This House Is Haunted
A Novel by the Author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
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4.1 • 93 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A Dickensian ghost story from the bestselling author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky
“A wonderfully creepy novel…magnificently eerie.” —The Observer
This House Is Haunted is a striking homage to the classic nineteenth-century ghost story. Set in Norfolk in 1867, Eliza Caine responds to an ad for a governess position at Gaudlin Hall. When she arrives at the hall, shaken by an unsettling disturbance that occurred during her travels, she is greeted by the two children now in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There is no adult present to represent her mysterious employer, and the children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, another terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong.
From the moment Eliza rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence that lives within Gaudlin’s walls. Eliza realizes that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall’s long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past. Clever, captivating, and witty, This House Is Haunted is pure entertainment with a catch.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1867 England, 21-year-old Eliza Caine is left completely alone in the world when her father suddenly takes ill and dies. In a fit of melancholia, she responds to an advertisement for a governess to care for a pair of children in the wilds of Norfolk. When she receives a positive response, Eliza realizes that her life is about to undergo a cataclysmic change: she has never been out of London, she has never been a governess, and she knows nothing about Gaudlin Hall which turns out to be an imposing pile of a building, spine-chillingly odd, unsettling, and spooky or her new employers. Drawing sometimes excessively on Rebecca, Wuthering Heights, and the works of Wilkie Collins and Dickens, Boyne (The House of Special Purpose) creates a subtle, satisfying tale of ghostly terror.
Customer Reviews
Great read!
Great, quick read for a solid ghost story, albeit somewhat predictable. The protagonist is a strong female for the mid-1800s: I quite fell in love with her! Mr. Boyle might consider a sequel. There should be more to come!
Creepy
I was in a reading hangover. Couldn't get into another book. Until I find this one and that first and that first chapter had me hooked. Talk about creepy and sad moments. This book was not predictable. I would start thinking oh this might happen or maybe these two characters might end up together nope that is not what happened in this book. And that ending wow.
About this story
Set in 1800's in London a young woman name Eliza Caine 21 years old. Who still lived with her father. Also a teacher at all girls school. Eliza mother had passed away when she was a young girl. So it was just Eliza and her father. Who I want to note enjoyed listening to Charles Dickens tell stories. I enjoy Charles Dickens stories. When Eliza father suddenly passes way. Eliza then answer ad in the paper about a governess job at Gaudlin Hall in the country side of Norfolk. When she arrives at the home she only greeted by the two children. No adults and not even the person who put out the ad. Eliza starts to learn about the house and all the hidden secrets within the home. I highly recommend this story its not very scary but it keeps you thinking and not wanting to put it down until you find out what happens. Now that ending was everything to me and very unexpected to me.
Fun Enough Victorian Imitation
Unlike the author's historical novel "The Bounty", this book tries to imitate the style of a gothic Victorian ghost story, not develop an already known historical incident. Although I appreciate the idea, I think he's done better in other books. It is so predictable.