Ahhh, this book had so much beauty. 
 Beautiful characters, beautiful setting, and beautiful writing. Setterfield chose her words perfectly and created a work of art. 
 If only that had been enough to please me, this review would be over and the book would have five stars. Obviously, there were things I wasn't as pleased about. 
 First of all, this is distinctly gothic. It's written in such a way to remind the reader of old gothic classics like Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights. There's a pretty distinct Turn of the Screw feel as well. The thing is, I don't like gothic fiction. I hated the Bronte sisters' books and couldn't even get through the Turn of the Screw. It's not that I'm afraid, but rather I get disturbed by the utter lack of anything, well, good. 
 So it was in this book. There were things that disturbed and bothered me. Things that are so wrong and twisted that I shuddered and squirmed through those chapters (luckily, they were only a short section of the overall book.) (view spoiler)[ Charles and Isabel. I mean, masochistic and sadistic and insane siblings that are in love and have twins. I'm sorry, but even recalling it makes me squirm. (hide spoiler)] 
 It's because of the grossly dark material found in this book that I know I would never be able to recommend it to most of my peers. I could scarcely get through some parts, so I would never be able to give it to someone else, no matter how beautiful the prose. No matter how lovable and relatable the main character. No matter how lovely the mansion and English setting. 
 So, yes, this book was well-written. Setterfield's writing is amazing. The main character, Margaret was one of my favourite protagonists I read about this month. Vida Winters was a vivid character, as was Ambrose. The plot and the mystery wrapped itself around me in a very pleasant way excepting Charles and Isabel. 
 But what do I rate this novel? If most of it was wonderful and only a chunk of it such a horrible experience for me? Maybe three stars? I'm not sure, but that's what I'll go with for now.