The Orphans of Hatham Hall

In 1886 cross-dressing New Woman, Eleanor Hatham decides that a new ferry to Ireland will enrich her family's corner of Cornwall, devastated by the Repeal of the Corn Laws forty years earlier. But when her uncle, Petroc Trewin opposes the immigration it will bring, Hatham Hall becomes a battlefield. Two outsiders, Hortense and Digby, enter, adding to the mayhem. Daughter of a Caribbean slave, Hortense accepts Eleanor's haven but hates the subservience, straining at her shackles....
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In 1886 cross-dressing New Woman, Eleanor Hatham decides that a new ferry to Ireland will enrich her family's corner of Cornwall, devastated by the Repeal of the Corn Laws forty years earlier. But when her uncle, Petroc Trewin opposes the immigration it will bring, Hatham Hall becomes a battlefield. Two outsiders, Hortense and Digby, enter, adding to the mayhem.
Daughter of a Caribbean slave, Hortense accepts Eleanor's haven but hates the subservience, straining at her shackles. Spanish-Irish Digby poses as an English gentlemen, abusing himself before Spanish-and-Irish-baiting Petroc Trewin while hoping to seize the family's remaining cash. But when the ghosts of Hatham Hall's past crimes return and locals blame foreigners, the house truly threatens to fall apart. Set in the past, its characters fight today's battles for Britain's soul. Who - Eleanor, Petroc, Digby or Hortense - can subdue the ghosts and conquer Hatham Hall? Mixing satire, romance and intrigue with horror and humour in a heady romp, this neo-Victorian Gothic novel turns period myths on their heads.

"I loved every moment of this fabulous and richly-detailed Hammer Horror for the new millennium. Trapped in a crumbling Manor House, Robinson marshals a set of characters who are gloriously unpredictable, unexpected and unstoppable - and yet also nuanced and utterly believable. A thoroughly gripping read - he leaves you no choice but to gulp it down to the very bitter end."
Jonathan Myerson