A romp featuring ghosts, an ancient curse, a good-looking German aristocrat and a conservationist from the British Library.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
You can tell from the start that this is not your run-of-the-mill fairytale... it is intelligently written with well drawn characters, not charicatures. The story is fresh and original - a modern humdrum life which takes a fantastical turn in an unexpected but somehow wholly believable way. The story grips from the first page and never drags - it is cleverly written with wryly comical observations about the characters and their circumstances alongside interesting snippets of information about everything from the origin of the title Count to the relatively obscure practice of book restoration. Ella is a strong sympathetic main character (Briget Jones with a brain!) who has had her share of bad luck and has got to the stage where she really doesn't care what happens to her next - only to find that what happens next is a lot more interesting than she expected. If you like the idea of Grimms Fairy Tales with a modern twist (and a definite kick), expect to adore the Count!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
a modern fairytale indeed! I read the book twice and I like it more and more. I like the way the ghostplot is interwoven with the contemporay life of Ella. Never did I think of it as forced or wallpaperlike used, the medieval time docks onto Ella's life naturally. In London Ella worked as a restaurator of old books. After she lost almost everything after her first husbands illness and death, she is offered a deal. How Ella fights her way out of some limbo of grief (over the death of her husband) and defends her newly found luck against curses, ghosts and 'real' threats is funny to read. Coming from Austria I enjoyed her wordplays and observations on culture very much . (" The people who could imagine a whole house made of gingerbread are people who know their cakes.")
Thank you for this enchanting book !
By L. Dyson
Format:Paperback
This book was a last minute choice and I wasn't sure of it at all. But it proved to be an endearing, quirky, well written entertaining piece of writing. The characters of Ella and Rudi are both different but despite eveything you feel charmed by them. The style of this novel reminds me of Victoria Holt (ie Jean Plaidy) in a modern day sort of way. Its is a romance mystery, with a few ghosts that add comedy. Highly recommended if you are a closet romantic like me or just want to read something a little different for a change. Gripping.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superbly crafted, original and haunting tale
This tale is beautifully constructed, evocative, original and strangely haunting - the reader's thoughts may be mysteriously guided back to its unique atmosphere, without warning,... Read more
Published on 27 July 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't judge a book by its cover
This author's name was new to me and I was at first slightly put off the book by its frankly hideous jacket design. What a pleasant surprise, though. Read more
Published on 14 Dec 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
a modern fairytale indeed!
I read the book twice and I like it more and more. Maybe the following quote expresses the main tenor of the book best:
" Our wedding night was spent on the plane,... Read more
Published on 16 Nov 1999
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