This HaBO is from Braylin, who wants to find this book. Content warning for abuse in the description below:
I read a book when I was about 12-13 years old. It was way out of my reading level but I was so intrigued by it because it had a few illustrations of the characters drawn in black and white, like really old portraits.
I believe it was a historical fiction book. The main character is a woman. I feel like she is romantically involved with two brothers somehow. The main characters are all like a part of an important family I believe. The house that they live in is important. I vaguely remember a scene where one of the male characters slaps the main female character in the face.
Throughout the book, the characters and family members are show in pencil like sketches/portraits. I want to say the cover of the book is black and white, maybe with a house on the front and some blood?
This is so all over the place, I know. I’ve been trying to find this book for years…
Does anyone recognize this one?
This kind of reminds me of Great Illustrated Classics. Well the illustration part anyway. They were basically abridged classic novels with illustrations included.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Illustrated_Classics
But probably not what you’re thinking of if the language was more advanced.
Sounds like a gothic novel to me, which I realize is not super helpful but the house being important, a love triangle, blood on the front cover all sound old school gothic (right down to the slap, another popular trope). You may want to skim through the backlist of authors like Victoria Holt,Norah Lofts, Dorothy Eden, Phyllis Whitney, Catherine Cookson, Elsie Lee, etc. I’m fairly certain it’s not Barbara Michaels or Mary Stewart, but I couldn’t swear to it.
Edith Layton’s THE ABANDONED BRIDE (1985-ish) features a heroine who is abandoned just before the wedding by her fiancé and who, several years later, becomes involved with the ex-fiancé’s uncle. The uncle (the hero) does slap the heroine at one point—although nothing else really tracks.
The other books I immediately thought of (although this doesn’t quite fit the gothic part) is the Flambards series by K.M. Peyton. They’re more young adult than adult, but there’s a bit of a love triangle between two brothers and an important house. My version definitely had some black and white illustrations.
@Jill Q: I remember watching Flambards on PBS many years ago, though I never got around to reading the books. Wikipedia confirms that the first editions were illustrated.
I loved Flambards on PBS and bought it on DVD. I tried reading the books but wasn’t thrilled by them. Plus, the last book really annoyed the heck out of me. I don’t want to spoil it.
Totally made me think of Flambards- I don’t actively recall any slapping happening, but that would not have surprised me given the period of the book and some of the patriarchal and domineering characters. Agree that the first three of the books were great and the last one was so disappointing (if you liked the story at all, don’t bother reading it).
This is a real long shot, and I may be totally off base, but your descriptions of the cover and illustrations made me think of The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope. It also has the important house, two brothers, woman as the MC, important family, romantic elements, and the original cover has those pencil portraits and a house rendered in a dark red color. (There’s a picture on Wikipedia)
@kw, I’m fairly sure it’s not The Perilous Gard, much as I love that book. For one thing, I don’t think anyone slaps the heroine. For another, I can’t imagine having read The Perilous Gard and not remembering the prominent role played by the… well, fairy-folk or druidic remnants or whatever one chooses to believe they are (which is left somewhat ambiguous in the book.)
I’m wondering if the OP can recall enough of the illustrations to make a guess as to the historical period?