Review
'Be prepared to squirm with squeamishness, hold your breath in suspense, and giggle along with the dialogue.'
(Hackwriters.com )'a well constructed, engaging and affecting read'
(Peter Bramwell )Product Description
The year is 1682. A time of watchfulness and distrust.
When Reuben’s grandmother is accused of witchcraft and hanged he knows he must get away before he becomes the next victim of suspicion.
Reuben leaves the safety of his village. On the road Reuben is picked up by the strange Doctor Flyte and his slow-witted assistant, Baggs. The pair seem to offer help and friendship, but in return, Reuben must take part in Flyte’s sinister medical show.
Is the smooth-mannered Flyte all he seems? What is the truth about Baggs’s history?
Reuben finds himself involved in a terrifying plot that in the end threatens his own life....
From the Author
The 17th century was a period when ideas and perceptions of life and science were changing. Up until then, men believed the human body was operated by some kind of guiding spirit or some higher being. Then scientists discovered how the blood system worked and began to see the human body as a type of machine. Microscopes made a huge difference - at last scientists could see cells and miniscule animals.
But it took years and years for these ideas to filter down to the ordinary folk - they still believed in devils, witches, evil spirits and more... In this story, I have mixed old wive's tales with superstition and modern science to produce a scary, tense read.
Reuben is sensible and level-headed. He is forward thinking despite being uneducated and follows his instinct for what is good and bad. The evil Doctor Flyte is everything that Reuben is not - he is greedy, steeped in superstition and out for himself. When he tries to make Reuben put a curse on a harmless doctor, Reuben has to make a stand - but facing up to Flyte is very dangerous...
But it took years and years for these ideas to filter down to the ordinary folk - they still believed in devils, witches, evil spirits and more... In this story, I have mixed old wive's tales with superstition and modern science to produce a scary, tense read.
Reuben is sensible and level-headed. He is forward thinking despite being uneducated and follows his instinct for what is good and bad. The evil Doctor Flyte is everything that Reuben is not - he is greedy, steeped in superstition and out for himself. When he tries to make Reuben put a curse on a harmless doctor, Reuben has to make a stand - but facing up to Flyte is very dangerous...
About the Author
Born and educated in Leeds, Rebecca spent her gap year as an au pair in France, where the view from her bedroom window was Mont Blanc! Living in an old chateau, without a TV, Rebecca spent a lot of time writing, to amuse herself and her charges. After university at Newcastle and Oxford, she worked as a teacher - only part time, so that she could fit in a few short stories and some romantic fiction. Marriage in 1985 and having children temporarily halted the writing, but when her three boys were old enough she was at it again. Now living in Bristol with her husband, sons, dog and cat. And Rebecca is the happy author of sixteen books, and is busily at work on the follow up to THE CURSE OF THE TOADS to be published in 2007 called THE CURSE OF THE RAVENS.
Excerpted from Curse of the Toad by Rebecca Lisle. Copyright © 2006. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Half a mile from the village, the track ran straight, the view was unimpeded, and Reuben saw they were approaching something terrible. He felt the blood rush to his cheeks. Bile crept up from his stomach and burned his mouth.
Outlined against the almost white sky, a man's body hung black and tattered from a crudely made gallows. Even from this distance, Reuben was sure he could see the dead body wing back and forth in the wind and hear the creak of the rope. He closed his eyes, determined not to open them until they'd gone by.
"Look there," said Doctor Flyte, as if he were pointing out a pretty flower or noble tree. "A thief of the highways. Do look, Reuben, boy. Hanged by the neck, he is. See how the crows have pecked out his eyes? They say the eyeball is a tasty morsel. Perhaps I'll ask for one, next time we dine at The Longford Arms?"
He reined Nellie to a standstill and the waggon came to a halt. Nellie snorted with disgust at the smell, rolled her eyes and tossed her mane.
"Have a look," Flyet said, nudging Reuben. "A painful, horrible death, is hanging. But better than burning. Imagine your skin melting off your bones while you watch! The heat! Ow! The searing pain!" He laughed, smacking Reuben on the knee so his flesh stung. "Open your eyes or I'll whip you!"
Reuben opened his eyes. He found himself staring at a pair of old boots with misshapen square toes. The leather was creased and scuffed. The toes pointed downwards as if their owner was still desperately trying to reach the ground. They circled slowly, round and round. Reuben glimpsed the yellowing, sagging dead flesh of the man's shins.
Outlined against the almost white sky, a man's body hung black and tattered from a crudely made gallows. Even from this distance, Reuben was sure he could see the dead body wing back and forth in the wind and hear the creak of the rope. He closed his eyes, determined not to open them until they'd gone by.
"Look there," said Doctor Flyte, as if he were pointing out a pretty flower or noble tree. "A thief of the highways. Do look, Reuben, boy. Hanged by the neck, he is. See how the crows have pecked out his eyes? They say the eyeball is a tasty morsel. Perhaps I'll ask for one, next time we dine at The Longford Arms?"
He reined Nellie to a standstill and the waggon came to a halt. Nellie snorted with disgust at the smell, rolled her eyes and tossed her mane.
"Have a look," Flyet said, nudging Reuben. "A painful, horrible death, is hanging. But better than burning. Imagine your skin melting off your bones while you watch! The heat! Ow! The searing pain!" He laughed, smacking Reuben on the knee so his flesh stung. "Open your eyes or I'll whip you!"
Reuben opened his eyes. He found himself staring at a pair of old boots with misshapen square toes. The leather was creased and scuffed. The toes pointed downwards as if their owner was still desperately trying to reach the ground. They circled slowly, round and round. Reuben glimpsed the yellowing, sagging dead flesh of the man's shins.
