- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books; New edition edition (4 Sep 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1416502149
- ISBN-13: 978-1416502142
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 19.3 x 2.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 891,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Since its rushed and secretive evacuation in 1942, the isolated village of St Dee has remained undisturbed on the Salisbury Plain. Rumours have abounded for decades about the reasons for the villagers' uprooting: was it earmarked for experimental gas testing? Campaigns to reinstate the inhabitants after the war fell on deaf ears, until suddenly, in 2006, the land is returned to the surviving relatives of the original families, who are invited to return to St Dee and bring the ghost village back to life. After a childhood touring US Army bases, the offer of an English country cottage is something Carrie Armstrong's always dreamed of, even if it comes via her husband Mark's painful family past. It's a chance for them to leave their cramped London flat and start thinking about the family they want to have. And there's plenty to inspire Carrie in St Dee: picture perfect cottages, a village green, idiosyncratic villagers. But as she begins to settle into the strange new world of St Dee, she soon realises that the independence that used to feel so modern in London may well be masking a more disturbing lack of understanding between her and Mark. Especially, since he shows no sign of abandoning his trips back to town or opening up to her about his past. And as she discovers more about the original owners of the house, Mark's tragic grandmother, Lily, and her older schoolmaster husband, Jack, the more Carrie begins to realise that the secrets of the house are really nothing compared with the secrets of her own relationship...
About the Author
Victoria Routledge worked in publishing for three years before her first novel, FRIENDS LIKE THESE, was published. She is twenty-six and writes full time as a novelist and a journalist. She was born in the Lake District and now lives in London. She is the author of FRIENDS LIKE THESE and KISS HIM GOODBYE and ...AND FOR STARTERS.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Apart from Swansong, I love all of Victoria Routledge's books, although she does vary her writing style a great deal. I enjoyed the idea of the forgotten village reforming - I have visited a similar abandoned village in Dorset - and found the story quite compelling. However, on a slightly negative note, I disliked the husband and found their relationship a little unbelievable. Overall a good read though. Can also thoroughly recommend Kiss Him Goodbye, which I have read numerous times.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although I'm actually only two-thirds of the way through The Secrets of St Dee, I just had to break off and post a review. Having been a big fan of Victoria Routledge ever since I read her sparkling debut novel, Friends Like These, I'm mystified as to why she is not as well-known as some of the infinitely inferior writers on the market.
The Secrets of St Dee, like Constance and Faith, Ms Routledge's previous novel, is a real gem. Where Constance and Faith re-created a little piece of Cumbria, St Dee centres on a 'ghost village' in Wiltshire, an entire village evacuated during World War II and only now being repopulated by the descendants of its original inhabitants, which include Mark and his wife, Carrie, the character at the heart of the story. Victoria Routledge has a gift for creating strong, believable female characters that you can't help caring about from page one and then placing them in beautifully-evoked, intriguing settings that keep you turning the pages. Here, the threads of several mysteries weave through the book. There is the sixty-year old mystery surrounding Mark's grandparents, the village schoolteacher and his child bride, about whom Mark knows next to nothing. Then there is Carrie's next-door-neighbour, a man with a mysteriously absent wife and two small children, one of whom has an unsettling habit of talking to a friend who isn't there. And finally there is Carrie herself, who discovers that the idyllic village life she has been dreaming of is threatened by secrets within her own marriage.
What I love about her writing is how it is never obvious; she always keeps you guessing, right up to the last page.
A fantastic book if you have to go on a long journey - you'll want to read it in a single sitting.
The Secrets of St Dee, like Constance and Faith, Ms Routledge's previous novel, is a real gem. Where Constance and Faith re-created a little piece of Cumbria, St Dee centres on a 'ghost village' in Wiltshire, an entire village evacuated during World War II and only now being repopulated by the descendants of its original inhabitants, which include Mark and his wife, Carrie, the character at the heart of the story. Victoria Routledge has a gift for creating strong, believable female characters that you can't help caring about from page one and then placing them in beautifully-evoked, intriguing settings that keep you turning the pages. Here, the threads of several mysteries weave through the book. There is the sixty-year old mystery surrounding Mark's grandparents, the village schoolteacher and his child bride, about whom Mark knows next to nothing. Then there is Carrie's next-door-neighbour, a man with a mysteriously absent wife and two small children, one of whom has an unsettling habit of talking to a friend who isn't there. And finally there is Carrie herself, who discovers that the idyllic village life she has been dreaming of is threatened by secrets within her own marriage.
What I love about her writing is how it is never obvious; she always keeps you guessing, right up to the last page.
A fantastic book if you have to go on a long journey - you'll want to read it in a single sitting.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I started reading this book while on holiday, and the only reason I didn't finish it in one day was because I wanted to have something to read for the plane ride home! I love Ms. Routledge's writing style; everything just flows so seamlessly. My favorite character without a doubt is Carrie, whom the author makes so believable that one could easily imagine having her as a best friend if she existed in real life. Moreover, Ms. Routledge describes Carrie and Mark's relationship very realistically, which is refreshing, and the connection between them and the "mouse" when they initially start dating is very sweet. Reading about the various goings-on in St. Dee was quite fun and fascinating. As an American, I must say that I had never heard of the ghost villages in England until I read this book, which made me want to know more about them. This is another stellar work from Victoria Routledge, and I look forward to her next one!
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
