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Florence & Giles #2
The Girl Who Couldn't Read
A sinister Gothic tale in the tradition of The Woman in Black and The Fall of the House of Usher
New England, the 1890s. A man calling himself Doctor John Shepherd arrives at an isolated women's mental hospital to begin work as assistant to the owner Dr Morgan. As Shepherd struggles to conceal his own dark secrets, he finds the asylum has plenty of its own. Who is the woman who wanders the corridors by night with murderous intent? Why does the chief nurse hate him? And why is he not allowed to visit the hospital's top floor? Shocked by Morgan's harsh treatment of the patients, and intrigued by one of them, Jane Dove, a strange amnesiac girl who is fascinated by books but cannot read, Shepherd embarks upon an experiment to help her. As he attempts to solve the mystery of Jane's past his own troubled history begins to catch up with him and she becomes his only hope of escape, as he is hers.
In this chilling literary thriller everyone has something to hide and no one is what he or she seems. The Girl Who Couldn't Read is the long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed international bestseller Florence and Giles but can also be read as a gripping standalone novel.
New England, the 1890s. A man calling himself Doctor John Shepherd arrives at an isolated women's mental hospital to begin work as assistant to the owner Dr Morgan. As Shepherd struggles to conceal his own dark secrets, he finds the asylum has plenty of its own. Who is the woman who wanders the corridors by night with murderous intent? Why does the chief nurse hate him? And why is he not allowed to visit the hospital's top floor? Shocked by Morgan's harsh treatment of the patients, and intrigued by one of them, Jane Dove, a strange amnesiac girl who is fascinated by books but cannot read, Shepherd embarks upon an experiment to help her. As he attempts to solve the mystery of Jane's past his own troubled history begins to catch up with him and she becomes his only hope of escape, as he is hers.
In this chilling literary thriller everyone has something to hide and no one is what he or she seems. The Girl Who Couldn't Read is the long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed international bestseller Florence and Giles but can also be read as a gripping standalone novel.
295 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2012
39 people are currently reading
3462 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 242 reviews
October 26, 2014
A year or two ago I read a book called ‘Florence and Giles.’ It was a deliciously gothic tale; a reimagining, a distortion, of ‘The Turn of the Screw'; and the centre of it all was the most wonderful character.
Florence was trapped in a gothic mansion, she was forbidden to read, but she found a way to learn and to keep that secret, and she loved reading and words so much that she developed the language she read, making nouns into verbs, joining words in unexpected ways to make gloriously expressive expressions, and twisting the English language into something magically new and strange.
When I learned that there was a sequel I rushed to order a copy from the library.
This isn’t Florence’s story, but she has a pivotal part to play.
In New England, in the 1890s, Doctor John Shepherd arrives at an isolated women’s mental hospital to begin work as assistant to the owner, Doctor Morgan. He is shocked by what he sees, he realises that things are not right, and his mind fills with questions:
•Why are so many of the patients treated do very harshly?
•Who is the woman who wanders the corridors by night with murderous intent?
•Why does the Nurse O’Reilly so hostile, and why does she have so many privileges?
•Why are only Doctor Morgan and Nurse O’Reilly permitted to visit the third floor?
The new doctor wants answers, but he has to tread carefully. Because it is clear from the start that he isn’t John Shepard. And that he isn’t a doctor at all.
Can he keep his secrets? Can he uncover the secrets of the hospital?
The possibilities were intriguing, the setting was so evocative, and then there was Florence ….
Doctor Shepherd was intrigued by a patient known as Jane Dove. That wasn’t her real name. she said that she couldn’t remember that. She couldn’t remember anything of her life before she was found at a railway station and was admitted to hospital.
She knew that she wasn’t allowed to read but she so loved stories, and she had a distinctive way of speaking, making nouns into verbs, joining words in unexpected ways to make gloriously expressive expressions ….
Doctor Shepherd persuaded Doctor Morgan to him take charge of her an attempt, to let him try to prove that there were humane alternatives to the hospital’s harsh treatments.
He was sure that he could persuade Jane to learn to read, that he could restore her memories. And he thought that maybe she would offer him the chance of escaping from the hospital and from his own troubled past.
Maybe he could. Maybe she would. But of course it wasn’t as simple as that.
The story moves like a thriller, written in language that is clear and direct, concise and urgent; it is the perfectly evoked setting, the well-drawn characters, and the intriguing questions hanging in the air make it enthralling.
The plot grew nicely, with lovely echoes of a certain other story, and as it accelerated to a conclusion all of the promise that I saw was realised, and the echoes of that story grew louder.
The plotting was so well done, with twists nicely scattered, and the strand of bookishness threaded through was lovely.
The finale was pitch perfect.
And I think there is an opening for a third book.
I do hope there will be a third book ….
Florence was trapped in a gothic mansion, she was forbidden to read, but she found a way to learn and to keep that secret, and she loved reading and words so much that she developed the language she read, making nouns into verbs, joining words in unexpected ways to make gloriously expressive expressions, and twisting the English language into something magically new and strange.
When I learned that there was a sequel I rushed to order a copy from the library.
This isn’t Florence’s story, but she has a pivotal part to play.
In New England, in the 1890s, Doctor John Shepherd arrives at an isolated women’s mental hospital to begin work as assistant to the owner, Doctor Morgan. He is shocked by what he sees, he realises that things are not right, and his mind fills with questions:
•Why are so many of the patients treated do very harshly?
•Who is the woman who wanders the corridors by night with murderous intent?
•Why does the Nurse O’Reilly so hostile, and why does she have so many privileges?
•Why are only Doctor Morgan and Nurse O’Reilly permitted to visit the third floor?
The new doctor wants answers, but he has to tread carefully. Because it is clear from the start that he isn’t John Shepard. And that he isn’t a doctor at all.
Can he keep his secrets? Can he uncover the secrets of the hospital?
The possibilities were intriguing, the setting was so evocative, and then there was Florence ….
