All That Glitters: A Novel of the Gilded Age

“All That Glitters is an excellent read... a great mystery to solve!” –In D'Tale Magazine, October 2020

Becoming governess to a robber baron’s deeply troubled daughter is not the life Sarah Anne Mercer had envisioned, but she must face this reality with grit and determination for all other doors are closed to her. The atmosphere of Ripon House, her employer’s winter residence on the Georgia coast, is positively funereal and the cultural clashes between her rural southern upbringing and that of her employer’s wealthy northern family send her reeling. Further complicating her position, two young men of the family vie for her attention. She is flattered and attracted to them, but knows such emotions must be quelled if she is to succeed in her position.

Through patience and dedication, Sarah Anne breaks through the emotional wall her student has built, but in the process realizes there may be good reason for the child’s troubling behavior. Something is not right within Ripon House. As her understanding of the family dynamic deepens, a terrible suspicion forms. It seems Sarah Anne’s employers are hiding a secret – a secret someone may have committed murder to safeguard.

In the tradition of Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Du Maurier’s Rebecca, All That Glitters takes readers on a journey of self-discovery, danger, and survival. Join Sarah Anne as she unravels the secrets of Ripon House.