The Barretts of Crimson Hall

Narrated by a long-time servant of Crimson Hall, the story revolves around the Barrett family of North Carolina. Thaddeus Barrett is a compassionate father of three who grows hemp and spends time in his laboratory with dreams of inventing medicinal uses for it. His pretty, nearly seventeen-year-old daughter, Felicity (the offspring of his first wife) is more than a tad self-centered, which is no excuse for her younger twin sisters, Grace and Amelia, aggravating her as they too frequently do. Amelia lost her hearing as a result of the same fever that claimed the life of her mother, (the second and most beloved Mrs. Barrett.) Although Amelia cannot hear or speak, she and Grace communicate fluidly through their minds.

If there is a problem in the household, it’s that Mister Barrett has not managed to keep a wife. Three have died, either while they were with child or shortly after giving birth, thus the explanation for The Curse of the Mrs. Barretts. He has settled on a fourth wife, Barbara Crosswhite Barrett, and, as luck would have it, she becomes pregnant. Troubled, if not terrified, by the curse, she is being driven mad with paranoia that her doom is near.

In the spring of 1850, Thaddeus hires an assistant, Mister Eli Somerset, and Claire, the sister of the second and most beloved Mrs. Barrett, arrives. Lovely, kind, and soft-spoken, Aunt Claire soon sparks Barbara’s jealousy. Slowly, the idyllic world of Crimson Hall changes, bringing with it challenges of the day and more than one dose of tragedy. Fortunately, if there is one family that can weather a storm and remain intact, it’s the Barretts of Crimson Hall.