An Old Magic

by Barbara Cleverly

Romance, rescue archaeology, buried treasure, ancient curses and a dash of the supernatural with an original twist are the elements that make up a fast-paced and thought provoking thriller from crime novelist Barbara Cleverly.

Genres: Mystery, Time Travel, Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Barbara Cleverly was born in the north of England and is a graduate of Durham University. A former teacher, she has spent her working life in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk; she now lives in Cambridge. She has one son and five step-children.

Her Joe Sandilands series of books set against the background of the British Raj was inspired by the contents of a battered old tin trunk that she found in her attic. Out of it spilled two centuries of memories of a family – especially a great uncle who spent a lot of time in India – whose exploits and achievements marched in time with the flowering of the British Empire.

Reviews

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

AN OLD MAGIC – VG
Cleverly, Barbara – stand alone
Present day Anna Claydon discovers she is a conduit to a young Celtic slave in 60AD whose deadly encounter with an Iceni war lord impacts time and history.

I love gothics; I love woo-woo; I absolutely loved this limited-release, numbered-edition book by the author of The Last Kashmiri Rose. Published by Suffolk Books in London and available, albeit not cheaply, through ABEbooks, this was a wonderful story. I could even forgive the very awkward dialogue. If you loved Susanna Kearsley’s “Shadowy Horses,” you would love this book.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having this book is one of the joys of my life! Receiving it as a Christmas present from my daughter-in-law & son was extremely meaningful for a number of reasons. Added to the personal aspect, it is also a signed, limited (400 copies!) edition. And on top of all that, it is by Barbara Cleverly, author of some of my favorite books of all time!
Reading this book, unfortunately, fell woefully short of my, admittedly, excited expectations. The author is clearly intrigued by archeology, as she has a whole series, The Lady Talbot series, based on adventures in that field. That series is okay, but it just provides a working framework for rather predictable mysteries. In short, nothing comparable to the amazing Joe Sandilands series. However, this particular book falls short of even the Lady Talbot books, in that it is full of far-fetched supernatural occurrences which readers are supposed to swallow whole without reservation. Well, that is not my style! If there are supernatural elements, I want them to be organic and not conjured with a crystal pendent! Also, those elements should either be used sparingly or be under laid by a logical and firm explanation. Here, the supernatural permeates the entire book and the evidence for its reality is weak at best. I also did not appreciate the ham-fisted romance that is so puerile that there is never any emotional tension.
Having said all that, I have still rated it three stars and that is because of the writing which is so compelling that it sustains even the lamest plot!

[Claer Barber · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good story marred by the author normalising violence towards women. The male characters are unlikable and are all patronising and condescending towards the main female character. An attempted rape and slapping of the main female character is just treated in this novel as if that is ok and shouldn't be mentioned again (accepted by the female characters without comment and no consequences for the men acting in this way). The male characters have very old fashioned views of women in this so that I wondered if I was reading something set in the 50s not recent years. So very disappointing, and detracting from the main plot, which was interesting. The parts set in
58-60 AD were much better than those set in 2002.

[the_cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 60 AD, Beca is a 14 years old Trinovante girl who is sold as a slave to a Roman family and manages to survive the Iceni massacre of their villa hiding and lying like a champion.

In 2002 Cambridge, Anna starts playing with a pendulum to locate a water line and soon discovers that there is a scary congregation of ghosts trying to communicate with her through the pendulum and through more direct ways.

Their 2 worlds cross due to an unfinished business and a curse. There is adventure, action, ugly ghosts, romance…

Well I loved it. I like that the girl acts and thinks like a girl and not some cunning middle aged woman. I like those scary scenes that made me look under the bed. I like the male characters, caring, funny, provocative or so very shy.

The Shadowy Horses novel by S. Kearsley comes to mind a couple times because we’ve got Romans and archaeologists and ghosts but this is a different story. If you liked that book you’re going to love this one too.

[Cathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was given to me as a Christmas present and I found Barbara Cleverly to be very much to my liking. This book is more paranormal than her usual mysteries and takes place during the time of the Roman occupation of England and is about a Celtic group who joins with Boudica and moves against the Romans. It reminded me of Barbara Erskine's writing, wherein she combines present day people with past historical events.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good story, last paragraph was a bit excessive in tying the two stories together, but you can forgive it that.