The Orange Grove

Set in 18th century France, this novel imagines life in the Chateau of the duc D'Amboise for his wife and five mistresses. Murdoch explores their backgrounds and shows how women had little power over their lives as they are forced to give up their previous lives for the financial support of the duc, leaving behind husbands and children. Worse still, in the plotting the duc's wife Charlotte makes against the mistresses that she dislikes, planting incriminating forged letters and humiliating her rivals. It shows how easy it is for women to fall from grace when they are at the mercy of the favour of a man who can tire of them or of his wife suddenly deciding that they should be moved and eat with the servants. 

Whilst I found this a little hard to get into at first, as there are quite a few characters with similar backgrounds to get to grips with, I found that once I got into it I wanted to find out what happened next. Some intriguing characters helped, including Charlotte who feels neglected by the duc and unable to produce more children, and de Villiers, the roguish tarot reader who sets the cat amongst the pigeons! The period detail is well realised, giving a good sense without becoming overly descriptive or slowing the plot. Overall, I think this is a hidden gem that's worth persevering with. 

I received a copy of this from booksirens and I am leaving a voluntary review.