Barbara Erskine
Author of Lady of Hay
About the Author
Works by Barbara Erskine
Hiding from the Light: An enchanting historical fiction story of witches, secrets and revenge... 4 copies, 1 review
2001 1 copy
Child of the Phoneix 1 copy
Associated Works
The Book Lovers' Appreciation Society: Breast Cancer Care Short Story Collection (2009) — Contributor — 97 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1944-08-10
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Edinburgh (BA|History)
- Occupations
- researcher
author
historical novelist - Agent
- Blake Friedmann Literary Agency
- Relationships
- Hope-Lewis, Michael (husband)
Rose, Nigel (father) - Short biography
- Barbara Erskine says: I studied Scottish history at Edinburgh University and it was there that I began (and temporarily abandoned) my first attempt at a novel – the story which would one day become Kingdom of Shadows. Later while I worked for an educational publisher and then as a freelance researcher for books on art and history I began to sell short stories and to dream about becoming a full-time writer with a handful of historical Mills & Boons – a wonderful training in professionalism and in coming to terms with the horror of the deadline. At the same time while I was living in the Black Mountains near Hay-on-Wye in the Welsh Border March I started working on the research for Lady of Hay, at first as a part-time hobby and a barely formed idea, then with more and more urgency. Exactly 10 years after I first roughed out the story line, the book was finally published. That same year I found myself to my amazement and total terror talking about it on prime time TV and later doing a coast to coast tour of the USA. What had my dreams got me into.
- Nationality
- England
UK - Birthplace
- Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Suffolk, England, UK
North Essex, England, UK
Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, UK - Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Discussions
Sci-fi book that takes place in UK or Ireland in Name that Book (March 2021)
fiction probably at least 15 years old in Name that Book (October 2010)
Reviews
To recover from her recent divorce, Anna Fox decides to embark on a great adventure - a boat tour of Egypt from Luxor to Aswan tracing the footsteps of her Victorian ancestor Louisa, a renowned watercolorist. Anna takes with her two of Louisa's possessions - her diary filled with sketches, and an ancient Egyptian scent bottle. And these objects start Anna on an adventure she hadn't reckoned with.
The valuable diary unleashes a bitter rivalry between two of the men on the tour who vie for show more Anna's affections, and a glimpse at the precious pages. But the diary is important to Anna because of the touching love story unfolding within its pages, but also for the description of the uncanny events surrounding the scent bottle - events that seem to have echoes on Anna's present-day cruise. And soon Anna must also contend with the spectres of two long-dead rival priests who seem to grow in strength and malevolence as they leech off the strength of Anna and her fellow tour passengers.
I'm completely mad for Egypt, and I have been since I was very small. I enjoy ghost stories with unfinished business and magical rites. I'm also utterly fascinated by Victorian era travel in Egypt (hence my love of Elizabeth Peters' intrepid adventurer Amelia Peabody), so this book had all of the right elements to be a raging success with me. But somehow it never really hooked me.
Actually, no, that's not true. I was well and truly hooked on Louisa's story. I loved the descriptions of the beauty of Egypt as she painted it, and I adored the tender love story unfolding despite all the social barriers standing between her and the object of her affections. But the present-day story just didn't work for me. While the spirits hung around growing ever more menacing, Anna just didn't seem to be doing anything to get rid of them. She would be told things she should try, but upon the spectre's next appearance, she would scream and go faint; everyone would cluck and exclaim about the heat, and then everybody would drink some more and forget all about it. It was just rather frustrating. The entire modern section of the story was an exercise in frustration, most particularly the ending.
After I hung in there for the 573 pages, I was expecting some actual resolution. I hoped in vain. I think with the right ending, this could have been very good. Even with a somewhat sappy ending, this would have been a fun read. But this ending just left me feeling unsatisfied. But it did reinforce my desire to go take a cruise up the Nile, so that's something to be said for it...
Also posted on my blog. show less
The valuable diary unleashes a bitter rivalry between two of the men on the tour who vie for show more Anna's affections, and a glimpse at the precious pages. But the diary is important to Anna because of the touching love story unfolding within its pages, but also for the description of the uncanny events surrounding the scent bottle - events that seem to have echoes on Anna's present-day cruise. And soon Anna must also contend with the spectres of two long-dead rival priests who seem to grow in strength and malevolence as they leech off the strength of Anna and her fellow tour passengers.
I'm completely mad for Egypt, and I have been since I was very small. I enjoy ghost stories with unfinished business and magical rites. I'm also utterly fascinated by Victorian era travel in Egypt (hence my love of Elizabeth Peters' intrepid adventurer Amelia Peabody), so this book had all of the right elements to be a raging success with me. But somehow it never really hooked me.
