Thornyhold: A gothic romance featuring sparkling prose, delightful characterisation and classic intrigue from the Queen of the Romantic Mystery

by Mary Stewart

'A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors.' Harriet Evans

The rambling house called Thornyhold is like something out of a fairy tale. Left to Gilly Ramsey by the cousin whose occasional visits brightened her childhood, the cottage, set deep in a wild wood, has come just in time to save her from a bleak future. With its reputation for magic and its resident black cat, Thornyhold offers Gilly more than just a new home. It offers her a chance to start over.

The old house, with it tufts of rosy houseleek and the spreading gilt of the lichens, was beautiful. Even the prisoning hedges were beautiful, protective with their rusty thorns, their bastions of holly and juniper, and at the corners, like towers, their thick columns of yews.

• ISBN10: 1444715054
• ISBN13: 9781444715057
• Publish Date: 17 March 2011 (first published 1 November 1988)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Imprint: Hodder Paperback
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

Interesting... unexpected in a lot of ways.  Not sure what to really say about it beyond I enjoyed it and found it an easy story to fall into.   Gilly has a lonely childhood, punctuated by rare visits from her mother's lively, magical cousin and namesake.  After the death of Gilly's parents, she gets a letter informing her she's inherited her cousin's house, Thornyhold, as well as her reputation for being a witch.   This story would never survive today: people would complain that nothing happens, there isn't any plot.  I suppose at its heart it's a romance, but the romance is so subtle as to be non-existent; the leap Gilly makes from acquaintance to love is startling even by today's insta-love standards.  But boy, can Stewart write some atmosphere; and the characters are alive and compelling.  I got 75% of the way through before it occurred to me that nothing was really happening: no building tension, no climatic showdown approaching.  The ending was comic, which was totally unexpected and charming.   I think I'll buy myself a copy of this one; I finished it feeling like I'd read a good comfort read - perfect for a rainy afternoon.