Doctor Shepherd was intrigued by a patient known as Jane Dove. That wasn’t her real name. she said that she couldn’t remember that. She couldn’t remember anything of her life before she was found at a railway station and was admitted to hospital.
She knew that she wasn’t allowed to read but she so loved stories, and she had a distinctive way of speaking, making nouns into verbs, joining words in unexpected ways to make gloriously expressive expressions ….
Doctor Shepherd persuaded Doctor Morgan to him take charge of her an attempt, to let him try to prove that there were humane alternatives to the hospital’s harsh treatments.
He was sure that he could persuade Jane to learn to read, that he could restore her memories. And he thought that maybe she would offer him the chance of escaping from the hospital and from his own troubled past.
Maybe he could. Maybe she would. But of course it wasn’t as simple as that.
The story moves like a thriller, written in language that is clear and direct, concise and urgent; it is the perfectly evoked setting, the well-drawn characters, and the intriguing questions hanging in the air make it enthralling.
The plot grew nicely, with lovely echoes of a certain other story, and as it accelerated to a conclusion all of the promise that I saw was realised, and the echoes of that story grew louder.
The plotting was so well done, with twists nicely scattered, and the strand of bookishness threaded through was lovely.
The finale was pitch perfect.
And I think there is an opening for a third book.
I do hope there will be a third book ….
November 11, 2023
I was really hoping this would be my February Ghost Story Read, It, and it was.
That is a lie. Wait and see. Maybe you'll see this is A Ghost Story not starring Casey Affleck.
This was a ghost story and yet it wasn't. It really wasn't though. For one thing, I read it in March and not February, so how can it be a ghost story.
Oh Florence, how I have missed you and the endearing way you speak, the way you speak, for only you speak like that, it never fails to charm me.
You are only seventeen, but you are so wise beyond your years. I utterly adore your murderous streak and homicidal tendencies. Your confidence so charming, surety in yourself, I find it so comforting, you are so sure of yourself and what you need. It's delightful and heartening.
You were the only song that mattered in Aug of 2014.
Florence and Giles was excellent.
This was superb.
I hope there is a third book.
I read this one and fell in love with another, not another book though. Of course, I mean someone like a person, not an inanimate object. See, I can be subtle when I don't have to be.
December 22, 2016
Yup, nice take on Jane Eyre and I loved the ending :D He shit his potfull
September 10, 2014
When the man claiming to be Dr John Shepherd arrives at a mental hospital for women on an isolated New England island in the 1890’s we share his horror at the inhuman treatments provided for the patients by his new employer, the martinet Morgan and his sadistic female sidekick O’Reilly.
The Gothic building set in parkland provides a perfect backdrop for sinister goings on with plenty of creaking doors and dark corridors inhabited by a silent presence as Shepherd settles into his psychiatric role. He offers a benevolent moral treatment to the enigmatic Jane Dove (“the girl who couldn’t read” of the title) in an attempt to prove to Morgan that there is an alternative to the hospital’s wicked and tyrannical remedies.
The author creates an extremely evocative picture of the stark and grim institution especially as the winter chill sets in and the novel has the true feel of a period piece with a nod to The Brontes (particularly Jane Eyre), Poe and Henry James. The reader becomes enthralled in the Shakespeare loving and highly literate narrator’s story and, little by little, discovers more about his true nature..
Although billed as a sequel to the wonderful Florence & Giles, the novel stands on its own. I would certainly recommend that you read the prequel as it is quite excellent but it would make little difference if you read it before or after reading this.
Although billed as a literary thriller, it is not verbose or wordy but is written in a clear, concise and urgent style that grips you and compels you to read on. It is a thriller of the highest order.
My only disappointment is the disappointment that I have finished the book and will struggle to find something as engaging to read next.
The Gothic building set in parkland provides a perfect backdrop for sinister goings on with plenty of creaking doors and dark corridors inhabited by a silent presence as Shepherd settles into his psychiatric role. He offers a benevolent moral treatment to the enigmatic Jane Dove (“the girl who couldn’t read” of the title) in an attempt to prove to Morgan that there is an alternative to the hospital’s wicked and tyrannical remedies.
The author creates an extremely evocative picture of the stark and grim institution especially as the winter chill sets in and the novel has the true feel of a period piece with a nod to The Brontes (particularly Jane Eyre), Poe and Henry James. The reader becomes enthralled in the Shakespeare loving and highly literate narrator’s story and, little by little, discovers more about his true nature..
Although billed as a sequel to the wonderful Florence & Giles, the novel stands on its own. I would certainly recommend that you read the prequel as it is quite excellent but it would make little difference if you read it before or after reading this.
Although billed as a literary thriller, it is not verbose or wordy but is written in a clear, concise and urgent style that grips you and compels you to read on. It is a thriller of the highest order.
My only disappointment is the disappointment that I have finished the book and will struggle to find something as engaging to read next.
July 8, 2018
Me lo he leído en dos tardes, quería saber qué había detrás de cada personaje. Quizás el estilo y la ambientación no me ha convencido del todo, pero me he divertido y me ha interesado la trama. Lo recomiendo.
November 8, 2020
Gothic, twisty and grim with a posh accent (in my head, anyway). Really enjoyed it, a fab October read.
March 14, 2017
Es una novela que está bien, el final aunque de cierto modo lo esperaba fue una de mis partes favoritas y las referencias literarias le dan un toque especial pero por otra parte si no mencionaran el año en el que transcurre la historia (1890) fácilmente podría ser cualquier año, la parte que quizás me quedó debiendo más fue la clínica, le faltó documentación sobre las enfermedades psiquiatricas tanto para hablar de ello en una que otra ocasion que los comentarios eran muy superfluos así como para ambientar la historia dentro del psiquiátrico en si.
Por lo demás es un libro muy ameno, fácil de leer que incluso en una tarde el lector podrá devorar.
Por lo demás es un libro muy ameno, fácil de leer que incluso en una tarde el lector podrá devorar.
August 7, 2016
No me esperaba que el libro fuera así. Me he encontrado una novela de misterio escrita al estilo de los relatos góticos, recordándome a Edgar Allan Poe.
