📖 Featured Book of the Month ~ The Dream Weavers by Barbara Erskine

 

Harper Collins
15 April 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

A nest of vipers, they called us. But that is not how it was.

Mercia, 775 AD. In the grand Saxon halls of Mercia, King Offa rules with ruthless ambition. Aggressive and relentlessly acquisitive, his three daughters are destined to marry advantageously in service of their country. Eadburh, the youngest, is neither the cleverest nor the most beautiful of the three. But, with her father’s ruthless spirit and the secret gifts passed down from her mother, she is determined to carve her own path in the world.

2021. Simon Armstrong has escaped to a secluded cottage on the English-Welsh borders, desperate to finish his book about Anglo-Saxon King Offa. But he soon finds himself disturbed by unsettling noises and visions. Calling in local expert Bea to identify the issue, Simon hopes to get back some peace – but soon Bea is as embroiled as he is, feeling increasingly connected to a ghostly presence that is growing ever-stronger in its desire for revenge. And when Simon’s daughter disappears, centuries of secrets and resentment begin to tumble out…

An epic tale of deceit, revenge and exile from the queen of timeslip historical fiction.Time is running out as the past and present collide.

📖 My thoughts..

There is nothing I like better than to sit for several hours immersed in one of this author's engrossing supernatural tales. Combining a strong sense of history with a plausible time slip element is just what makes these stories so special.

Author, Simon Armitage, has moved into a remote cottage close to what remains of Offa's Dyke on the English/Welsh border in order to finish writing his book about the Anglo Saxon King Offa. This isolated area is a place of secrets and shadows and with no obvious explanation for the distressed voices he starts to hear Simon calls on the help of Bea Dalloway, whose skill in dealing with paranormal activity is a closely guarded secret. 

Unleashing the ancient power that swirls around this remote cottage has a profound effect on Bea and soon she is consumed by the turbulent story of Eadburh, the spirited younger daughter of King Offa, whose shadowy presence dominates, and whose history, it would seem, needs to be heard before she can find the peace she so desperately craves.

The Dream Weavers is beautifully written and so skilfully put together that even as you move seamlessly between past and present, the history, and the characters, which the author so skillfully brings to life, start to come alive in the imagination. And as neither the past nor the present is allowed to outshine the other, and with each time frame so scarily realistic, the ancient world of 775 AD is just as vivid as the paranormal events which start to unfold in 2021. As the shadows bloom and shimmer so the curtain to the past is lifted and time reveals its deadly secrets.

I've long been a fan of this author's exceptionally skilful writing, in fact, I still can't believe that the first book I read, back in 1986, The Lady of Hay, has just celebrated its 35th anniversary. Without doubt Barbra Erskine is the Queen of the time-slip genre and I think that The Dream Weavers is up there amongst her best which is why I have no hesitation in making it my Featured Book for the Month in May.

About the Author

A historian by training, Barbara Erskine is the author of many bestselling novels that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural, plus three collections of short stories. Her books have appeared in at least twenty-six languages. Her first novel, Lady of Hay, has sold over two million copies worldwide. She lives with her family in an ancient manor house near Colchester and in a cottage near Hay-on-Wye,

Twitter @barbaraerskine #TheDreamWeavers

@HarperCollinsUK

Review ~ The Ghost Tree by Barbara Erskine

Harper Collins
7 March 2019

My thanks to Lovereading.co.uk for my copy of this book

Ruth has returned to Edinburgh after many years of exile, left rootless by the end of her marriage, career and now the death of her father. She is now faced with the daunting task of clearing his house.

Hidden away in a barely used top-floor room, she finds he had secretly kept a cupboard full of her mother’s possessions. Sifting through the ancient papers, Ruth discovers the diary and letters written by her ancestor from the eighteenth century, Thomas Erskine.

As the youngest son of a noble family now living in genteel poverty, Thomas always knew he would have to make his own way in the world. Unable to follow his brothers to university, instead he joins the navy, rising through the ranks, travelling the world. When he is finally able to study law, his extraordinary experiences and abilities propel him to the very top and he becomes Lord Chancellor. Yet he has made a powerful enemy on his voyages, who will hound him and his family to the death.

Ruth becomes ever more aware of Thomas as she is gripped by his story, and slowly senses that not only is his presence with her, but so is his enemy’s. Ruth will have to draw upon new friends and old in what becomes a battle for her very survival – and discover an inner power beyond anything she has imagined.

My thoughts..

Devastating family secrets forms the basis for this interesting and complex family drama.

After her father’s death Ruth returns to the family home in Edinburgh only to find that there is someone there who wishes to infiltrate every aspect of Ruth’s life and even though her relationship with her family has been difficult, and more especially with her father, Ruth is really unhappy to learn that there are details about her family of which she knew absolutely nothing. Further exploration into her family’s dark past reiterates just how many secrets have been hidden.

