Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness (USA 2015)

From the Publisher:
In Robert Goddard's third novel, a bestseller in the United Kingdom and now back in print, is a masterful exercise in suspense set in Victorian-era England. On a mild autumn afternoon in 1882, thirty-four-year-old husband and father William Trenchard sits smoking his pipe in the garden of his comfortable family home. When the creak of the garden gate announces the arrival of an unexpected visitor, he is puzzled but not alarmed. He has no inkling of the destruction this man will wreak on all that he holds most dear. The stranger claims he is Sir James Davenall, the man to whom Trenchard's wife Constance had once been engaged, and who had supposedly committed suicide eleven years ago. Davenall's mother and younger brother, who has since inherited the family's baronetcy, refuse to recognize this stranger as one of their own, and they soon force Trenchard -- who fears the loss of his wife's affections and his own sanity -- into an uneasy alliance against him. But Trenchard must plumb the depths of his own despair before the dark secrets of the Davenall family can finally, shockingly, be revealed.

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness. Mysterious Press, ISBN: 9780802124357 (October, 2015), 604 p., $15.00.

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness (UK 2012)

From the Publisher:
1882. When the creak of the garden gate one autumn afternoon sounds the arrival of an unexpected stranger, William Trenchard is puzzled, but not alarmed. He cannot possibly know the destruction this visitor will wreak on all he holds dear.

The stranger is James Norton, who claims to be the man William's wife Constance was once engaged to, and who was reported to have committed suicide eleven years ago. Trenchard fears the loss of his wife's affections, but he is forced to plumb the depths of his own despair before the dark secrets of the Davenall family can finally - shockingly - be revealed...

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness. Corgi Books, ISBN: 9780552164955 (March, 2012), 604 p., £7.99.

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness (USA 1991)

From the Publisher:
On a mild autumn afternoon in 1882, William Trenchard sits smoking his pipe in the garden of his comfortable family home. When the creak of the garden gate heralds the arrival of an unexpected stranger, he is puzzled but not alarmed. He cannot know the destruction this man will wreak on all he holds most dear...

The stranger announces himself as James Norton, but claims he is in reality Sir James Davenall, the man to whom Trenchard's wife Constance had been engaged, and who had committed suicide eleven years ago. Sir Hugo, James's younger brother, and his mother, Lady Catherine, refuse to recognise Norton and force Trenchard - who fears the loss of his wife's affections - into an uneasy alliance against him. But Trenchard must plumb the depths of his own despair before the dark secrets of the Davenall family can finally, shockingly, be revealed.

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness. Pocket Books, ISBN: 0671649485 (January, 1991), 602 p., $5.95.

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness (UK 1990)

From the Publisher:
On a mild autumn afternoon in 1882, William Trenchard sits smoking his pipe in the garden of his comfortable family home. When the creak of the garden gate heralds the arrival of an unexpected stranger, he is puzzled but not alarmed. He cannot know the destruction this man will wreak on all he holds most dear...

The stranger announces himself as James Norton, but claims he is in reality Sir James Davenall, the man to whom Trenchard's wife Constance had been engaged, and who had committed suicide eleven years ago. Sir Hugo, James's younger brother, and his mother, Lady Catherine, refuse to recognise Norton and force Trenchard - who fears the loss of his wife's affections - into an uneasy alliance against him. But Trenchard must plumb the depths of his own despair before the dark secrets of the Davenall family can finally, shockingly, be revealed.

Painting the Darkness is the most compelling novel yet by the author of Past Caring and In Pale Batallions (both available in Corgi paperback).

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness. Corgi Books, ISBN: 0552132829 (May, 1990), 602 p., £4.99.

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness (USA 1989)

From the Publisher:
On a lovely autume afternoon in 1882, Willlem Trenchard sits smok-Ing his pipe in St. Johns Wood.
When the creak of the garden gate heralds the arrival of an unexpected visitor, he is puzzled but not alarmed. He cannot yet know the havoc and destruction this hand-some stranger will wreak on all he holds most dear.

The stranger announces himself as James Norton, but claims he is in reality Sir James Davenall-who ostensibly died by his own hand eleven years before, a man to whom Trenchard's wife, Constance, had been engaged to be married. Now he has returned to London, deter. mined to repossess his inheritance and all that goes with it.

But of all who knew him it is only Constance who accepts Norton as James, her long-lost love. James's younger brother, Sir Hugo, who has inherited all that would have been James's, and his mother, Lady Catherine, refuse to recognize Nor-ton, and Trenchard, fearing the loss of his wife's affections, forms an uneasy alliance with them. As Tren-chard's own suspicions mount, the bitter struggle between Norton and the Davenalls escalates, threatening to expose every dark and buried secret of the Davenall family to pub-lic view. And Trenchard will be forced to plumb the depths of his own despair before the final, terrible truth of James Davenall will be revealed.

Robert Goddard: Painting the Darkness. Poseidon Press, ISBN: 0671649477 (January, 1989), 446 p., $19.95.