Misterios, misterios y más misterios que se irán resolviendo, aunque lentamente. O puede ser que no. Nunca se sabe en este tipo de novelas :P
Misterios, misterios y más misterios que se irán resolviendo, aunque lentamente. O puede ser que no. Nunca se sabe en este tipo de novelas :P
March 27, 2019
Quando ho scelto di leggere questo libro, davvero avevo immaginato altro. Il titolo richiamava atmosfere intriganti, la sinossi faceva pensare che i segreti e i lati oscuri riguardassero qualcosa di magico. Avevo aspettative completamente differenti, che sono crollate con un sonoro tonfo.
Un giorno aprirò una rubrica sulla traduzione dei titoli dei libri stranieri. Quello originale di quest’opera è “The girl who couldn’t read”, cioè “La ragazza che non poteva leggere” e ciò, nel testo, viene espresso in più occasioni. Ma dove sono le pagine segrete? La scelta di tradurre in questo modo è davvero discutibile!
Ho faticato leggermente a contestualizzare temporalmente il racconto. Ci sono arrivata pian piano: esistono i treni, ma niente energia elettrica, tantomeno acqua corrente (almeno nel luogo in cui si svolgono gli eventi). Ho calcolato un approssimativo fine 1800, inizio 1900 e ne ho avuto conferma quando ho scoperto che questo libro è una sorta di seguito de “La biblioteca dei libri proibiti” la cui storia è ambientata nel 1891.
Il Dottor Sheperd, il protagonista misterioso della trama, si presenta come psichiatra al manicomio (stile Alcatraz, che si trova su un’isola) in cui è stato appena assunto.
Una cosa che mi ha sconvolta è la descrizione dei metodi di “cura” adottati per far fronte alle malattie mentali. In realtà mi ha particolarmente scosso la consapevolezza che tutto ciò, fino a un certo punto della nostra storia, sia davvero accaduto. Donne che venivano dichiarate malate mentali a causa di un accesso di rabbia o per l’incapacità di sopportare il dolore che seguiva un lutto, e a nulla serviva dire “ma io non sono pazza”: tutti i pazzi lo dicono. Credo che il termine migliore per definire quelle cure sia “tortura”. Legate, affamate, sfinite, svilite e mezze affogate in vasche d’acqua gelata.
Fra tutte queste donne troviamo Jane Dove, che presto diventerà la paziente zero (ovvero la cavia) del Dottor Sheperd, sulla quale sperimenterà l’efficacia della “Cura Morale”, cioè curare con dolcezza. Jane, una ragazzina di forse sedici anni che non ricorda il suo passato, né il suo nome, non è nemmeno in grado di scrivere e leggere, anzi, le viene addirittura “vietato” imparare (e la cosa si collega egregiamente con il titolo originale), per ordine di chissà chi, personaggio che lei non riesce proprio a riportare a galla nella sua mente.
Lo stile dell’autore piuttosto sostenuto, è atto richiamare le atmosfere e il linguaggio dell’epoca, nonché le abitudini.
Si è dimostrato molto bravo nel mantenere un certo clima di mistero che ti spinge a continuare a leggere per capire e svelare i segreti che nascondono. Alcuni, però, abbastanza prevedibili, purtroppo. Si intuisce troppo presto come andranno le cose, che ci sono scheletri nell’armadio e che faccia abbiano. Non manca inoltre un buon numero di interessanti colpi di scena, peccato che l’autore non sia riuscito a renderli più enfatici o, per lo meno, di fronte alle novità la mia reazione è stata piuttosto “piatta”, temo a causa del linguaggio troppo misurato.
Concludo parlando dell’epilogo. L’idea è eccellente, sorprendente… ma, anche stavolta, sfruttata male. L’autore troncando di netto e troppo rapidamente la scena, mi ha lasciata a bocca asciutta, contrariamente a quanto mi sarei aspettata, ovvero delle indicazioni in più su come questa storia terminasse. Ciò mi fa supporre che l’autore abbia in mente un ulteriore capitolo della serie. Io, però, onestamente dubito che lo attenderò con ansia.
.
Nyha - per RFS
Un giorno aprirò una rubrica sulla traduzione dei titoli dei libri stranieri. Quello originale di quest’opera è “The girl who couldn’t read”, cioè “La ragazza che non poteva leggere” e ciò, nel testo, viene espresso in più occasioni. Ma dove sono le pagine segrete? La scelta di tradurre in questo modo è davvero discutibile!
Ho faticato leggermente a contestualizzare temporalmente il racconto. Ci sono arrivata pian piano: esistono i treni, ma niente energia elettrica, tantomeno acqua corrente (almeno nel luogo in cui si svolgono gli eventi). Ho calcolato un approssimativo fine 1800, inizio 1900 e ne ho avuto conferma quando ho scoperto che questo libro è una sorta di seguito de “La biblioteca dei libri proibiti” la cui storia è ambientata nel 1891.
Il Dottor Sheperd, il protagonista misterioso della trama, si presenta come psichiatra al manicomio (stile Alcatraz, che si trova su un’isola) in cui è stato appena assunto.
Una cosa che mi ha sconvolta è la descrizione dei metodi di “cura” adottati per far fronte alle malattie mentali. In realtà mi ha particolarmente scosso la consapevolezza che tutto ciò, fino a un certo punto della nostra storia, sia davvero accaduto. Donne che venivano dichiarate malate mentali a causa di un accesso di rabbia o per l’incapacità di sopportare il dolore che seguiva un lutto, e a nulla serviva dire “ma io non sono pazza”: tutti i pazzi lo dicono. Credo che il termine migliore per definire quelle cure sia “tortura”. Legate, affamate, sfinite, svilite e mezze affogate in vasche d’acqua gelata.