As with all of this author’s previous work there is a definite shifting of time and very cleverly the story moves between the present and the eighteenth century, and as it does so a dark and ghostly atmosphere starts to pervade. The author writes with authority because in creating The Ghost Tree she has dipped into her own rather complicated family history and, in doing so, has written an emotionally charged story which is based on factual historical evidence.

To be honest I found the historical aspects of the story rather stronger that the present day story but taken as a whole I thought that the content of the book had a real authenticity to it, and all credit to the author for using her own family history in order to create such a fascinating dual time narrative.

About the Author

An historian by training, Barbara Erskine is the author of bestselling novels that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural, plus two collections of short stories. Her books have appeared in at least twenty different languages. She lives with her family in an ancient manor house near Colchester, and in a cottage near Hay-on-Wye.

Website

Twitter @Barbaraerskine

@LoveReadinguk

I read this book as part of the Lovereading.co.uk reading panel

You can find other reviews of this book by clicking here

One from the Book Shelf ~ Kingdom of Shadows by Barbara Erskine

My new feature of 'One from the Book Shelf' takes an old friend, a book that I have had for years and  gives me the chance to re-read and review  it.

My July ~ One from the Book Shelf 

is

Harper Collins

Last week saw commemorations in Scotland for the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn which witnessed the defeat of the forces of the English King Edward II, by the army of the Scottish King Robert the Bruce in 1314. This battle for Scottish independence was the culmination of a long fight which had started during the reign of Edward I, who is better known by the sobriquet the ‘Hammer of the Scots’, and who became infamous for his brutal execution of the noble warrior, William Wallace.

Kingdom of Shadows takes the story of the tragic Isobel of Buchan whose support of Robert the Bruce put her in defiance of both her husband and the English King. The disaster of her life is well documented, although perhaps the reason behind her actions is less known. What Barbara Erskine has done is to add flesh to the story and has produced an unforgettable heroine and a tragedy of epic proportions.

The time slip story, which uses as its focus the 20C story of Claire Royland and her fiercely ambitious husband, mirrors that of Isobel, who trapped in the 13C uses Claire as the medium through which her story is told. The transition between time frames is seamless and whilst for me the 13C story became more compelling, there is no doubt that the situation which develops between Claire and her husband, is no less forceful as the conflict between Isobel and her husband.

The novel was originally published in 1988, and I remember reading Kingdom of Shadows for the first time in the early 1990s. The story is beautifully told, rich in historic detail and alive with mystery and intrigue. Isobel’s final punishment by a malicious and ill favoured King is stark and brutal, and yet in the hands of this talented writer, Isobel’s human fragility, combined with her strength of spirit truly comes alive.

And as the final tragedy of the story is revealed, the mists of time shimmer and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as Isobel's ghostly figure tells you that for her the story is never finished and that as long as Kingdom of Shadows remains in print she will be heard time and time again.

*~*~*

About the Author

Barbara Erskine's latest novel

The Darkest Hour

Published by Harper Collins

Is due on July 3rd 2014





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Wishlist Wednesday

I am delighted to be part of wishlist Wednesday which is hosted by Dani at pen to paper

 

The idea is to post about one book each week that has been on your wishlist for some time, or maybe just added.

So what do you need to do to join in?

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.

Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.

Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post.

Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.

My Wishlist Wednesday book is the soon to be published book from one of my favourite authors.

River of Destiny 

by 

Barbara Erskine

Published Harper Collins 5 July 2012

From Goodreads

From the bestselling author of Time's Legacy and Lady of Hay comes a thrilling new novel, River of Destiny, whose epic story spans Anglo Saxon Britain, Victorian Suffolk and the present day. On the banks of the River Deben in Suffolk lies a set of barns dating back to the Anglo Saxons, within their walls secrets have laid buried for centuries. Zoe and Ken have just moved into one of the barns, ready to start a new life away from the hustle and bustle of the city. To the outside world they seem like an ordinary couple, but underneath they are growing more distant by the day. And when Zoe becomes close to local recluse, Leo, she finds her attraction to him undeniable. Whilst farmers are ploughing the land surrounding the barns, sets of human bones are found and when the police arrive it becomes clear that the bones are much older than first suspected! From an ancient burial ground to a Victorian murder, Erskine will have you gripped as the mystery unfolds across the ages.

There are novelists whose books I eagerly await.  Barbara Erskine is one of the few authors whose work I buy in hard cover, simply because I know I will read them more than once, and they look very attractive on the bookshelf. The covers are always eerily atmospheric and draw the reader into the story before you have turned the first page.

Barbara Erskine has been one of my favourite authors for the last 26 years. Her first novel Lady of Hay has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. In 2011 Lady of  Hay celebrated 25 years of being continuously in print.

My friends who enjoy the time travel series Outlander by Diana Gabaldon will most certainly enjoy Barbara Erskine's time travel / dual time narratives.

Publication date 5 July 2012 is very much marked onto my book calendar -  I know this book won't remain on my wishlist for very long !



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