The Devil on Lammas Night

by Susan Howatch

'Nicola was sceptical of all fortune-tellers and saw no reason why she should have any special faith in Maris...'Well, if you ever do go to Maris,' Judy had said with maddening confidence, 'and if she predicts your future and if she turns out to be dead right, don't say I didn't tell you so.' ' Tristan Poole charms people for his own purposes and has installed his 'Nature Food' society at Colwyn Court. When Evan Colwyn returns to his family home he finds that sudden illness, accident and death have moved in. And Nicola, who Evan loves has also fallen foul of the faxcinating spell.

Genres: Gothic, Horror, Romance, Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Gothic Romance, Mystery

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Susan Howatch (b. 1940) is a British novelist who has penned bestselling mysteries, family sagas, and other novels. Howatch was born in Surrey, England. She began writing as a teen and published her first book when she moved to the United States in 1964. Howatch found global success first with her five sagas and then with her novels about the Church of England in the twentieth century. She has now returned to live in Surrey.

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking a break from her drawing-room Gothic-inflected murder mysteries of the late 1960s, Susan Howatch welcomed in a New Age, literally and figuratively, in this entertaining, full-on Gothic about the machinations of a Satanic coven—Howatch liberally mixes witchcraft and Satanism, which are not the same thing but forgiven in popular fiction—and its involvement with the lives of an extended family of landowners along the Welsh Coast. Howatch has great fun with her villains, with deadpan jokes and a dry--and ultimately chilling--mixture of the prosaic and the evil, which she deploys in particular in one final scene. The ostensible hero and heroine aren't particularly interesting; more compelling for the reader are the delightful secondary couple of Benedict and Jane Shaw, an absent-minded professor and his slightly muddled but deeply heroic and kind wife, who figures out what's going on long before anyone else, as well as a set of very precocious twins. Today's readers will find it interesting to connect this novel with the religious themes Howatch would turn to beginning in the late 1980s. Indeed, after this novel, Howatch abandoned Gothics and began concentrating on lengthy family sagas. Highly recommended as a quick, fun, and occasionally chilling read.

[Kitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Poole did something unprintable to both the contents of the chalice and the plates of bread. Several females in the congregation screamed in ecstasy.".

I think the ridiculous quote above pretty much sums up the book. Not enough description of the nasties to actually titillate the reader and not actually coherent enough to scare any of the thrill seekers. There was one part later on in the book where it's implied the main villain is about to ceremonially rape a 9 year old girl in front of his "congregation" that disgusted me, but even that was described in such a tame and boring way as to make it somewhat unremarkable.

And for the plot. Oh the plot. What can one say? There's a whole host of characters we have to deal with in the story before we can even get back to the main beta couple who are introduced to us in the first chapter. Everyone here gets the chance to be the subject of the narration. And when I say everyone I do mean everyone - even the cat gets a chance to tell the story. Not really achingly bad, but not great by any stretch of the imagination, it's definitely a product of it's time. Don't expect to see this one get a reprint any time soon.

[Andria Potter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this a try but the writing wasn't for me. In just the first paragraph alone:

Nicola was dreaming.

She walked and walked until suddenly she was no longer alone.


Suddenly is used a lot, the writing style is a bit disjointed and while I had a mild interest it slowly disappeared around page 50 and I just did not care. Maybe I'm not in the mood for a gothic thriller/romance, or maybe this was poor writing having been published back in 1970. It certainly feels dated, at least to me it does. I might try this again in the future but I highly doubt it. 2 ⭐.

[Saoirse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll say this. It had enough things I really loved about it that I kinda wanna write an adapted screenplay just to make it the version of itself I would love in its entirety. Which is pretty cool!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a sucker for these neo gothic pot boilers, and this one is better than most. I think I really like it when these books pull no punches about being supernatural. Most of them seem ghostly, but is revealed à la Scooby-Doo to have a perfectly logical explanation, (along with a fast-blooming romance with a vaguely brutal man for some reason). In this one, the romances with the good guys are the desirable ones (+1) and the author says, "Yeah, there are some f-ing witches doing some black masses, yo. What did you think when you read this title?" which is the perfect way to write something like this IMO.

[Loz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was totally silly of course, but I'm a total sucker for anything vaguely pagan/satanic.
Really enjoyable and I'll be digging out her other books at some point. Jane was my favourite.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been many years since I first read this book. and I'd forgotten how slow and boring it was at the start. After a while, the narrative perked up a bit and I couldn't put the book down.
The main theme is witchcraft.
A 'society' leases part of an estate from it's cash-strapped owner. The thirteen of them move in and begin acting strangely. Over a period of time, details emerge of witchcraft, magic and devil worship. Outsiders are drugged or 'hypnotized' to make them more susceptible to suggestion.
Eventually, the weird sect is temporarily defeated, and all returns to normal.
Towards the end of the story, the tension is built up, and I could almost feel the fear of the characters who were trying to stop the sect from doing its worst. However, whilst there are different beliefs in the real world, as a story this stopped just a bit short of far-fetched.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an utter delight. The writing is snappy and propulsive, the satanic coven plot is very of it's era but also quite fun, and the book is also funny. I can't quite tell if it was meant as satire but at times it almost reads as a send up of the satanic/folk horror novels of the time. While the witty tone of the book does come at the expense of atmosphere, I wouldn't change a word.