Actually, no, that's not true. I was well and truly hooked on Louisa's story. I loved the descriptions of the beauty of Egypt as she painted it, and I adored the tender love story unfolding despite all the social barriers standing between her and the object of her affections. But the present-day story just didn't work for me. While the spirits hung around growing ever more menacing, Anna just didn't seem to be doing anything to get rid of them. She would be told things she should try, but upon the spectre's next appearance, she would scream and go faint; everyone would cluck and exclaim about the heat, and then everybody would drink some more and forget all about it. It was just rather frustrating. The entire modern section of the story was an exercise in frustration, most particularly the ending.
After I hung in there for the 573 pages, I was expecting some actual resolution. I hoped in vain. I think with the right ending, this could have been very good. Even with a somewhat sappy ending, this would have been a fun read. But this ending just left me feeling unsatisfied. But it did reinforce my desire to go take a cruise up the Nile, so that's something to be said for it...
Also posted on my blog. show less
Not my favorite Erskine, but not a bad little book either. Filled with just the right level of creepy, this is a suspenseful ghost story with ties to the time of the Wars of the Roses. It more or less follows the premise of a family inheriting an old house with a reputation. Shortly thereafter strange things begin to occur: the sound of children playing, a mysterious man who only the toddler can see, and white roses appearing out of nowhere.
What irked me about this book was what is kind of show more always lingering in the back of most of Erskine's novels: how the people who are supposed to love each other are always somewhat nasty to one another. It seems like it's always a woman who is experiencing something supernatural, and the men in her life don't believe her, instead chalking her experiences up to female hysteria. The men of her books are liberal with the word "bitch" when describing women. In this case, Luke is kind of a dick to his wife, Joss, dismissing all her experiences out of hand. If she does something he doesn't like he throws a hissy-fit. There is also the trope of women who hate each other and can't get along. Joss's sister, Lyn, is downright awful to her. These are themes that seem to run through all of the Erskine books I've read, but seemed especially prominent in House of Echoes. On the other hand, her characters didn't seem to have such crippling alcohol dependencies in this one...
The above issues aside, this is a good ghost story and a fast page-turner. show less
What irked me about this book was what is kind of show more always lingering in the back of most of Erskine's novels: how the people who are supposed to love each other are always somewhat nasty to one another. It seems like it's always a woman who is experiencing something supernatural, and the men in her life don't believe her, instead chalking her experiences up to female hysteria. The men of her books are liberal with the word "bitch" when describing women. In this case, Luke is kind of a dick to his wife, Joss, dismissing all her experiences out of hand. If she does something he doesn't like he throws a hissy-fit. There is also the trope of women who hate each other and can't get along. Joss's sister, Lyn, is downright awful to her. These are themes that seem to run through all of the Erskine books I've read, but seemed especially prominent in House of Echoes. On the other hand, her characters didn't seem to have such crippling alcohol dependencies in this one...
The above issues aside, this is a good ghost story and a fast page-turner. show less
Oh Dear this was bad! I stuck it out for as long as I could, but I got to the stage where if I had to listen to one more story with a woman unable to function without a man in her life I was going to scream.
Individually, each story was OK, there were some inventive ideas in here. But cumulatively the effect was entirely depressing. It is a bit like trying to eat an entire packet of marshmallows. One or two are OK, but after a while you start to feel a little bit ick. Don't bother yourselves show more with this one. I made it through ~ 3/4 before deciding to quit before I lost the will to live. show less
Individually, each story was OK, there were some inventive ideas in here. But cumulatively the effect was entirely depressing. It is a bit like trying to eat an entire packet of marshmallows. One or two are OK, but after a while you start to feel a little bit ick. Don't bother yourselves show more with this one. I made it through ~ 3/4 before deciding to quit before I lost the will to live. show less
Where I got the book: bought retail. Full price. Seriously, sometimes I do that just for laughs.
I read this book back in 1985 when it came out. I was 25. I cannot imagine this. I thought this book was AMAZING back then. I was hoping to recapture the moment...
Sigh.
You can never go back.
Plot: beautiful, talented journalist Jo (STRIKE ONE) appears to have no other purpose than to be hypnotized back into a previous life. Because absolutely EVERYONE she meets can do this. Really? I could count show more the number of regression hypnotists I've met on one.... hair follicle. Minus one. But when it comes to Jo, NOOOOO everyone can wave a hand and send her back to the Middle Ages, where she's a beautiful, willowy (STRIKE TWO) Lady of Hay called variously Matilda, Matilde, Maud or Moll. If nobody else is around to hypnotize her, Jo self-hypnotizes, boom, back in time before you can reach for the Scotch.
