The Seance - Books (John Harwood, Hardcover)

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Customer Reviews of The Seance

Varied Read

30th November 2008

Writing at it's best.
A wonderful story that transports you to Victorian England - very atmospheric with haunting descriptions - but extremely easy to read.

The story is cleverly told through the narratives of different people involved in the unfolding mystery chapter by chapter.

The only teensy complaint is that perhaps it was a little bit too neatly tied up at the end (hence the 4 stars). A marvellous piece of writing none-the-less. READ IT!

Graeme Douglas
Kent, UK
22nd October 2008

Evoking the spirit of Victorian nastiness
Elegantly written, clearly well-researched and downright creepy, The Seance both excites and intrigues from the first page.

As the mystery unfolds through the different first-person narratives around which the story is structured, the reader is sucked into the dark underbelly of Victorian society which seems so real you can almost taste the Cholera.

Whilst not out and out frightening, the chills are created by implication and suggestion, and the author does a fantastic job of keeping his audience constantly on edge without ever resorting to major shocks.

The only reason it's not a five-star rating is that whilst promising so much throughout, the denouement is a tiny bit predictable. But as the journey that takes you there is so enthralling, it's bordering on the churlish to dwell on that minor (subjective) fault too much.

Oh, and the cover design is absolutely beautiful.

iCowboy
UK
8th August 2008

A fine modern Victorian ghost story
If you loved 'The Turn of the Screw' or if you like dabbling in the stories of M.R. James then this book is for you. It may be a modern book, but the verimisilitude of the writing is such that it could have been written a hundred years ago; the characters come across as of their time, the setting is perfectly recreated and their actions ring absolutely true. This is a book whose scares lie in what ISN'T written down, but where your mind fills in the horrors between the flashes of lightning, strange noises and ghostly apparations.

I adored this book and my only regret is that I'm far too quick a reader to make it last.

pippa-bookworm
Northamptonshire,UK
6th July 2008

What a gem of a book.....
I can't urge you enough to read this wonderful novel. A gripping thrilling victorian mystery. Even if that era is not your thing, you won't be disappointed. A fantastic author looking forward to reading more John Harwood.

Foggy Tewsday

1st June 2008

The Old Dark House
It is sometimes remarked that inanimate objects can have such a strong presence within a story that the object almost becomes one of the characters. I think this is certainly true of the sinister Wraxford Hall. This crumbling manor house has accrued its reputation down the years thanks to its eccentric inhabitants and its location. Its spooky setting amidst overgrown grounds and the surrounding sprawl of woodlands, known as Monks Wood, has caused the local poachers to pursue their game elsewhere. A pack of vicious hounds is said to roam the area and the ghost of a monk is believed to haunt the woods. Anyone who sees the spectre is reputed to die within the month.

`The Seance' is John Harwood's second novel and is set in Victorian England. Events unfold through pages of narrative seen from the perspectives of three of the story's main characters: Constance Langton, John Montague and Eleanor Unwin.

Constance's distraught mother is inconsolable following the death of Constance's sister. In desperation, Constance and her mother attend a seance in the hope of providing some much needed comfort. John Montague is a barrister and amateur artist who is charged with tracing the heir of Wraxford Hall. Montague decides to commit the hall to canvas and on taking up his brushes, finds himself suffused with artistic powers that he had not, previously or since, possessed. Eleanor Unwin suffers from blinding headaches and an overbearing mother. Her headaches are the result of so-called visitations from the dead.

The social niceties of the time are particularly well drawn in the women's narratives and journals. Unchaperoned ladies and unsuitable husband material are almost as much to be feared as the manor house that binds the various characters. Eleanor's toxic mother is especially outraged when marriage to an artist threatens to heap social stigma on her family.

The scenes in and around Wraxford Hall are deliciously creepy. The weather-staples of Victorian mystery stories - the bone-chilling cold, swirling mists and lightning - are much in evidence as the protagonists attempt to uncover the secrets that they and the house share.

If you've already enjoyed John Harwood's excellent first novel, `The Ghostwriter', or, if Victorian-era mystery stories are your thing, you won't want to miss `The Seance'. This is a compelling and highly atmospheric novel from a superb writer.