Hiding from the Light

Format:	Paperback 736 pages

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Synopsis

The big new novel by the bestselling author of WHISPERS IN THE SAND: a gripping tale of witchcraft and romance, past and present, as her modern-day characters are caught up in a battle that has been raging for hundreds of years. Across the peninsular the mist rolled in, its icy fingers curling up the cliffs. Inside their houses people stirred in their sleep and children cried in the dark. The parish of Manningtree and Mistley has a dark history. In 1644, with England in the grip of a Puritan government, Matthew Hopkins, Cromwell's Witchfinder General, tortured scores of women there, including Liza, the herbalist, whose cottage still stands in Mistley, and Sarah Paxman, the daughter of the manor. And today the spirits of Hopkins and his victims haunt the old shop in the High Street, they say. Emma Dickson has given up her high-flying career to live in Liza's cottage, but now she is being driven half-mad by visions of the past; of Sarah's battle to save herself and Liza from the Witchfinder. In despair, Emma turns to the local rector for help, but he, too, is in the grip of something inexplicable -- something which threatens Emma. And, as the feast of Halloween approaches, Emma is caught up in a struggle that has been raging for centuries, as old enemies reach out across the years for their revenge. Can she stop the forces unleashed from the past wreaking their devastation in the present?

Book details

Published
01/04/2003

Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

ISBN
9780006512080

Publisher and industry reviews

Jacket review

'Readers of Barbara Erskine are held in thrall' Woman's Realm 'Stephen King meeting Ruth Rendell' Frank Delaney 'Barbara Erskine's storytelling talent is undeniable' The Times

UK Kirkus review

When Emma Dickson chances upon an advertisement for a cottage that is being sold in the Essex countryside, memories of childhood holidays flood back to her and she is overwhelmed by the urge to return to that idyllic setting. She quits her job in the City, splits up with her boyfriend and buys the cottage. Everybody thinks that she is crazy, but she thinks that it is the best thing she has ever done. Her plan is to start a new life, surviving financially by selling herbs and doing a bit of freelance financial work. Her new picturesque home, however, has a dark side. As she soon discovers, the area into which she has moved has an eventful history. It was in this part of Essex that the Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins lived in the 17th century, and his ghost is said to haunt the old shop in the high street. It was there that he would take suspected witches and torture them. When a documentary film crew arrives in the area and start to ask questions about ghostly apparitions, people begin to get edgy and unusual things begin to occur. The spirits of the witches seem to be returning. Local clergyman Mike Sinclair is deeply troubled by the increase in supernatural activity in the area. As a man of the cloth, he feels he should be doing something. After all, it will soon be Halloween.... Barbara Erskine has built a considerable following for her densely plotted, imaginative novels of romantic suspense, and this one is just as accomplished as its predecessors. Exciting and atmospheric, it's a great read for a winter evening. (Kirkus UK)