The Mystery at Rake Hall

In post-war Oxford, secrets lie behind every door.


In 1947, with rationing still biting and the black market thriving, university don C.S. ‘Jack’ Lewis finds himself pulled into a mystery straight from one of his friend Dorothy Sayers’ novels. Susan Temple, his brightest student, has been hidden away at Rake House — a hostel for unmarried, outcast mothers. But beneath the respectable façade, something sinister festers.


With no experience beyond catching the occasional student plagiarist, Lewis is hardly a detective. Yet, his curiosity piqued and his moral compass tugged – and alongside Susan’s friend Lucy, the daughter of a college servant – he delves into the unsavoury secrets of Oxford’s underbelly…


In The Mystery at Rake Hall, Maureen Paton – whose mother lived at the real-life Rake Hall while pregnant with Maureen – brilliantly recreates a post-war Oxford world, as well as imagining an alternative life for one of its most famous residents.