A castle filled with intrigue, a plotting duchess and a mysterious death in Catherine Bailey'sThe Secret Rooms.

At 6 am on 21 April 1940 John the 9th Duke of Rutland, and one of Britain's wealthiest men, ended his days, virtually alone, lying on a makeshift bed in a dank cramped suite of rooms in the servants' quarters of his own home, Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire.
For weeks, as his health deteriorated, his family, his servants - even the King's doctor - pleaded with him to come out, but he refused.
After his death, his son and heir, Charles, the 10th Duke of Rutland, ordered that the rooms be locked up and they remained untouched for sixty years.
What lay behind this extraordinary set of circumstances?
For the first time, inTheSecret Rooms, Catherine Bailey unravels a complex and compelling tale of love, honour and betrayal, played out in the grand salons of Britain's stately homes at the turn of the twentieth century, and on the battlefields of the Western Front. At its core is a secret so dark that it consumed the life of the man who fought to his death to keep it hidden. This extraordinary mystery from the author ofBlack Diamonds, perfect for lovers of Downton Abbey,Brideshead RevisitedandThe Suspicions of Mr Whicher.
Praise forThe Secret Rooms:
'Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is atale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance, and a deeply dysfunctional family...gripping'Sunday Times
'Astonishing...jaw-dropping...It would spoil the book if I revealed the whole works, suffice it to say...what a family'Sunday Telegraph
'Anextraordinary detective operation' John Julius Norwich