Midnight Rooms

In 1840s England, Orabella Mumthrope, the child of a Black mother and a white father, never imagines she will marry. Her aunt and uncle, who disapproved of her parents’ marriage, reluctantly took her in as a charity case when she was orphaned as a child. Now that she’s grown, they are eager to get rid of her. Then, handsome and well-situated Elias Blakersby appears, claiming that he’s had his eye on Orabella for over a year. He proposes marriage, and with no other prospects in sight, Orabella agrees. At Korringhill Manor, Elias’s crumbling family estate, Orabella finds a place full of unused rooms, decay, and mystery. She is never left unattended, and she begins to wonder if Elias has ulterior motives for wanting her there. Meanwhile, she is haunted by unsettling visions and periods of lost time, which make her increasingly unable to distinguish reality from dreams. Narrator Georgina Campbell expertly voices Orabella’s hope, confusion, and despair, drawing listeners in and creating an empathetic portrait of this curious yet vulnerable woman.