Pan Macmillan
2014
Be Careful What you Wish for....
Roz Acclam has just been appointed
as the events manager at the newly renovated Holmwood Hall in the city of York,
a fifteenth century town house, once the home of a prominent York family. From
the beginning the dark and brooding nature of the house overwhelms Roz and as
she starts to experience sights, sounds and sensations from the past, it is
obvious that someone within the house has unfinished business.
In 1569, Jane is the eldest
daughter of York butcher Henry Birkby. Her social standing and lack of beauty
do not bode well for a good marriage and so plain Jane has resigned herself to
being forever in the shadow of her more beautiful and flighty younger sister,
Juliana. When an offer of marriage is made to Jane from the prestigious Holmwood
family, she is amazed when her new bridegroom, Robert, is neither ill favoured, nor as ugly as a toad.
With skilful storytelling, a
dramatic story emerges of two women both badly damaged by life events and of
two marriages affected by circumstances. By using Roz as a conduit, every
aspect of Jane’s bizarre married life is revealed and the very real drama being
played out by Jane and Robert Holmwood in the sixteenth century becomes as compelling
and just as convincing as the very modern marriage dilemmas being faced by Roz
and her husband Nick.
The malign forces at play in
Holmwood House have survived throughout the centuries and the immersion into
the past in such a visceral and realistic way only emphasises the idea that
just on the edge of dark, twixt night and day, is the most powerful time, and
there is no doubt that the gut wrenching fear which is stirred throughout the
novel powerfully evokes the edge of dark.
With each successive novel, Pamela
Hartshorne’s writing goes from strength to strength. There is no doubt that she
has captured the idea of the time slip/dual narrative historical novel to perfection and she continues to enthral, beguile and entertain.
Recommended if you like dual time narratives by Barbara Erskine, Susanna Kearsley, Rachel Hore.
Sounds right up my street and set in York too, one of my favourite cities. Off to buy!
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie - How lovely to see you !
DeleteI'm so pleased that you are intrigued by The Edge of Dark - I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did. I love York too and visited the city often when I lived in Leeds.