The Copper Peacock

A Haunting Legacy Beneath the Peacock’s Gaze

The Copper Peacock begins with the unexpected inheritance of a striking bronze sculpture—a life-sized peacock with patinated feathers that shimmer in muted greens and coppers. Young art historian Cecily Marchmont arrives at remote Ingwith Manor to catalogue her late great-aunt’s collection, only to discover that the peacock seems to preside over the estate with uncanny intent. As dusk falls and the manor’s corridors grow cold, the bird’s watchful gaze sparks unsettling dreams, and Cecily senses that this elegant artifact carries more than artistic value—it harbors the echoes of long-buried family tragedies.

Whispers of Betrayal in an English Manor

Within the manor’s shadowed rooms, Cecily unravels a web of half-spoken rivalries and clandestine romances. There is Felix, the charming nephew with a hidden gambling debt; Arabella, the austere housekeeper who murmurs of “unclean hands”; and Edwin, the reclusive cousin whose impassioned mutterings betray a mind on the brink of collapse. Each offers fragments of a story: a lost inheritance, a clandestine affair, and a secret pact sealed in blood. Rendell’s evocative prose brings every faded tapestry and creaking floorboard to life, suggesting that in Ingwith’s elegant decay, every guest may be both witness and culprit.

A Dance with Danger and Deception

As Cecily’s research deepens, the line between observer and participant blurs. When a sudden death shocks the household—a body found at the foot of the grand staircase, the copper peacock’s tail feathers gleaming overhead—she must navigate the treacherous dance of suspicion. With her scholarly detachment tested by personal peril, Cecily probes hidden passageways, deciphers cryptic diaries, and confronts the chilling possibility that the peacock itself might have inspired its keeper’s downfall. In a thrilling finale beneath the moonlit eaves, she uncovers a motive as cold and shining as the metal bird’s beak, exposing the lethal secrets that bind the family’s fate.

. Ruth Rendell was an award-winning British author celebrated for her masterful psychological thrillers and richly drawn characters. As the creator of Inspector Wexford and countless standalone mysteries, she captivated readers with her profound insights into human nature and the dark undercurrents of ordinary lives.