The Brooding House

by Alice Brennan

Threads of Fate The old man...clung fiercely to life, as the shadow of death loomed closer daily.The young woman...groped desperately for an elusive love which mocked and danced away from her.Strange allies against unknown, almost intangible forces of dreadful menace, they prepared to stand their ground until all hope was gone. But the threads of courage they grasped grew thinner by the hour, and the evil forces they could not understand grew denser and more sinister around THE BROODING HOUSE.A novel of suspense, romance and mystery worthy of the mantle of Daphne Du Maurier.

Genres: Gothic, Fiction, Horror

Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early in her career, Alice Brennan wrote nurse romances. This 1965 novel shows her transition from "nursies" to gothics, as it concerns a young nurse who gets involved in the unpleasant relationships of a family when hired to care for its dying patriarch in a house on the edge of Lake Huron. Brennan's interest in unusual names for her characters--Bena, Larcy--is on display here, as well as her use of the heroine asking herself many questions that recap the action. Brennan's love of odd secondary characters, which would become a little extreme in later books, also is on display here, in the gloriously mouthy and nasty teenager Lyn, who can be counted on to stomp around in revealing outfits, saying shocking and mean things to everyone else. The novel creates a decent amount of tension, even though the mystery really isn't much of one. There's a strange and unpleasant section at the end where the heroine is scolded and shamed by the combined patriarchal forces of her sort-of-boyfriend (about whom she's been ambivalent) and a policeman. Other than that, it's an entertaining early work by one of the bigger names in the late 20th Century revival of gothics.

[Roxanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a reader of the Gothic, I try to look for different approaches to the genre. The artist did a lovely illustration of a girl running from a forbidding place. Such a picture causes the reader to become instantly drawn to it. The book had potential but it dilapidated quickly. The main heroine was making decisions that did not seem to make sense - going alone to investigate and dragging her loved one along even though the police were right next door to help her? And taking a very long time to figure out that she is actually in love with her boyfriend. Her manner of speaking was characterized by long pauses. I did like the curmudgeon who collected old newspaper clippings.