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The Seance. A Novel
 
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The Seance. A Novel (Hardcover)

by John Harwood (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd (3 April 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0224081861
  • ISBN-13: 978-0224081863
  • Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 132,362 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Sunday Times
'[Readers] will devour The Seance in a sitting'

The Tablet
`enjoyable homage to the Victorian ghost story ... tantalising ... an exhilarating read'


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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Old Dark House, 1 Jun 2008
By Foggy Tewsday - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
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.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gothic horror of the classic kind!, 13 May 2008
By doigy "doigy" (Manchester) - See all my reviews
Think 'The Woman in White' mixed with something by the Brontes and you'd be on the right lines. If you really enjoy a thrilling classic gothic Victorian novel, then you'll relish this. I really enjoyed reading this book. I've already read The Ghost Writer by the same author - it was good but I definitely prefered this one.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A fine modern Victorian ghost story, 8 Aug 2008
By Mr. M. Richards "iCowboy" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars the seance
This was the first book I have read by John Harwood.I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it easy to follow the plot and the characters were believable. Read more
Published 23 days ago by mrs mcewen

2.0 out of 5 stars Is there anybody there? Who Cares!
This will be short and to the point! I totally lost concentration with this book after a short period of time. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sheena Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark, creepy and full of twists and turns
The Seance is a dark, Gothic tale, set in Victorian England. The central character is Constance, who on becoming an orphan, begins to suspect that her family history is not as... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jackie

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deliciously Spook Tale
This very finely written book is told from three different points of view, that of Constance Langton, a young woman who lives in London in 1889. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Stephanie Sane

5.0 out of 5 stars A Chillingly Good Tale
When Constance Langton was an infant her baby sister Alma died, turning her mother sick with grief, so sick with it that she never left the house. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mallory Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars "Wraxford Hall has a very dark history..."
It's nice to say that John Harwood has maintained in "The Séance", his second novel, the same high standard for creepiness that he set in his first, "The Ghost Writer"... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dr. Cath L. Murphy

5.0 out of 5 stars What a book!
This genre is new to me, but I had this book from a friend haivng enjoyed 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'. Read more
Published 6 months ago by T. Neal

5.0 out of 5 stars "The candle flame reflected beneath a blurred image of my face, the darkness is absolute."
A man who believes in supernatural powers and seeks to harness them for his own ends lies at the core of The Séance, a beautifully plotted Victorian ghost story where the craving... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Michael Leonard

5.0 out of 5 stars Channelling the ghost of Wilkie Collins, via Stephen King...
This is a fantistically gripping, multilayered and clever little novel. As other reviews have mentioned, it harks back in its style, its subject matter and its overall flavour to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Rachel

4.0 out of 5 stars Writing at it's best.
A wonderful story that transports you to Victorian England - very atmospheric with haunting descriptions - but extremely easy to read. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Varied Read

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