends, is driving down the road that is her family and is constantly running into secrets, misunderstandings, allegiances and confused memories spanning two decades.
Gwen Harvey did a good job of creating the two worlds that Sophie and Olivia live in: their everyday world in Canada and the fairytale world of their rich relatives in England. Just like Sophie and Olivia, I was drawn to that magical world or castles, balls and handsome strangers. The "good guys" and the "bad guys" weren't obvious and many characters realistically walked a tightrope between their best and worst selves.
As promised, there is a ghost. Personally, I'm not a fan of the supernatural element and prefer books where plot lines are discovered by unexciting eavesdropping and snooping instead of help from a convenient spirit. But if you like a touch of the other world, The Acquisition of Elizabeth Grace delivers.
We still have plenty of time for beach reads. Why not toss this title in your beach bag?
A Little Extra
Gwen Harvey first novel, The Girlfriend Book, sounds perfect for the waning days of summer: three friends, three decades, one annual girls’ bike ride. Nicole is managing through a past with secrets and stunted opportunities. Dianne is grappling with seeking the truth while protecting people from it. And Kate is navigating a fast-moving career alongside the love of a much younger man.
This story traces the lives of these three women over three decades as they share their paths through youth, marriage, motherhood, careers, and death. As the story builds, a murder, unsavory characters, and misunderstandings appear. However, the true drama is within their personal unraveling stories of ambition, love, and friendship.
What's Next
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