Bluebell Castle Books in Order

Set in the Derbyshire countryside, the Bluebell Castle series revolves around Camland Castle, a slightly crumbling stately home that has seen far better days. Once the dream of an eccentric relative, it is now a financial headache for the Ludworth siblings who inherit it.

In Spring Skies Over Bluebell Castle, eldest brother Arthur Ludworth is struggling to keep the estate afloat when Lucie Kennington, an art expert fleeing her own problems in London, arrives to catalogue the castle’s collection. She expected a short-term job in a dusty archive and finds a handsome, overworked heir, a close-knit household staff and hints of a legendary painting that might just save the family fortune.

The second book, Sunshine Over Bluebell Castle, shifts the focus to Isobel, known as Iggy, who has taken on the challenge of restoring the castle’s wild gardens in time for a high-profile summer fete. Under pressure and out of her depth, she hires celebrity gardener Will Talbot. Will brings expertise, ego and unexpected vulnerability, and their clashes among the overgrown borders slowly turn into something warmer.

In Starlight Over Bluebell Castle, the youngest sibling, Tristan, dreams of turning the estate into a destination for winter events. He invites event planner Jessica Ridley, an old colleague whose life has just been upended, to help transform the castle into a Christmas wonderland. Jess arrives with her two young children and a firm plan to keep things strictly professional, but twinkling lights, shared history and the pull of the castle make that promise hard to keep.

All three stories stand alone, yet together they chart how one dilapidated castle becomes a thriving, lived-in home again.

Throughout the trilogy, the backdrop of Camland Castle gives everything a gently fairy-tale feel, but the problems the characters face are contemporary and recognisable, from money worries and burnout to complicated families and grief. Expect roaring fires, snow-dusted turrets, difficult conversations around the dinner table and a steady sense that this odd, isolated estate is exactly where these people are meant to end up.