Fra tutte queste donne troviamo Jane Dove, che presto diventerà la paziente zero (ovvero la cavia) del Dottor Sheperd, sulla quale sperimenterà l’efficacia della “Cura Morale”, cioè curare con dolcezza. Jane, una ragazzina di forse sedici anni che non ricorda il suo passato, né il suo nome, non è nemmeno in grado di scrivere e leggere, anzi, le viene addirittura “vietato” imparare (e la cosa si collega egregiamente con il titolo originale), per ordine di chissà chi, personaggio che lei non riesce proprio a riportare a galla nella sua mente.
Lo stile dell’autore piuttosto sostenuto, è atto richiamare le atmosfere e il linguaggio dell’epoca, nonché le abitudini.
Si è dimostrato molto bravo nel mantenere un certo clima di mistero che ti spinge a continuare a leggere per capire e svelare i segreti che nascondono. Alcuni, però, abbastanza prevedibili, purtroppo. Si intuisce troppo presto come andranno le cose, che ci sono scheletri nell’armadio e che faccia abbiano. Non manca inoltre un buon numero di interessanti colpi di scena, peccato che l’autore non sia riuscito a renderli più enfatici o, per lo meno, di fronte alle novità la mia reazione è stata piuttosto “piatta”, temo a causa del linguaggio troppo misurato.
Concludo parlando dell’epilogo. L’idea è eccellente, sorprendente… ma, anche stavolta, sfruttata male. L’autore troncando di netto e troppo rapidamente la scena, mi ha lasciata a bocca asciutta, contrariamente a quanto mi sarei aspettata, ovvero delle indicazioni in più su come questa storia terminasse. Ciò mi fa supporre che l’autore abbia in mente un ulteriore capitolo della serie. Io, però, onestamente dubito che lo attenderò con ansia.
.
Nyha - per RFS
May 12, 2016
The Girl Who Couldn’t Read alonestands all right but if this sentence unfamiliar styles, this book may tedious you as well. Best to go back & read Florence & Giles & if as in my case you’re addicted, you’ll want to top up with this one. Florence & Giles was not quite an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw. An appropriate subtitle might have been a Fantasia on a Theme by Henry James. So similarly this sequel takes up a theme from Charlotte Brontë, set in a 19th-century lunatic asylum with a mad mad-doctor presiding modeled on Lowood School & the Rev. Mr. Brocklehurst. (Humorously, while his “treatments” are straight out of The Madness of George III, Dr. Morgan employs the most p.c. 20th-c. euphemisms - madwomen (there’s one in the attic too) are “patients” & lunacy is “mental illness” & the mad-doctor a “psychiatrist”!) The “hospital” is set on an unnamed island up the river from an American city, presumably in New York State but really of course the shadowland of gothic fiction. Our narrator is a scoundrel on the run whom we learn very early in the story has assumed the identity of a junior doctor & just taken up a post @ the madhouse. He has, we gradually discover, some alarming proclivities of his own, apparently acquired on his uncle’s chicken farm. The old joke about the inmates in charge of the asylum runs throughout.
Our narrator was previously an actor (reminded me of Vincent Price in his earlier days). As a principal character & a narrative voice he is just on the edge between endearingly & disgustingly OTT: @ best reminded me of the narrators of James Hamilton-Paterson’s Cooking with Fernet Branca & George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman series, but too often of the narrator of Graeme Cameron’s Normal - one of the worst books I’ve ever actually finished. Which is why I cannot imagine this book as a stand alone.
But if you loved Florence & Giles, just as soon as the character called “Jane” opens her mouth, you will be transfixed. I’d describe her as a cross between Lewis Carroll’s Alice & the head girl @ St. Trinian’s, an autodidact whose idiolect some readers intolerate & some like me insatiate. (Of course if you’re used to social media & “unfriend” & “disinvite” - BTW my spell check flagged the former but not the latter - are part of your lexicon, you might totes unnotice her style.) I was delighted @ her return, tho’ Harding leaves lots of loose ends. What happened to Florence in the two years between her escape in Florence & Giles & her incarceration in the madhouse. Perhaps Harding will mind the gap with a se-pre-quel.
We have many hare-breath scapes as our narrator contrives @ rescuing Florence from the madhouse - not for her benefit, but his. I’ll have to hold @ four stars. Too much of our odious narrator & an insufficing of Florence. But I found the ending most suitable - a whole trolley of just desserts.
I have no idea what kind of person John Harding is in real life, but his fictional persona reminds me of Roald Dahl’s, simultaneously hilarious & unpleasant, delightful & disgusting. His While the Sun Shines hit my DNF pile in record time. I’m an ex-academic who spent four decades in real life with sleazes like his MC. But as characters in story books I’m enamored of bad-ass chicks, & Florence fairbids to develop into one of the very bestiest baddest. If you love Florence, this book is a must read. If you unlike her, don’t bother.
Our narrator was previously an actor (reminded me of Vincent Price in his earlier days). As a principal character & a narrative voice he is just on the edge between endearingly & disgustingly OTT: @ best reminded me of the narrators of James Hamilton-Paterson’s Cooking with Fernet Branca & George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman series, but too often of the narrator of Graeme Cameron’s Normal - one of the worst books I’ve ever actually finished. Which is why I cannot imagine this book as a stand alone.
But if you loved Florence & Giles, just as soon as the character called “Jane” opens her mouth, you will be transfixed. I’d describe her as a cross between Lewis Carroll’s Alice & the head girl @ St. Trinian’s, an autodidact whose idiolect some readers intolerate & some like me insatiate. (Of course if you’re used to social media & “unfriend” & “disinvite” - BTW my spell check flagged the former but not the latter - are part of your lexicon, you might totes unnotice her style.) I was delighted @ her return, tho’ Harding leaves lots of loose ends. What happened to Florence in the two years between her escape in Florence & Giles & her incarceration in the madhouse. Perhaps Harding will mind the gap with a se-pre-quel.
We have many hare-breath scapes as our narrator contrives @ rescuing Florence from the madhouse - not for her benefit, but his. I’ll have to hold @ four stars. Too much of our odious narrator & an insufficing of Florence. But I found the ending most suitable - a whole trolley of just desserts.