[Erin O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Devil on Lammas Night,' in a single volume with Susan Howatch's other novel The Waiting Sands, is a book I picked up at a library used book sale simply because it had the word "Lammas" in it. I've had it for years, but only recently decided to read the dual novels. This was the better of the two. Overall, I found this novel slightly quaint, very British, and highly entertaining. A few of Susan Howatch's novels have been reprinted as e-books, but I think this one hasn't yet. If you happen upon an old copy of it, you might want to pick it up. It's a worthwhile read.

[Lorna Keach · Rating 2 out of 5]

#1 in my project to finally read all the vintage paperbacks on my bookshelf. This one was...silly. The villain was a psychologist trained in America, loitering in the guest house of a British manor, leading a cult of health food hippies. At one point, they discuss planning their occult rituals in the same tone and tenor as a fondue party, which was pretty funny. There was a cheesy black wedding scene at the end wrapping it all up, so no one can say it did not satisfy the demands of cut-rate gothic dime novels of the late 60s.

[Cornelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old gothic/romance copywrited in 1970 and it's set in a large estate in Wales with the ruins of an old caste and chapel. I got it becasue of the title, as it had Lammas in it. Here's a quote - "I don't think he's the real Tristan Poole at all. I think they succseeded in summoning the Devil in taht orange grove twelve yars ago durig the Lammas rites, and the Devit look possesion ofone of his followers." Mrs. Jane Shaw - a character from Th eDeviol on Lammas Night

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another one my wife read...a gothic romance i found pathetic, at best.

[Signor Mambrino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a great book, but surprisingly enjoyable. More black magic than I was expecting.

[Printable Tire · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover for the pretty obscure audiobook of this equally obscure book I listened to at the gym said it was approximately six hours long but boy did it seem longer! After an ever-so-brief introduction of the two "protagonists," the novel becomes a dull soap opera starring the too too similar characters inhabiting an estate in the British countryside. Halfway through the book and LONG after I'd forgotten who they are, our "protagonists" return and the plot starts cooking, er, simmering. It's clear whoever wrote the copy on the back of the audiobook never listened to it, because though Nicola is a "protagonist" (i.e., we readers are supposed to care about her for some reason), ultimately she has 0 (zero) agency. Nor, really, does Edward, our hero. In fact, the final coup de grâce comes from an unlikely, and pretty random, source.

Frankly, I'm not quite sure who the audience for this novel is. Initially I thought it was to be a sort of tawdry gothic romance, but everything is pretty G rated and none of the various forgettable female characters are anyone worth identifying with. There's some scenes of witchcraft/satanism, which are the only times reader Rowena Cooper seems to perk up, but there's not enough of them to please someone looking for a Wicker Man knockoff.

I guess what I'm trying to say is it should've been called The Devil on Lame Ass Night instead.

[Heather Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Susan Howatch book and it took me a bit to get used to her writing style. That aside, a quick read, with a surprise at the end I didn’t see coming. I’m a sucker for books about the occult no matter how silly or improbable. In short, as long as you don’t take it too serious......it’s fun.

[Dia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howatch does a great job making dialogue feel human. They provide readers with several perspectives and an overwhelming feeling of impending doom. I was incredibly surprised to see so many Atheist characters in a novel written in 1970! Very forward-thinking. Even in the way the society had been regarded. Interesting read. Thank you, author.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Very suspenseful.

[Curlyhair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book by this author that I loved. Not as involved a story as previous books, but still a good read.

[Janet Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it.

[Kalina Zwolińska · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[ladydusk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Own.

My friend Jane from the WTM forums kindly passed this book on to me. It is in a Book Club Edition with The Waiting Sands which I read and reviewed in 2011.

I did not re-read The Waiting Sands this time. My 2013 goals included not re-reading anything I knew I had read. I thought maybe I read Devil on Lammas Night 20 years ago, but wasn't sure. I got started and remembered reading it, but not most of the plot, so I went with it.

I think I've now read every Howatch book and, I have to say, this is my least favorite - certainly of the Gothic novels(the possible exception is Cashelmara ... but that was significantly better written, just so very sordid in places, IMO).

There is a lot going on in this story. It shows Howatch's development as a writer who speaks in multiple voices. She takes evil seriously and you wonder if good is going to win. But I just find the evil difficult to read and unappealing.

I do like The Waiting Sands, though, and am grateful for the book as it is one not available in my library and I'd wanted to read it.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devil on Lammas Night is a delightful book, with some wonderful twists. It's not her usual mystery formula and involves the possibility of the supernatural. It's not usual in that there is not a mysterious murder in the past but the primary murder is committed during the story, and we know the perpetrator. But he's clever and in league with the devil, so not easily caught.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple rent a cottage for the summer, and find a group of health-food fanatics living nearby.... An evil plot is revealed as the book rushes to its conclusion. Rather melodramatic, gothic style, but realistically chilling.

[Etakeh Oh · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Gothic romance. I read this as a teenager, then again as an "adult", and it was just as fun. Oddly, I can never fully recall the romance part of it, only the suspense and how clearly the setting was pictured in my mind.

[Squeaky Skull]

So, the York County Literacy Council was handing out free books this last weekend. Naturally, this was the book I picked up off their table.

[Ginnie Leiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her earlier work. She gets much better as she matures. Still a good story.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howatch has a reputation for handling religious and historical themes better than most novelists. I suppose that is why I tried this novel about witchcraft.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another historical suspense story with a bit of satan worship.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gothic.

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally enjoyed it. Definitely rated for more of a teen audience, as it's not graphic, but it's still very fun! I loved the section from the cat's point of view!