The Shuttle (novel) lay their coronets, and incidentally their hearts, at the feet of the all-conquering American Girl.’ The building and grounds of ‘Stornham Court’ were modelled after Great Maytham Hall, near Rolvenden in Kent, which had a beautiful garden that Bettina starts restoring in "The Shuttle" and which also inspired the titular garden of "The Secret Garden". Angelica Shirley Carpenter writes in "In the Garden, Essays in Honor of Frances Hodgson Burnett" that Burnett's depiction of Sir Nigel's abuse of Rosalie mirrors the abuse that Burnett herself suffered at the hands of her second husband Stephen: "All the classic signs of abuse,
The Secret Woman (novel) "The French Lieutenant’s Woman." The book's success was likely also bolstered by the success of Hibbert's previous novels such as "Mistress of Mellyn" and "The Shivering Sands". The positive reception of these works eventually gave Hibbert the title of “Queen of Romantic Suspense” and driving the sales of Victoria Holt novels to over 56 million copies worldwide. The Secret Woman (novel) The Secret Woman is a Gothic romance and suspense novel written by English author Eleanor Hibbert under the pseudonym Victoria Holt. It was originally published in 1970 and is considered to be a bestseller. Set in 1887, it chronicles