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The Pride of the Peacock
The Pride of the Peacock
Author: Victoria Holt
Set in turn-of-the-century England where a young woman grows up in the shadow of the great estate -- and privileged way of life -- that was once her family's birthright. But a unique inheritance compels Jessica Clavering to marry the owner of a fabled opal mine and leads her to faraway Australia. There she will discover the mysteries and evil su...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780385122818
ISBN-10: 0385122810
Publication Date: 8/1976
Pages: 303
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 8

4.1 stars, based on 8 ratings
Publisher: Doubleday
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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reviewed The Pride of the Peacock on + 285 more book reviews
A manificent opal that carries a deadly curse...a great English estate that is lost and born anew...the wilds and dangers of turn-of-the-century Australia.
reviewed The Pride of the Peacock on + 3 more book reviews
The story takes place in late 19th century England and Australia. Jessica Clavering has never been understood or loved at the Dower House. Her family, especially her mother, consistently talks about "better days" when they had lived in Oakland Hall, their ancestral home. But after a chance meeting with the new owner of Oakwood Hall, old Ben Madden the forbidden elderly gentleman that reportedly "stole" her family's estate,
Jessica finally feels the love and excitement that was absent in her life for so many years. As she visits Ben in secret she discovers more about her family's dark past, and how The Green Flash, an exquisite and spellbinding opal, influenced her past.
They become friends, and he puts her in his will. There is one condition: she must marry his son, Joss. She and Joss agree, but they decide to keep it "in name only". Her now father-in-law dies, and Jessica and Joss travel to their joint estate and opal mine in Australia. Here, Jessica becomes fonder of Joss and wonders if the "in name only" part of their marriage will last. There is only one problem: someone is trying to kill Jessica! Will they succeed?
macaw avatar reviewed The Pride of the Peacock on + 38 more book reviews
The ever-talented Victoria Holt takes what could have been a tired plot device - marriage of convenience with secret desire turning to real love - and gives it new life with hidden family secrets, the search for a fabulous lost - and cursed - priceless opal, and the adventure of the rugged Australian Outback.

Jessica Clavering grows up in her staid, rigid, loveless English family but longs for a life of adventure. She finds it in an arranged marriage with the son of her secret friend and they had off to unimaginable adventure...what more could a reader ask for? This is my favorite Holt novel, and I also recommend "Mistress of Mellyn."
reviewed The Pride of the Peacock on + 3389 more book reviews
One of Holt's best.


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