I have no idea what kind of person John Harding is in real life, but his fictional persona reminds me of Roald Dahl’s, simultaneously hilarious & unpleasant, delightful & disgusting. His While the Sun Shines hit my DNF pile in record time. I’m an ex-academic who spent four decades in real life with sleazes like his MC. But as characters in story books I’m enamored of bad-ass chicks, & Florence fairbids to develop into one of the very bestiest baddest. If you love Florence, this book is a must read. If you unlike her, don’t bother.
January 2, 2015
A few years ago I read and reviewed Florence & Giles, a beguiling, unsettling Gothic mystery by John Harding offering an alternative take on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. It’s been one of my stand-out reads of the last five years, so I was naturally excited at the release of a sequel, The Girl Who Couldn’t Read, in 2014.
The Girl Who Couldn’t Read, an elegant thriller with shades of Edgar Allan Poe, does work as a novel in its own right (although I’m reluctant to say that you don’t need to read Florence & Giles because I think everyone does, whether they fancy the sequel or not). It begins with a young man who, having stolen the luggage and the identity of John Shepherd, a stranger killed in a train crash, arrives at a women’s mental institution in 19th century New England to take up that stranger’s new position there. Shocked at the treatment of the hospital’s inmates (think enforced immersion in freezing water, a near-starvation diet and restraining chairs) and, inspired by a text book from his stolen suitcase, he challenges the hospital’s director to let him choose an inmate to be singled out for ‘moral treatment’.
The inmate in question is Jane Dove, a young woman with severe amnesia, bizarre speech patterns and an inability to read – not because she doesn’t think she could learn, but because she is firmly, fearfully convinced she isn’t allowed to. While taking on the challenge of curing Jane of her mental illness, Shepherd is forced to take increasingly extreme measures to conceal his true identity, and haunted not only by his own guilt but by the sinister presence of a malevolent woman who stalks the hospital corridors at night.
One of the great strengths of The Girl Who Couldn’t Read is the narrator himself – apparently a trained actor who has escaped a traumatic childhood, he comes across from the outset as a loveable rogue, an unscrupulous but ultimately harmless con-artist. Similarly, Jane Dove is also oddly endearing, full of comical idiosyncrasies and, like Shepherd, struggling under the burden of an assumed identity – and the two are nicely offset by creepy, dapper Dr Morgan and his matter-of-fact cruelty and by the sadistic warden Mrs O’Reilly, who has a touch of Mrs Danvers about her as well as a hint of Nurse Ratched. But it’s worth remembering that in Florence & Giles, John Harding proved adept at confounding not only the expectations but also the trust of the reader: no assumptions are safe here.
The strong Gothic undercurrent of The Girl Who Couldn’t Read comes at least in part from the infamous ‘mad woman in the attic’ motif and the claustrophobic isolation of the setting, but also from guilt, imprisonment and the ever-present fear of mental illness. Who, exactly, is the mad one here?
Could it be nobody? Or it is perhaps everyone?
There are a few twists in this tale – one, in particular, is a jaw-dropper, all the more so because it comes not at the end of the story but around halfway through. The Girl Who Couldn't Read is atmospheric, clever, full of the smart literary and linguistic allusions you’ll find in Florence & Giles (and also in another Harding novel, albeit one wholly different in setting and tone: the outstanding One Big Damn Puzzler), witty and a fine mystery in its own right.
The Girl Who Couldn’t Read, an elegant thriller with shades of Edgar Allan Poe, does work as a novel in its own right (although I’m reluctant to say that you don’t need to read Florence & Giles because I think everyone does, whether they fancy the sequel or not). It begins with a young man who, having stolen the luggage and the identity of John Shepherd, a stranger killed in a train crash, arrives at a women’s mental institution in 19th century New England to take up that stranger’s new position there. Shocked at the treatment of the hospital’s inmates (think enforced immersion in freezing water, a near-starvation diet and restraining chairs) and, inspired by a text book from his stolen suitcase, he challenges the hospital’s director to let him choose an inmate to be singled out for ‘moral treatment’.
The inmate in question is Jane Dove, a young woman with severe amnesia, bizarre speech patterns and an inability to read – not because she doesn’t think she could learn, but because she is firmly, fearfully convinced she isn’t allowed to. While taking on the challenge of curing Jane of her mental illness, Shepherd is forced to take increasingly extreme measures to conceal his true identity, and haunted not only by his own guilt but by the sinister presence of a malevolent woman who stalks the hospital corridors at night.
One of the great strengths of The Girl Who Couldn’t Read is the narrator himself – apparently a trained actor who has escaped a traumatic childhood, he comes across from the outset as a loveable rogue, an unscrupulous but ultimately harmless con-artist. Similarly, Jane Dove is also oddly endearing, full of comical idiosyncrasies and, like Shepherd, struggling under the burden of an assumed identity – and the two are nicely offset by creepy, dapper Dr Morgan and his matter-of-fact cruelty and by the sadistic warden Mrs O’Reilly, who has a touch of Mrs Danvers about her as well as a hint of Nurse Ratched. But it’s worth remembering that in Florence & Giles, John Harding proved adept at confounding not only the expectations but also the trust of the reader: no assumptions are safe here.
The strong Gothic undercurrent of The Girl Who Couldn’t Read comes at least in part from the infamous ‘mad woman in the attic’ motif and the claustrophobic isolation of the setting, but also from guilt, imprisonment and the ever-present fear of mental illness. Who, exactly, is the mad one here?
Could it be nobody? Or it is perhaps everyone?
There are a few twists in this tale – one, in particular, is a jaw-dropper, all the more so because it comes not at the end of the story but around halfway through. The Girl Who Couldn't Read is atmospheric, clever, full of the smart literary and linguistic allusions you’ll find in Florence & Giles (and also in another Harding novel, albeit one wholly different in setting and tone: the outstanding One Big Damn Puzzler), witty and a fine mystery in its own right.
October 28, 2017
"The Girl Who Couldn't Read" by John Harding.
I read this book as a part of Halloween-themed reads to take a break from my usual routine of SFF books. This book can be read as a standalone, but some parts can be better appreciated if you have read 'Florence & Giles' by the same author.
