Other People's Rules [Paperback]

Julia Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 2001

A magnificent, completely absorbing novel, revolving around a high society court case. A British Dominic Dunne. A beautiful, tempestuous girl disappears from her family's Scottish estate after her brilliant birthday ball. Neither she nor her body are discovered. Her parents -- the icon and celebrated pop star, Michael Gresham, and his wife, a stylish American heiress -- employ private detectives and offer rewards but find nothing, until a local serial killer confesses to the murder. In the neighbouring estate lives Ivar Gatehouse, government spokesman in the House of Lords, famous for his wealth, ancient title and social brilliance, with his fragile painter wife and four near adult children. Both familes live in almost feudal splendour. Celebrated in Hello! and society pages, their worlds are detached, above, different from ours: they live according to other people's rules. But twenty years later, Earl Gatehouse is in Dumfries County Court on trial for murder and the witness on whom the Crown's case will rely is Lucy Diamond, a one-time friend of his youngest daughter, an outsider to their privileged world, who had come to stay on the summer of the birthday ball.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sex, secrets and scandals make a stylish mix in Hamilton's novel, a winning hybrid of suspenseful entertainment and literary work. Set in late 1970s England and Scotland, the narrative opens with wealthy, well-connected Earl Gatehouse on trial for the murder, 20 years earlier, of teenage neighbor Katie Gresham, the only child of Scottish pop star Michael Gresham and his American wife, Pauline. The plot unfolds in backstory, through the memories of narrator Lucy Diamond, who is 15 when she first meets anorexic hell-raiser Lady Sarah Anwoth at an exclusive all-girls school where Lucy's mother is the housemistress. Sarah is the troubled third daughter of the womanizing Gatehouse and his glamorous younger wife. Lucy is visiting the Gatehouse family at the time of Katie Gresham's disappearance, and she stumbles on some tawdryDand dangerousDsecrets. With suave expertise, Hamilton taps into middle-class curiosity about how the privileged live. An outsider (because she is Jewish and not rich), Lucy is a witty and opinionated observer, whose voice functions as a narrative undertow, pulling the reader deep into the world of the British aristocracy, some of whom hold themselves above the law. As an unwitting player in elite power struggles, Lucy tries to forget the things she wasn't meant to see, and she doesn't realize until two decades later that she might have to bend the rules in order to survive. Now a celebrity divorce lawyer carrying on an adulterous affair with Sarah's brother, she reluctantly becomes the prosecution's chief witness at the trial. To Hamilton's credit, she wraps up the story with a realistic assessment of the failings of British justice in a society still bound by class distinctions. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Fifteen-year-old Lucy Diamond finds herself captivated by the glamorous lifestyle of her school friend Sarah, the daughter of a British aristocrat. Seduced by the parties with famous people, the glory-by-association, and the attentions of Lord Gatehouse, Lucy finds herself increasingly drawn to this sophisticated and high-profile world of the rich and powerful. As she becomes more intimately acquainted with this privileged circle, however, she begins to see through the facade to the darker side of this elite family. The suspense mounts as more and more pieces of ugly truth slowly come to light. When one of Lord Gatehouse's mistresses disappears after a violent confrontation with him, Lucy flees, only to be pulled back in years later when the body is discovered. Lucy is called upon to publicly speak the truth, which could destroy not only Lord Gatehouse and his family but Lucy and her loved ones as well. Hamilton, in this gripping novel, skillfully draws the reader into her sinister circle of characters and events. Gavin Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins Pb (May 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006513646
• ISBN-13: 978-0006513643
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,914,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Other People's Rules, November 19, 2000

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Other People's Rules (Hardcover)

This is a rich, dark novel, brilliantly written by Julia Hamilton, in a style that is reminiscent of Nancy Mitford and L. P. Hartley. Like Mitford, Julia Hamilton presents us with the insular and enclosed lives of the British upper class; all the while dissecting it with flashes of ironic humour -- coming across Margaret Thatcher describes as "Mad Maggie" is something I shall always personally treasure! And like L.P. Hartley, Julia Hamilton presents us with a sympathetic protagonist, Lucy Diamond, whom we first meet as a unsure sixteen year old, the outsider to the magical world of Gatehouse, who seems to absorb the unpleasantness and the secrets that swirl around without actually registering them until too late.

