by John Boyne
I have read quite a few novels by John Boyne and he never fails to disappoint. He has written modern fairy tale (Noah Barleywater Runs Away, The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket), war stories (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Stay Where You Are and Then Leave, The Absolutist), short story collections, and many other titles, and now he has tackled the ghost story genre. Not only a ghost story, but set in the 19th Century, so competing with Charles Dickens. The author even brings in Mr Dickens to make a short cameo appearance, where he is reading one of his ghost stories on stage in front of an excitingly expectant audience.
This story follows 21-yr-old Eliza Caine, primary school teacher, living with her ill father in fog-ridden London. A trip to the theatre in wet cold conditions worsens his illness and he dies. Eliza dreams of starting a new life somewhere, hoping it may bring her happiness and love. She spots an advert for a governess in Norfolk, and she leaps at this opportunity. However, the job at the stately manor calls for more stamina, determination, strength and courage than she could have possibly had imagined. Five out of the six previous governesses have come to a grisly end in very suspicious circumstances, and Eliza battles to overcome attempts on her life from invisible forces within the house.
If you liked The Woman in Black, and The Turn of the Screw, then you will love this.
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