A man calling himself as John Shepherd visits a women's mental asylum on an isolated island to work as an assistant to Dr. Morgan, who oddly resorts to a harsher treatment of patients - something which John despises. John finds a patient there - a girl named Jane Dove - who has an odd fascination for books but claims that she cannot read. Almost everyone on the facility seem to harbor dark secrets of their own, including Dr. John Shepherd himself. Adding to it is a mysterious woman who roams the corridors at night with murderous intent.
There seems to be a vast improvement in the writing style as compared to the previous book. The premise is interesting and something which quite suits the tone of the book. The array of characters which the book offers have motivations of their own, and their backstories enrich the tale. The story is told through the point of view of John Shepherd who is a morally grey character (rather leaning towards the dark side, if I may opine); and this pleases the grimdark enthusiast within me.
As the first book went, the first three quarters were brilliant and were leading up to a promising finish. But.. the ending was disappointing. The story showed promise and it would have been so much better - something about the ending just failed to work. However, I found it to be better than the first book and would recommend it at least for a one-time Halloween read. I would rate this book a 3/5.
I read this book as a part of Halloween-themed reads to take a break from my usual routine of SFF books. This book can be read as a standalone, but some parts can be better appreciated if you have read 'Florence & Giles' by the same author.
A man calling himself as John Shepherd visits a women's mental asylum on an isolated island to work as an assistant to Dr. Morgan, who oddly resorts to a harsher treatment of patients - something which John despises. John finds a patient there - a girl named Jane Dove - who has an odd fascination for books but claims that she cannot read. Almost everyone on the facility seem to harbor dark secrets of their own, including Dr. John Shepherd himself. Adding to it is a mysterious woman who roams the corridors at night with murderous intent.
There seems to be a vast improvement in the writing style as compared to the previous book. The premise is interesting and something which quite suits the tone of the book. The array of characters which the book offers have motivations of their own, and their backstories enrich the tale. The story is told through the point of view of John Shepherd who is a morally grey character (rather leaning towards the dark side, if I may opine); and this pleases the grimdark enthusiast within me.
As the first book went, the first three quarters were brilliant and were leading up to a promising finish. But.. the ending was disappointing. The story showed promise and it would have been so much better - something about the ending just failed to work. However, I found it to be better than the first book and would recommend it at least for a one-time Halloween read. I would rate this book a 3/5.
November 14, 2014
The experience of speeding through "The Girl Who Couldn't Read" might very well leave one gulping for air. From the first chapter in which we meet our vivid narrator Dr. John Shepherd as he arrives at a women's mental hospital in the late 19th century, to the last page wherein the story rushes to its climax, we readers are in the hands of one of Britain's best storytellers.
John Harding's previous novel, "Florence and Giles", where we first meet one of the main characters is a deliciously dark treat and it is by no means necessary to read it first, but readers will appreciate the nuances and sheer pleasure of doing so. In "The Girl Who Couldn't Read" Harding ratchets up several more notches in this gloriously Gothic tale. Harding's exquisite writing is particularly fun. Yes, fun, because in the dark corners, hiding behind the staircase, and in the secluded grounds of the hospital his ingenious use of language shines throughout.
Prepare yourself for deftly handled surprises, twists and turns - just the sort of page turner to enjoy on a long winter night.
John Harding's previous novel, "Florence and Giles", where we first meet one of the main characters is a deliciously dark treat and it is by no means necessary to read it first, but readers will appreciate the nuances and sheer pleasure of doing so. In "The Girl Who Couldn't Read" Harding ratchets up several more notches in this gloriously Gothic tale. Harding's exquisite writing is particularly fun. Yes, fun, because in the dark corners, hiding behind the staircase, and in the secluded grounds of the hospital his ingenious use of language shines throughout.
Prepare yourself for deftly handled surprises, twists and turns - just the sort of page turner to enjoy on a long winter night.
October 22, 2014
Another astonishing book - a sequel to Florence and Giles. This book tells us the tale of a young doctor who takes up a position in a mental hospital in the United States around the turn of the nineteenth century. He becomes involved with one of the patients, and attempts to try different treatment methods with her. However, the doctor and the patient are not what they at first seem.
The book has a fair element of menace - the description of the treatment given to the patients is quite harrowing at times but the author has done his homework and it is frightening accurate. The element of mystery is kept high and there are some excellent and unpredictable twists. I particularly enjoyed the fact that not everything in the story is explained and the reader is left to work out much of the background themselves.
I really do hope that there's going to be at least a third novel in this series, because the writing style is very enjoyable.
The book has a fair element of menace - the description of the treatment given to the patients is quite harrowing at times but the author has done his homework and it is frightening accurate. The element of mystery is kept high and there are some excellent and unpredictable twists. I particularly enjoyed the fact that not everything in the story is explained and the reader is left to work out much of the background themselves.
I really do hope that there's going to be at least a third novel in this series, because the writing style is very enjoyable.
October 16, 2015
This review and more can be found on http://reading-is-dreaming-with-open-...
Are you afraid of the dark? Then don't read this book- there's a fair amount of evil-in-the-dark kinda scenes here. I'm kidding, it wasn't so bad. You can trust me- really! I still make it a point to check under my bed before turning in for the night, but I'm quite a chicken when it comes to horror, so naturally I was pretty creeped out at the beginning, but by and by I was so interested in unraveling the mystery and finding out how the story would turn out that I didn't mind the delicious shivers this book gave me.
Set in New England, in the 1890s, we are introduced to Dr. John Shepard who arrives at an isolated women’s mental hospital to begin work as an assistant doctor. He is shocked by how the patients are treated, and so are we. As time passes, he begins to notice that things are just not quite right- who is the woman that haunts the corridors at night? Why do Doctor Morgan and Nurse O’Reilly conceal the identity of one of the patients so much so that none of the other workers seem to know about her? The young doctor needs answers, but he has to be very careful here since it turns out that he isn't a doctor after all.
