Very intrigued to reread this as I last read it about 20 years ago. I was really amazed at how different my reaction was this time around. I remember thinking it was very romantic when I was younger and feeling the relief and delight of the heroine when she discovers the truth about R. This time around I thought, 'great, you're married to a wife-murderer who was too cowardly to divorce his wife when he found out about her and too emotionally stunted to tell you he loved you until now.' I also bought into the portrait of R. as being a total mare the first time around, whereas on second reading she is spirited and intriguing, if still not likeable.
Which is not to say it isn't a brilliant book. The scene where she appears in the costume is just devastating, and the description of the house and its setting are incredibly vividit's like reading in technicolourall the more vivid in comparison to the colour-drained world they inhabit afterwards.