The Legend of the Seventh Virgin

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 The Legend of the Seventh Virgin, by Victoria Holt

How to resist such a title and cover?  I didn't.  Plus I've never read Victoria Holt, and she was one of the major authors of Gothic romances in the 1960s, so why not.  It was no surprise to me that the story was set in Cornwall, date unspecified, but probably 19th century, the earlier part without too many railways.

Kerensa Carlee is a cottage child, cunning, ambitious, and rather tough, and she's fascinated by the local manor house, the Abbas belonging to the St. Langstons.  She isn't too friendly with other children, and the St. Langstons are a bit older.  Then there's Mellyora, the rector's daughter; Kerensa despises her at first because she looks so sweet and helpless, but they find hidden depths in each other.  After a while, times get hard in the cottage with Granny Bee, and Kerensa finds she must humble herself to go out to hire at the fair.  Mellyora takes her on as a servant and then companion, and the two grow up together.

Then after the rector's death, they are employed at the manor house, and their fortunes reverse.  Kerensa has her sights set on her ambitions, and maneuvers her way into marriage, while Mellyora nourishes a hopeless crush on the married oldest son.  Neither of these is a terribly good idea, and the lightest actions can change a fortune or a life.

I would have to call this Gothic lite.  There's some Gothic action for sure, but not a ton.  It's more like a Cornish family/village drama than a Gothic Novel.  But it wasn't bad, and it was pretty enjoyable, and now I've read a Victoria Holt novel.

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