The House in the Orchard

From the opening lines of Brooks’s (The Orphan of Salt Winds) gothic thriller, listeners are transported to Orchard House, a neglected, isolated British estate that Peggy has just inherited from her late husband’s Aunt Maude. World War II widow Peggy hopes the inheritance will represent a fresh start for herself and her young son, Laurie. Despite the foreboding atmosphere and the protestations of her father-in-law Frank (Maude’s older brother), Peggy spends the night there. She soon uncovers journals written in 1876 by a 13-year-old Maude, which make up the majority of the narrative. Maude was sent to Orchard House to live with a total stranger, Miss Kitty Greenaway, after her parents died. Narrator Ell Porter expertly voices young Maude’s fear and despair as she leaves behind cosmopolitan London for this drab, unconventional estate, run by a woman who bears little resemblance to the proper ladies Maude was raised to emulate. When Frank falls in love with Kitty and begins to neglect young Maude, Porter gradually builds suspense until the tragic conclusion.