The Ghosts of Austwick Manor

by Reby Edmond MacDonald

Hillary and Heather find themselves entering the sixteenth century as a direct result of their older brother Don's inheritance. Will they be able to save Don who is in grave danger from an ancient curse?

Genres: Childrens, Time Travel, Middle Grade, Horror, Young Adult

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I'm biased. My grandmother wrote this book, and it was published when I was about 10. She named the main characters after my sister and I, and other than the older brother (we don't have one) she kept us very close to our personalities. She and my grandfather built the dollhouse, pretty much as described in the book, and may parents still have it. No dolls that prompt time travel, however.

The story features a family, modern Canadians from Scottish ancestry. They inherit a dollhouse modeled after the family home, Austwick Manor, and a set of dolls depicting each generation of the family. They also inherit a warning ... never put the dolls into the dollhouse. But, of course, our main characters Hillary and Heather are girls, so they do. Then they discover that anyone of MacDonald ancestry can travel back in time, to the generation depicted in the dolls, via the dollhouse. Hillary and Heather discover a curse on the oldest sons of the family. Their natural father is dead (Mother has remarried) and this curse means their older bother Don is in danger. But, neither parent can time travel (they aren't MacDonalds) so the girls have nobody to believe them. They must stop the curse themselves and save their big brother.

For fans of Mary Downing Hahn, Tom's Midnight Garden, and time travel mysteries with an old fashioned feel to them. It's long out of print, and I'm hanging on to my last paperback copy, plus my original signed manuscript from my grandma.

FYI - she wrote a sequel, but it was never published in English.

[Spinster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rediscovered this book after doing a lot of google searches on middle-grade novels mentioning priest holes (the one key detail of the book that really stuck with me). It is hard to imagine a book this dorky and dense being published for children today. I absolutely loved it as a kid and it probably helped to instill my lifelong obsession with British history. Good times.

[Mercurybard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite from when I was little, I still enjoy picturing the dollhouse (i.e. the model of the children's ancestral home) and can better appreciate the historical references. Father Francis, who joins them at the climax, made me grin.

[Kit Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I accidentally stole this book from the library as a kid. I remember reading and stopping so many times, never able to quite get through the book, even though I often dreamed about it. Well today, at twenty-five years old, I’ve finally finished it. I think it’s mostly nostalgia that makes me give it five stars but it IS an intriguing story, surprisingly densely written for a children’s story. My biggest qualm is mostly how the modern day people talk to each other as if they were in the late 19th century. But it hooked me on again as it did as a child and I’m glad to finally be able to say I’ve read it all the way through.

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A haunted dollhouse book, but not a creepy dollhouse book at all. I love the premise of this one, being a history nerd, but the book is too short to go into the kind of detail that I would have really enjoyed. Overall, a short little dollhouse book mixed with a little family drama, but too quickly resolved.

[Jenny Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

These two books were some of my favourite ghost stories when I was a child. I got them in a children's book club when I was around 10 or so, and I have so many fond memories of that club. These two books were some of my favourites, and the idea of travelling back in time through a doll house filled with historical dolls was amazing. Really good books, and I enjoy them as an adult too.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A throwback to elementary school- still a fun read, though some of the language is pretty stilted.

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved ghost stories as a kid!

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spooky little tale for children.
This would be a fun read aloud at Halloween for 3rd to 5th grade.

[LOL_BOOKS]

SISTERS TRAVEL TO MANSION IN THE PAST

[Idris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had this left over from a library sale several years ago. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.