Set in Stone by Linda Newbery

i just finish reading this novel yesterday night. and i tell the story to my room mate last night. she went kind of crazy trying to figure out the actual plot of the story.

it was kind of interesting in the beginning.

the mysteries, the scandals, the bla bla bla..

it was about a young artist, Samuel Godwin, an art tutor to two young ladies, Juliana and Marianne Farrow, the daughters of a rich man, Ernest Farrow who lives in Fourwinds.

the young ladies have a governess named Charlotte Agnew.

their previous governess is Eliza Hardacre.

there was also another artist who left Fourwinds before he could finish his sculptors; and before Samuel came in to the picture, Gideon Waring.

the story is: Ernest had always wanted a son; but his wife Constance, gave him two daughters and had a miscarriage during her last pregnancy.

Ernest raped Juliana and Juliana found herself pregnant; and told Gideon.

Gideon persuades Juliana to tell her mother; which later leads Constance to suicide; which was mistaken as an accident.

Ernest found out the Gideon knew his secret and asked Gideon to leave Fourwinds.

Juliana then gave birth to an illegitimate son, Thomas; whom then stays with Eliza whom leave Fourwinds; as planned by Ernest. Eliza then marries Matthew Dearly to cover up the real story of the child.

then comes Charlotte being the new governess after Eliza left; and later Ernest planned that he would make a successful man out of Samuel and that Samuel shall marry Juliana.

being quite new to Fourwinds; Charlotte and Samuel thought that Gideon and Eliza had sex and Thomas is the result; or Gideon raped Juliana and Thomas is the result.

but then Charlotte found out that Thomas is actually Juliana's; when Samuel went out looking for Gideon; for his admiration of Gideon's sculpting and for seeking the truth.

Gideon then told Samuel the truth. Samuel returned to Fourwinds and somehow he, Ernest, Charlotte, Juliana and Marianne ended up in a lake with bad weather.

Samuel pushed Ernest away.

Charlotte hit Ernest with an oar.

Ernest died.

Charlotte then told Samuel that actually she is also Ernest's daughter.

Ernest had sex with Violet, Charlotte's mother. Violet never told Ernest that she is pregnant; and Charlotte somehow grew up to be nobody's child.

it is a sick, incest novel, actually.