The Seance
1 journaler for this copy...
Haven't read yet, but I hope to get to it shortly.
"sell the Hall unseen; burn it to the ground and plough the earth with salt if you will; but never live there." This is the advice to Miss Constance Langton from John Montague, the solicitor who as advised Miss Langton of her inheritance of Wraxford Hall.
The Seance is set in Victorian England, and Constance Langton has lost her mother and her cold and distant father has moved away. Living with her uncle, she notices an advertisement asking her to reply. It is then that she learns she has inherited Wraxford Hall, and along with it, papers relating to the Hall and its tragic history; it seems that the place is not only haunted, but the scene of a tragedy -- the disappearance of Eleanor Unwin, her baby and her husband, Magnus Wrexford. Constance feels that the story has relevance to her own life, and she feels she must get to the root of the events leading to the tragedy so that she can perhaps find the answers to questions she has about herself and her own life. The story is structured as a story within a story, but as usually happens in this sort of thing, the two tend to mesh at some point.
This book was so good that I started it on an airplane and was really upset when the plane landed. And I hate to fly, so that says a lot. Once you get started, you won't put it down. The characters are all drawn very nicely; the atmosphere is quite creepy and gloomy, and the writing itself is quite good. Someone else who reviewed this book said that the reader must be ready to suspend disbelief, and that's probably true, but it is well worth it. I found it to be a bit predictable, but after all is said and done, I really didn't mind.
I'd definitely recommend it to people who like creepy atmosphere, a Victorian setting, stories about large gloomy houses, and people who enjoy gothic-type novels. The blurb on the back of the cover says something along the lines that the book is for fans of Wilkie Collins, and that may be correct. This is a fine piece of writing, and John Harwood is an excellent author. I was sad when the book was over; here's hoping Harwood won't keep us waiting long for the next one.
The Seance is set in Victorian England, and Constance Langton has lost her mother and her cold and distant father has moved away. Living with her uncle, she notices an advertisement asking her to reply. It is then that she learns she has inherited Wraxford Hall, and along with it, papers relating to the Hall and its tragic history; it seems that the place is not only haunted, but the scene of a tragedy -- the disappearance of Eleanor Unwin, her baby and her husband, Magnus Wrexford. Constance feels that the story has relevance to her own life, and she feels she must get to the root of the events leading to the tragedy so that she can perhaps find the answers to questions she has about herself and her own life. The story is structured as a story within a story, but as usually happens in this sort of thing, the two tend to mesh at some point.
This book was so good that I started it on an airplane and was really upset when the plane landed. And I hate to fly, so that says a lot. Once you get started, you won't put it down. The characters are all drawn very nicely; the atmosphere is quite creepy and gloomy, and the writing itself is quite good. Someone else who reviewed this book said that the reader must be ready to suspend disbelief, and that's probably true, but it is well worth it. I found it to be a bit predictable, but after all is said and done, I really didn't mind.
I'd definitely recommend it to people who like creepy atmosphere, a Victorian setting, stories about large gloomy houses, and people who enjoy gothic-type novels. The blurb on the back of the cover says something along the lines that the book is for fans of Wilkie Collins, and that may be correct. This is a fine piece of writing, and John Harwood is an excellent author. I was sad when the book was over; here's hoping Harwood won't keep us waiting long for the next one.
