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Cover the Mirrors (Hardcover)

by Faye L. Booth (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Macmillan New Writing (2 Nov 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0230529666
  • ISBN-13: 978-0230529663
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.4 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 710,049 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

It is 1856 and Spiritualism is at the height of its popularity. Molly Pinner has left behind her childhood in the Preston slums and inherited her late aunt Florrie’s mantle as Preston’s most successful medium. It soon becomes clear that her aunt was something far more cunning than a magnet for the spirits of the dead, but Molly puts aside her qualms and takes well to her new trade.

Molly’s relationship with her oldest friend, Jenny, is jeopardized when she begins a passionate affair with local businessman William Hamilton. Before she knows it, Molly finds herself married to a man she cannot love, and pregnant with a child she does not want. In desperation, she makes a decision that will cast her relationship with William in a completely new light.

Trapped and traumatized, and longing to regain her friendship with Jenny, Molly is about to receive a blow that will turn her life upside down. It seems Aunt Florrie lied about more than just her ability to commune with the dead: a truth hidden for years is about to emerge, and it will threaten not only Molly’s livelihood, but her very life.

Cover The Mirrors is a dark and zesty historical novel of distorted truths and suppressed Victorian desires.



About the Author

Faye Booth was born in Lancashire, England, in 1980. She lives with a menagerie of animals and has given up denying her eccentricity.

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful debut novel from a talented new author, 28 Feb 2008
By Mr. R. Bullivant - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I saw this book in my local bookshop and was intrigued enough to pick it up and read a couple of pages, it's wonderfully well written and clearly well researched. I've been a resident of Preston (where it is mostly set) for many years and it's quite clear that the author has spent a considerable amount of time walking the streets and doing her research to really give an insight into Victorian life. Even the most clued up Victorian era buff will learn new things and I enjoyed learning about techniques employed by early clarvoyants.

Although the story is historically accurate don't let that put you off if you are interested primarily in a good story as this book provides a real page turner. It's not a page turner in the sense that there is a cliffhanger after every 2 page chapter but you'll definitely want to read to the end as you are drawn into the story and feel empathy for the characters and you'll just want to find out what happens.

I don't write many reviews on Amazon, I do them mostly to draw attention to issues with products that would be of interest to buyers. This is the first time I've been compelled to write a review based purely on a book I have enjoyed and I hope it makes a few people consider purchasing this novel. It deserves to be selling a lot more copies!
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive & Unique, 8 Nov 2007
By A. J. Kelly "roman a clef" (Falkirk, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Addictive and unique writing, this novel immediately pulls the reader into protagonist Molly's world. It is a Victorian world, and Molly is a `real' Victorian girl, far flung from any stereotype. Molly is at once strong and vulnerable. She makes decisions not all of us would agree with, but even in this Molly remains likable and we understand her motivations right the way through the book.
This novel is unafraid to deal with the unsavoury side of birth and motherhood, life and death. It is a book of contrasts concerning those who are maternal and those who are not, those who are rich and those who are not. It is a human and raw story, fast-paced, evocative, colourful and distinctive. I recommend this book highly, read it and savour it.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A different opinion here, I'm afraid, 12 Nov 2008
By K. Huff (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Cover the Mirrors (Paperback)
Molly Pinner is the only spiritualist in the town of Preston. After her aunt dies and leaves her the family business, Molly begins an affair with a local businessman named William Hamilton, eventually marrying him after she becomes pregnant. Her best friend, Jenny, also pregnant, moves in with the Hamiltons, but a rift comes between the two girls when Molly tries to have an abortion. Then a secret from Molly's past comes back to haunt her, and she find that lives are at stake, especially her own.

I liked the idea of this novel, but there were a lot of aspects about it that didn't live up to its promise. My biggest problem with the novel is its main character; Molly's not particularly compelling or someone that you find yourself rooting for. In fact, I found myself caring less and less about her as the story went on. Her relationship with William seemed to be based primarily on sex, and it seemed completely unrealistic to me that a mid-19th century girl like Molly would have sex with a man she barely knows in a public park. The nature of their relationship is strange, too: at first, William seems to be the controlling type, only out to marry her because of the business she owns, but immediately he breaks down and wants to sell his family business because he claims he's no good at running it. Then, inexplicably, he purchases a liquor factory.

Preston--a hygienic, 21st-century rendering of a poverty-ridden, 19th century town--didn't seem very real to me, either. Despite the title and the premise, there really wasn't much in the way of séances or spiritualism in this novel, and Molly seemed as though she couldn't have cared less about the business, for all the control she wanted to hold over it. All the good characters seem to come out alright in the end--despite their checkered pasts, both Jenny and Katy get second chances, and self-righteous, hypocritical Molly is somehow absolved of her mistakes. The ending was a little too neatly wrapped and tied, in my opinion.

That said, I do think this novel was well-researched. There was a lot of promise in this novel, and I really did want to like it, but ultimately this book didn't work for me. However, if you like books such as The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose, you may enjoy Cover the Mirrors. Despite my complaints about the novel, I'm given to understand that this is the author's first, and I'm willing to give her writing another chance if she writes a second.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Ultimately disappointing ...
I really wanted to like this book. Victorian Spiritualism has long been a fascination of mine and have a weakness for anything that's set locally (I'm a Lancastrian by adoption)... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Racca

5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping read
I could not put this book down, it captured my imagination from the first page and continued right until the end. Read more
Published 8 months ago by S. D. Williams

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and satisfying
I really loved this book. I was so gripped by it that I actually read it all in one go despite the fact it was late and I had work in the morning. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Kate

1.0 out of 5 stars dull
found this book very dissapointing and spent the whole novel waiting for the story to start to become interesting which in my opinion it never did. Just a waste of money
Published 9 months ago by Duncan Cairns

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
I loved this book and found the characters to be human and believable - a very welcome change from the stereotypical inhibited Victorians that are generally portrayed in fiction... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Prestonian

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious
A perfect book to read curled up by the fire. Booth creates a mid-Victorian world so convincing and detailed I'm wondering whether she experienced a previous incarnation in that... Read more
Published 23 months ago by E. A. Graham

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to more from this author
Offering a glimpse behind the world of Victorian privilege, the world of calling cards and carriages, into the darker underbelly of desire and its consequences, "Cover the... Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2007 by PVC Mermaid

5.0 out of 5 stars A very promising debut
This sparkling and dark debut novel is a tale of desires and dreams in Victorian Lancashire. Written with a delicate touch, the main character Molly and her travels from mere... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2007 by doktorbuk

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