This is not a mystery novel, it is more of a psychological novel. Almost from the very beginning we are told that the murder of Katie Gresham probably did take place on Gatehouse land, the home of Ivar Gatehouse, the Earl Gatehouse. Ivar Gatehouse is one of the rising stars of Magaret Thatcher's government. He is rich, charming and handsome. Unfortunately for Ivar, his family seems to be completely screwed up. Luca Diamond is introduced to the rich, glamourous world of the Gatehouses through Ivar's youngest daughter, Sarah. And in spite of Lucy's mother's reservations, Lucy is completely seduced by that world. And it isn't too long before Lucy is seduced by Ivar as well. And this is where young Katie Gresham enters the novel. Unlike Lucy, Katie is part of Ivar's upper class world; and unlike Sarah and Lucy, Katie is no insecure teenager. Ivar seems to be completely taken with Katie much to Lucy's and Sarah's chagrin. And then after a party one night, Katie disappears. Her body is never found; and when a sociopath who has been kidnapping and torturing young girls to death is caught, Katie's disappearance is tied to him as well. However years later, on his deathbed, he claims innocence over Katie's death. The police reopen the case and this time around the focus is on Ivar and all the unsavory rumours concerning his penchant for teenage girls and his infamous murderous rages. Lucy Diamond, now a successful divorce lawyer is again drawn to the happenings at Gatehouse. But it takes an almost tragedy before Lucy is able to look objectively at what happened all those years ago and break the wall of silence that the Gatehouses and their kind have constructed to keep the outsiders at bay.

This novel is superb on so many levels: the brilliant manner in which the authour has layered all the characters and all the events; the clean lines along which the plot is written -- no extraneous characters or events here; and most of all the portrayal of the deeply troubled and confused protagonist, Lucy Diamond. Another point I appreciated was that Ivar Gatehouse, even by the end of the novel, remains a question mark -- perhaps monsters should remain that way so that the horrors of what they have perpetrated remain in place. One other thing that struck me all over again while reading this novel was how similar the world of the upperclass was to that of the village working class -- both are close-knit, insular, deeply suspicious of outsiders, and both are liberally peopled with eccentric characters.

This is not a novel with a deeply intricate plot. Rather, the story is a sadly simple one of what happens when there is a sociopath in your life. It is a rich and dark tale, liberally peopled with memorable characters. Definitely a novel that is worth reading and rereading.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A revealing look at Scotland's aristocrats, October 15, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Other People's Rules (Hardcover)

By the time, Lucy Diamond turned fifteen she was lonely having no friends and parents more interested in her success in her studies than her being a complete child. It is through Mrs. Diamond's job that Lucy meets Sarah AcKworth, the daughter of an Earl and Countess, as blue-blooded an aristocrat as can be found in the twentieth century. The Earl has no qualms about using his wealth and power to crush an enemy.

When Lucy enters Sarah's world, the excitement, glamour, and beauty blind her. She wants acceptance and if that means drinking and smoking pot, so be it. Lucy also ignores the Earl's pedophiliac obsession with young teens including his own daughter. To gain entrance into the inner circle, Lucy sleeps with the Earl. When a teenager the Earl covets vanishes without a trace, the elite close ranks against outsiders like Lucy. The police catch the killer. Years later on his deathbed, the convicted murderer recants his confession. Lucy reenters the inner circle, but as a mature adult seeking the truth.

Julia Hamilton has written a riveting, shocking, yet believable tale about the rich and powerful getting away with murder due to their connections. The heroine is initially gullible but matures into a courageous morally upstanding woman willing to sacrifice her marriage and career to insure justice occurs. This disturbing work leaves the reader with a distressing bitter aftertaste about the justice system. Yet the novel leaves hope that books like OTHER PEOPLE'S RULES will force justice to truly become blind.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the "in" crowd, June 10, 2001

By 

sallyann - See all my reviews

This review is from: Other People's Rules (Hardcover)

15 year old Lucy Diamond finds herself invited by her new friend, Sarah to be a guest in her home, one of the wealthiest and influential families of England. This family has rubbed shoulder with royalty! She is a little overawed by their elegance, extravagence, but is thrilled to be part of it all.

The family seems a little eccentric, with frequent trips away for the mother to 'dry out' and the father, Ivar seems to have a 'thing' for adolescent girls. Lucy finds herself being caught in his web. When the beautiful young heiress, Katie disappears one night from the Gatehouse family grounds, Lucy is shocked to realise that she may hold the key to the mystery. She, perhaps is the last person who saw Katie alive.

Despite her knowledge that the Gatehouse family have enough money and influence to have friends in all the high places, Lucy is brought forward to speak at the muder trial, when Katie's body is found. Will the truth win? Does justice apply to all? An engrossing read.