The Secret of Pembrooke Park (46 page)

P
embrooke Park is a fictional estate inspired by Great Chalfield Manor in Wiltshire, England, a fifteenth-century country house surrounded by extensive gardens and a moat. For many months, I kept photos of the manor and the adjacent church on my bulletin board and grew quite attached to the place. My friend Sara and I had the pleasure of visiting Great Chalfield in person while this book was being edited, and how lovely it is, with its great hall, oriel windows, and topiary houses. We met several gracious, helpful people there and enjoyed a history-rich tour of the manor, which is often used as a film location. The exterior and grounds were much as I’d imagined them, though the interior is quite a bit different than my depiction of Pembrooke Park.

Sara and I also attended an Evensong service at the Church of All Saints there, where the Reverend Andrew Evans delivered a beautiful sermon that touched us both. (Though it was perhaps a shade longer than those William Chapman delivered.) If you have the opportunity to travel to England, I hope you will visit Great Chalfield Manor. In the meantime, stop by my website or the National Trust site to see photos of this historical manor and church.

The Secret of Pembrooke Park
is my longest book to date, written in less time than usual. I would not have been able to accomplish this without help from several people:

Authors Susan May Warren and Michelle Lim, who helped me brainstorm and plot the book during a weekend retreat with our local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers.

My husband and sons, who had to make do—and frozen pizza and taco runs—while I was racing toward deadlines.

My sister-friend and first reader, Cari Weber, who provided valuable feedback and a listening ear.

Fellow author Michelle Griep, who provided laser-sharp and encouraging feedback as well.

Amy Boucher Pye—London vicar’s wife, editor, author, and speaker—who read the book to help me avoid errors in describing Church of England services as well as other British gaffes. And her husband, the Reverend Nicholas Pye, who answered her questions as needed. Any remaining errors are mine.

Pastor Ken Lewis, for helping me refine Mr. Chapman’s sermons.

Sara Ring, for serving as brave driver, photographer, and fun fellow traveler.

My agent, Wendy Lawton, whose love of antique dollhouses surpasses my own. Thanks for cheering me on.

My editorial team at Bethany House Publishers, especially Charlene Patterson, Karen Schurrer, and Raela Schoenherr. I appreciate your editorial support and friendship.

And you, my readers. Thank you for your enthusiasm about my books and for sharing them with your friends and book clubs.

What a blessing this writing career has been. I’m thankful for each and every one of you!

1. What secrets in the book did you figure out early on? Anything you guessed wrong? What happening or plot twist took you most by surprise?
   
2. Did your first impression of any character turn out to be wrong? Have you had a similar experience in real life (realizing your first impression of someone—good or bad—was not at all accurate)?
   
3. When Abigail, and later William, saw the figure in the hooded green cloak, who do you think it was? The same person who wore it in the climactic scene, or someone else?
   
4. Did you ever think you were meant to marry one person, only to discover in hindsight he wasn’t the person God intended for you after all? What would you tell a young person pining for someone who doesn’t return his or her affections?
   
5. Did you grow up feeling like a favored child, or an overlooked child, or did your parents make a point of treating their offspring equally? What is your view of Mr. and Mrs. Foster’s parenting style in this regard? What would you say to someone who feels he or she is living in a sibling’s shadow?
   
6. Do you think Abigail chose the right man? Did you vacillate or feel torn about which man she should end up with?
   
7. Did you feel any sympathy for Miles? Like him at all? Wish the author had given him a different ending—or do you think he got the ending he deserved?
   
8. What about Harriet? What did you think about her desire to make restitution for the wrongdoings of her father? What is your view of the verse: “The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation” (Numbers 14:18)?
   
9. Abigail is tempted to believe she needs a large dowry—a treasure—to make herself valuable, and worthy of a man’s love. Have you ever struggled with a similar feeling of insecurity? In the end, Abigail learns “. . . she had never needed a treasure to make herself worthy. How thankful she was to be treasured by God, and the man who loved her.” Can you relate?
   
10. Do you agree or disagree with this concluding line? “Ah, the weary wonder of this life. Of faith. And family. And friends. The truest treasures we can ever know or possess.” Is there anything you would omit or add?
    

Julie Klassen
loves all things Jane—
Jane Eyre
and Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her books,
The Silent Governess
,
The Girl
in the Gatehouse
, and
The Maid of Fairbourne Hall
, have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. She has also won the Midwest Book Award and Christian Retailing’s BEST Award, and has been a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Awards, Minnesota Book Awards, and ACFW’s Carol Awards. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

For more information, visit
www.julieklassen.com
.

Lady of Milkweed Manor

The Apothecary’s Daughter

The Silent Governess

The Girl in the Gatehouse

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall

The Tutor’s Daughter

The Dancing Master

The Secret of Pembrooke Park

To learn more about Julie and her books, visit 
julieklassen.com
.

Resources:
bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook

Website:
www.bethanyhouse.com

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