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Description edit
In this tantalizing tale of Victorian ghost stories and family secrets, timid, solitary librarian Gerard Freeman lives for just two things: his elusive pen pal Alice and a story he found hidden in his mother's drawer years ago. Written by his great-grandmother Viola, it hints at his mother's... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Gerard Hugh Montfort: Protagonist/narrator. He is a child when the story begins and the reader watches him grow up. As a child, he becomes a pen pal with a girl named Alice, and they continue to write well into adulthood.
- Alice: Gerard's pen pal, who is a young girl when they begin writing. Alice tells Gerard that she lives in London, is an orphan, and is in a wheelchair as the result of the car accident that killed her parents and sister.
- Anne Hatherley: Gerard's aunt; sister of Gerard's mother Phyllis.
- Rosalind: Add a description of this character.
- Cordelia: The main character in one of the ghost stories within this book. The stories were written by Viola.
- Harry Beauchamp: Character in a story within this story; Cornelia's boyfriend, a lawyer.
- Beatrice: A character in one of the ghost stories within this story. Cordelia's sister.
- Julia: The main character in one of the ghost stories within this book. The stories were written by Viola.
- Theodore: A character in one of the ghost stories within this story. Cordelia's uncle.
- Phyllis May Hatherley: Gerard's mother.
- Miss Hamish: Childhood friend of Anne Hatherly.
- Frederick Liddell
- Henry St Clair: Character in a story within this story; an artist.
- Caroline
- Iris
- Denton Margrave
- Edmund
- George
- Mr Pitt
- Ferrier
- Mr Thornton
- Imogen De Vere: A character in one of the ghost stories within this story. Cordelia's grandmother.
- Mr Ridley
- Arthur
- Lydia: A character in one of the ghost stories within this story.
- Ruthven De Vere: A character in one of the ghost stories within this story. Cordelia's grandfather.
- Viola: Helped raise Gerard's mother, and the author of ghost stories peppered throughout this book. When Gerard asks about Viola, his mother will give very little information as to who she was.
- Robert
- Mrs Noonan
- Una
- Mr Grierstone
First Sentence edit
I FIRST SAW THE PHOTOGRAPH ON A HOT JANUARY AFTERnoon in my mother's bedroom.
Authors & Contributors edit
- John Harwood (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Harcourt
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2004
ISBN: 0151010749
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harcourt
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2004
ISBN: 0151010749
Page Count: 384
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813
Subjects edit
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