5 h 23 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A governess, a hidden child, and a secret next door: what lies beneath a household’s careful manners?
In The Strange House, Catharine Shaw brings together domestic mystery and questions of faith. A young woman earns her living as a governess and enters an unfamiliar household. A hidden child and a secret in the house next door draw attention beyond everyday duties, toward what remains unseen and what conscience asks of those who encounter it.
This Victorian tale finds suspense in the home, where closed rooms and careful manners can conceal more than they reveal. The governess stands between the family’s world and paid service. Around her, mystery carries moral weight: the child’s innocence brings adult responsibility into focus, while faith and redemption give the story questions that reach beyond the secret itself.
What you’ll discover
- A governess between worlds Follow a young woman whose work places her inside an unfamiliar household, yet apart from it.
- The secret next door Discover a domestic mystery built around a house that holds more than it shows.
- A child kept hidden Meet the story’s most vulnerable presence, whose innocence raises questions of duty and care.
- Faith with moral weight Explore how religious conviction shapes a tale concerned with conscience and the possibility of redemption.
- Quiet suspense at home Find tension in closed rooms, careful manners, and the sense that something remains concealed.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like Victorian domestic stories, a mystery that grows from small clues, children who feel real, and a heroine whose faith shapes every choice she makes.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A scuffle in the dark garden
- Poverty at the cottage door
- Gertrude meets six children
- Hugh, Randall and the banknote
- A basket, a pair of slippers and a locked room
- What the story is about and how it is told
Who’s who
- Gertrude AshlynA young woman from a seaside cottage who becomes a governess in Hampstead and tries, through prayer and kindness, to win over a difficult household.
- Rose LeighGertrude's elder sister, whose small son vanished two years ago, and who goes on searching for him while holding firmly to her faith.
- OttoA medical student lodging with the Ashlyns, who loves Gertrude and struggles to see a way to build a future for her.
- Randall ShaddockThe spoiled youngest Shaddock boy, who teases his gentle brother and enjoys making trouble for the new governess.
- Hugh ShaddockA frail, sensitive boy of nine who is called a crybaby, and whose honesty and courage surprise the people around him.
- Daisy ShaddockA solemn, observant little girl who protects Hugh and quickly decides to trust Gertrude.
- Mollie ShaddockThe proud and sometimes careless eldest daughter, who likes her own way but shows flashes of real kindness.
- Mr. BrownThe secretive gardener of the Strange House, who guards his gate and his past and wants only to be left alone.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 5 h 23 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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La casa extraña
A governess in Hampstead watches a lonely neighbor's gate, and a pair of small worn slippers starts to haunt her.
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In short
The Strange House is a Victorian story by Catharine Shaw. It moves between a quiet fishing village called Lanriffe and a comfortable suburb of Hampstead, near London.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A scuffle in the dark garden
The story opens on a still night at the end of September. Conway and Ned Shaddock have just gone to bed with their window open when they hear a scuffle in the street. A new policeman has seized a man crouching under a hedge in the garden next door. The man insists he lives there and is only in his own garden.
The boys run down in their hurried clothes and leap the hedge. They tell the constable that the man is indeed their neighbor, and their father confirms it. The policeman lets him go, grumbling that he is new to the beat. The man thanks them curtly and lets himself into the dark house with a latchkey.
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What is The Strange House about?
It follows Gertrude Ashlyn, a young governess in Hampstead, who becomes curious about the old house next door and its secretive gardener, while her sister Rose lives with the grief of a lost child.
Why is it called The Strange House?
The Shaddock children use that name for the old house next door. Its owner works alone in the garden, receives no visitors, and a light inside moves and goes out with no one apparently there.
Who is Gertrude Ashlyn?
She is a young woman from a seaside cottage in Lanriffe who takes a post as governess to the Shaddock children. Her faith, her sense of duty and her love for her family guide her choices.
The author
Catharine Shaw
?–1883 · English children's writer
Catharine Shaw wrote this Victorian tale of family life and Christian faith. The book itself shows her world: a seaside village and a London suburb, governesses and nurses, omnibuses and telegrams, and a strong habit of Bible reading and prayer. It reflects the kind of story written for households and young readers in her time.
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