In an attempt to convince Dr. Morgan that there were more humane ways of treating mentally ill patients, Shepard takes up the challenge of curing one of the patients according to the principles of Moral Treatment. For this he chooses Jane Dove, a girl suffering from amnesia. The journey of Jane Dove's recovery unearths a lot of things about her. Jane Dove wasn't her real name. She couldn't remember anything of her life before she was found at a railway station and was admitted to hospital. What she knew was that she wasn't allowed to read, but she loved books. She had a distinctive way of speaking, turning nouns into verbs and joining words in unexpectedly to make new expressions and twisting English into something strange, new and magical.
Doctor Shepard tries hard to persuade Jane Dove to read, and he tries his best to restore her memories. However much he tries to be good, he is still afraid the inhuman side of him would rear it's head. Will Shepard manage to cure Jane? Will he be able to keep the monster in him in check? Will his past catch up with him? Read the book to know it all.
"There was the patter of bare feet over floorboards and I swivelled round in time to see a wisp of white, the hem of a woman's dress or nightgown, whisk around the edge of the door, its wearer seemingly fleeing after finding me there, and pulling the door behind her with such a slam that the draught from it killed my candle dead."
This book reminded of me Jane Eyre so much that it may as well have been touted as a reimagining of Charlotte Bronte's masterpiece. Not only is there a mad woman in the attic, all the other characters seem pretty mad themselves. I loved the narrator's slightly creepy voice. Having gone through a decidedly traumatic childhood, Shepard is an unscrupulous con-artist who would go to any lengths to protect his identity. Jane Dove was a bizarrely lovable character. I loved the scenes with her, and it was only after I started this book that I came to know that this was, in fact a sequel to the author's past book, Florence and Giles. Jane Dove's connect to Florence is creepy and after reading this book, I now definitely want to check out F&G.
"Looking around the tables, I saw women snatching other people's bread and others left with nothing at all. All this Morgan viewed with such complete indifference that I began to despair of humanity.."
I definitely didn't like the sadistic O'Reilly and Dr. Morgan. The way they treated the patients was appalling and the author seems to have done a very thorough research on the ways of treatment at lunatic asylums in the 19th century. It was quite harrowing to read about and the matter-of-fact way in which Dr, Morgan carried out these procedures on the helpless patients make one thank god for the advancement in psychiatrist practices the present day.
"The attendants hauled her into [the chair], manhandling her in the face of fierce opposition on her part, got her hands strapped to the arms and then proceeded to strap her ankles to the legs in spite of her kicking feet. Finally, they placed the strap attached to the chair back around her throat. A strap like that could strangle a woman, I thought."
The story was a perfectly paced thriller that allowed the plot to grow fantastically with aptly scattered twists. The writing was clear and concise, and the author succeeded in narrating a deliciously gothic tale by building the perfect dreary, suffocating setting with well-drawn insane characters. The element of mystery was maintained at a high level and the story ultimately built up to the most perfect finale, leaving the reader feel crazy for answers. There's definitely an opening for a third book and I, for one, hope it materializes soon!
"I spun my chair around and found myself staring into the face of a woman. And what a face! Her black hair was a wild storm around her head, and her eyes were red-hot coals, as if she had come straight from Hell to drag me back there with her, a place, it has to be said, where I most certainly belonged."
The story idea: 5/5
The realization of the story: 5/5
The characters: 5/5
The cover: 5/5
Enjoy factor: 5/5
Final rating: 5/5
Are you afraid of the dark? Then don't read this book- there's a fair amount of evil-in-the-dark kinda scenes here. I'm kidding, it wasn't so bad. You can trust me- really! I still make it a point to check under my bed before turning in for the night, but I'm quite a chicken when it comes to horror, so naturally I was pretty creeped out at the beginning, but by and by I was so interested in unraveling the mystery and finding out how the story would turn out that I didn't mind the delicious shivers this book gave me.
Set in New England, in the 1890s, we are introduced to Dr. John Shepard who arrives at an isolated women’s mental hospital to begin work as an assistant doctor. He is shocked by how the patients are treated, and so are we. As time passes, he begins to notice that things are just not quite right- who is the woman that haunts the corridors at night? Why do Doctor Morgan and Nurse O’Reilly conceal the identity of one of the patients so much so that none of the other workers seem to know about her? The young doctor needs answers, but he has to be very careful here since it turns out that he isn't a doctor after all.
In an attempt to convince Dr. Morgan that there were more humane ways of treating mentally ill patients, Shepard takes up the challenge of curing one of the patients according to the principles of Moral Treatment. For this he chooses Jane Dove, a girl suffering from amnesia. The journey of Jane Dove's recovery unearths a lot of things about her. Jane Dove wasn't her real name. She couldn't remember anything of her life before she was found at a railway station and was admitted to hospital. What she knew was that she wasn't allowed to read, but she loved books. She had a distinctive way of speaking, turning nouns into verbs and joining words in unexpectedly to make new expressions and twisting English into something strange, new and magical.
Doctor Shepard tries hard to persuade Jane Dove to read, and he tries his best to restore her memories. However much he tries to be good, he is still afraid the inhuman side of him would rear it's head. Will Shepard manage to cure Jane? Will he be able to keep the monster in him in check? Will his past catch up with him? Read the book to know it all.
"There was the patter of bare feet over floorboards and I swivelled round in time to see a wisp of white, the hem of a woman's dress or nightgown, whisk around the edge of the door, its wearer seemingly fleeing after finding me there, and pulling the door behind her with such a slam that the draught from it killed my candle dead."
This book reminded of me Jane Eyre so much that it may as well have been touted as a reimagining of Charlotte Bronte's masterpiece. Not only is there a mad woman in the attic, all the other characters seem pretty mad themselves. I loved the narrator's slightly creepy voice. Having gone through a decidedly traumatic childhood, Shepard is an unscrupulous con-artist who would go to any lengths to protect his identity. Jane Dove was a bizarrely lovable character. I loved the scenes with her, and it was only after I started this book that I came to know that this was, in fact a sequel to the author's past book, Florence and Giles. Jane Dove's connect to Florence is creepy and after reading this book, I now definitely want to check out F&G.