And they DO reach for the Scotch, oh yes they do, when they're not reaching for the coffee. In the contemporary parts of the novel intensely-blue-eyed (STRIKE THREE) ex-boyfriend Nick, sinister ex-boyfriend-brother-who-may-or-may-not-have-blue-eyes-but-who-cares? Sam, wimpy wannabe-boyfriend Tim and slightly-slutty-ex-boyfriend's-girlfriend Judy narrow their eyes a lot, drink much Scotch and much coffee, sleep with each other and gaze at each other with intensely blue eyes.Most of them are reincarnated, natch. Because it's PERFECTLY NORMAL to find reincarnated royalty/nobility who happen to have cassette tapes of the EXACT SAME flute music from the Middle Ages in London in 1985.
But thank heaven for the reincarnations, say I. The Middle Ages plot is the only plot in the novel, the contemporary parts being nothing but the aforesaid Scotch drinkings and eye narrowings, with a bit of driving around foggy damp Welsh hills and the occasional punch-up thrown in. The Middle Ages characters do all sorts of exciting activities, either on horseback or at swordpoint or, I was going to say in bed but the sex is pretty perfunctory, his eyes narrowed and next minute they were smoking a cigarette or drinking a post-coital Scotch kind of thing. Oh no, wait, I was in the Middle Ages so perhaps no Scotch. Damned if I know.
This is the anniversary edition, so there's a sequel short story which is over-the-top silly with lots! of! exclamation! points! Interestingly, Erskine seems at times to refute the New Age beliefs which evidently gave rise to this idea that you could simply hypnotize yourself back into the past. Or fly, depending on which drugs you were taking. The 70s were awesome.
You know, if you just stuck to the Middle Ages story you'd have a great tale of love, loss, dynastic power-mongering, rogue kings and towering castles. I only felt like screaming every time we landed back in the 1980s. Of course, if you remember the 1980s you'll sympathize with that.
Verdict: a novel that is past its prime. A humungous hit in its day, but it doesn't travel well. show less
I read this book back in 1985 when it came out. I was 25. I cannot imagine this. I thought this book was AMAZING back then. I was hoping to recapture the moment...
Sigh.
You can never go back.
Plot: beautiful, talented journalist Jo (STRIKE ONE) appears to have no other purpose than to be hypnotized back into a previous life. Because absolutely EVERYONE she meets can do this. Really? I could count show more the number of regression hypnotists I've met on one.... hair follicle. Minus one. But when it comes to Jo, NOOOOO everyone can wave a hand and send her back to the Middle Ages, where she's a beautiful, willowy (STRIKE TWO) Lady of Hay called variously Matilda, Matilde, Maud or Moll. If nobody else is around to hypnotize her, Jo self-hypnotizes, boom, back in time before you can reach for the Scotch.
And they DO reach for the Scotch, oh yes they do, when they're not reaching for the coffee. In the contemporary parts of the novel intensely-blue-eyed (STRIKE THREE) ex-boyfriend Nick, sinister ex-boyfriend-brother-who-may-or-may-not-have-blue-eyes-but-who-cares? Sam, wimpy wannabe-boyfriend Tim and slightly-slutty-ex-boyfriend's-girlfriend Judy narrow their eyes a lot, drink much Scotch and much coffee, sleep with each other and gaze at each other with intensely blue eyes.
But thank heaven for the reincarnations, say I. The Middle Ages plot is the only plot in the novel, the contemporary parts being nothing but the aforesaid Scotch drinkings and eye narrowings, with a bit of driving around foggy damp Welsh hills and the occasional punch-up thrown in. The Middle Ages characters do all sorts of exciting activities, either on horseback or at swordpoint or, I was going to say in bed but the sex is pretty perfunctory, his eyes narrowed and next minute they were smoking a cigarette or drinking a post-coital Scotch kind of thing. Oh no, wait, I was in the Middle Ages so perhaps no Scotch. Damned if I know.
This is the anniversary edition, so there's a sequel short story which is over-the-top silly with lots! of! exclamation! points! Interestingly, Erskine seems at times to refute the New Age beliefs which evidently gave rise to this idea that you could simply hypnotize yourself back into the past. Or fly, depending on which drugs you were taking. The 70s were awesome.
You know, if you just stuck to the Middle Ages story you'd have a great tale of love, loss, dynastic power-mongering, rogue kings and towering castles. I only felt like screaming every time we landed back in the 1980s. Of course, if you remember the 1980s you'll sympathize with that.
Verdict: a novel that is past its prime. A humungous hit in its day, but it doesn't travel well. show less
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