The Secret Photographs

Author(s): Jacquie Bloese

Location(s): Brighton

Genre(s): Fiction, Historical, Romance

Era(s): Later 19th Century

England, 1895: In the bustling seaside town of Brighton, photography is all the rage. Ellen Harper assists her twin brother running one of the city’s seafront studios, where fashionable ladies and gentlemen pose in their finery to have their likeness captured forever in a silver frame.

But behind the façade of a respectable business, the siblings have something to hide. After the studio closes for the day, secret photographs are taken in the back room. There is money to be made from this underground trade, but if exposed to the light of day, these photographs would destroy them…

When newly married Clementine comes to sit for a portrait, Ellen learns she is looking for a lady’s companion. Longing for a life of her own choosing and freedom from the deals her brother has made, Ellen accepts the post. The new position transports her to a sweeping white-fronted townhouse on one of Brighton’s most prestigious crescents, full of every luxury imaginable.

But Clementine’s gilded world hides as much darkness as Ellen hoped to escape… What will happen when the secrets Ellen has left behind finally catch up to her?

Don’t miss this richly atmospheric and gripping historical fiction shining a light on the role of women in a world dominated by men.

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