A Ghost-Light in the Attic

by Pat Thomson

When Elinor Bassingbourn steps out of a seventeenth century portrait, Tom and Bridget are terrified. But Elinor is a friendly little girl who needs their help. As Tom and Bridget follow Elinor back into her time, so begins an exciting adventure.

98 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Leona Duignan · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Tom and Bridget begin to move into their new home, they are overwhelmed to experience and learn about its eventful past and tenants. When Elinor Bassingbourn steps out of a 17th century painting, Tom and Bridget are terrified but Elinor needs their help and convinces them to come and join her in her world. Tom and Bridget follow her back in time to when the Civil War took place in England to try and help Elinor’s brother escape capture. All the way through the book both suspense and ambiguity are present making the book exciting and captivating.
This book can be read for the story alone but also includes a great amount of historical detail giving insight of what a child’s life was like during the 17th century and the difficulties that they were faced with. For this reason I believe that this book is a great for children to compare and distinguish the differences between the past and present. I feel that this book would be ideal to read to the entire class as it mentions a lot of historic detail and facts which would be a great for a class discussion. I would recommend this book for readers aged 9-12.