"Looking around the tables, I saw women snatching other people's bread and others left with nothing at all. All this Morgan viewed with such complete indifference that I began to despair of humanity.."
I definitely didn't like the sadistic O'Reilly and Dr. Morgan. The way they treated the patients was appalling and the author seems to have done a very thorough research on the ways of treatment at lunatic asylums in the 19th century. It was quite harrowing to read about and the matter-of-fact way in which Dr, Morgan carried out these procedures on the helpless patients make one thank god for the advancement in psychiatrist practices the present day.
"The attendants hauled her into [the chair], manhandling her in the face of fierce opposition on her part, got her hands strapped to the arms and then proceeded to strap her ankles to the legs in spite of her kicking feet. Finally, they placed the strap attached to the chair back around her throat. A strap like that could strangle a woman, I thought."
The story was a perfectly paced thriller that allowed the plot to grow fantastically with aptly scattered twists. The writing was clear and concise, and the author succeeded in narrating a deliciously gothic tale by building the perfect dreary, suffocating setting with well-drawn insane characters. The element of mystery was maintained at a high level and the story ultimately built up to the most perfect finale, leaving the reader feel crazy for answers. There's definitely an opening for a third book and I, for one, hope it materializes soon!
"I spun my chair around and found myself staring into the face of a woman. And what a face! Her black hair was a wild storm around her head, and her eyes were red-hot coals, as if she had come straight from Hell to drag me back there with her, a place, it has to be said, where I most certainly belonged."
The story idea: 5/5
The realization of the story: 5/5
The characters: 5/5
The cover: 5/5
Enjoy factor: 5/5
Final rating: 5/5
July 4, 2018
Varias tramas abiertas y contadas en primera persona por el mismo. Chico nos narra cómo llega y hace en un manicomio. Su pasado oscuro se va despejando con cuenta gotas. La relación con el director tensa y sus actos extraños. La motivación del protagonista por una chica en especial.
Título que poco tiene que ver con la historia. Rápida y fluida es su lectura. Si merece se precio.
Título que poco tiene que ver con la historia. Rápida y fluida es su lectura. Si merece se precio.
May 8, 2016
Wow, this was a deliciously gothic read. I didn't realize at the time that it was a sequel to another book Florence and Giles, a retelling of The Turning of the Screw. However, I didn't feel like I was missing too much having not read the first book. It could definitely be read as a stand alone, although I want to read the first book now that I've read this. I should say that I listened to the audiobook version, which I highly recommend. The narrator was brilliant and captured each character perfectly.
In this book, everyone has secrets. The story becomes more complicated as each layer of the mystery unfolds. The story begins with Dr. John Shepherd who has just arrived at a women's mental hospital located on an island in New England. He is there to serve as the assistant to Dr. Morgan. The time period is the 1890's when mental illness was treated in often barbaric ways. Dr. Shepherd who is not really Dr. Shepherd is appalled at the way the women are treated and vows to change this while he is at the hospital. Dr. Morgan, who has secrets of his own, and his sadistic nurse, O'Reilly don't believe in Dr. Shepherd's treatment ideas, however, he is allowed to practice his humane methods on one patient, Jane Dove. Jane was hospitalized when she was discovered at a railway station not remembering who she is and with an odd speech pattern. She supposedly can't read and little by little the reader discovers why. With each chapter, disturbing facts come to light about each of the characters in this novel. The suspense and horror are ratcheted up until the heart stopping conclusion.
With nods to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Poe, and Henry James, this novel delivers a true gothic horror worth reading. The main character is so charmingly deceptive that it's hard to dislike him. It is also a brilliant commentary on what or who defines sanity, and how human beings are so easily fooled by appearance.
In this book, everyone has secrets. The story becomes more complicated as each layer of the mystery unfolds. The story begins with Dr. John Shepherd who has just arrived at a women's mental hospital located on an island in New England. He is there to serve as the assistant to Dr. Morgan. The time period is the 1890's when mental illness was treated in often barbaric ways. Dr. Shepherd who is not really Dr. Shepherd is appalled at the way the women are treated and vows to change this while he is at the hospital. Dr. Morgan, who has secrets of his own, and his sadistic nurse, O'Reilly don't believe in Dr. Shepherd's treatment ideas, however, he is allowed to practice his humane methods on one patient, Jane Dove. Jane was hospitalized when she was discovered at a railway station not remembering who she is and with an odd speech pattern. She supposedly can't read and little by little the reader discovers why. With each chapter, disturbing facts come to light about each of the characters in this novel. The suspense and horror are ratcheted up until the heart stopping conclusion.
With nods to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Poe, and Henry James, this novel delivers a true gothic horror worth reading. The main character is so charmingly deceptive that it's hard to dislike him. It is also a brilliant commentary on what or who defines sanity, and how human beings are so easily fooled by appearance.
February 2, 2021
The story had a gothic tone to it but I feel this book did not know what it wanted to be. A gothic mystery or a thriller or a horror or what, only the author must know. I enjoyed it even so and the ending felt rushed but it was also kind of fitting. I seem to be on the fence about this book, now that I'm writing down my thoughts.
The story certainly was interesting. The narrator and the other main character, a girl at the mental institution, had personalities that kept me guessing how the story would pan out. Now and then the eerie gothic colors of the story stand out and at others that of a slow burn thriller. All these different genre aspects of the stories were never in flush, they were always mild and that kind of blows out what a great triller this story could have been.
And damn! I knew this was the second book in "Florence and Giles" series but from this books summary I assumed that they are standalone books. And mind you they are but I went through book #1 summary and if I had read that, this one would have definitely been more interesting to read.
The story certainly was interesting. The narrator and the other main character, a girl at the mental institution, had personalities that kept me guessing how the story would pan out. Now and then the eerie gothic colors of the story stand out and at others that of a slow burn thriller. All these different genre aspects of the stories were never in flush, they were always mild and that kind of blows out what a great triller this story could have been.
And damn! I knew this was the second book in "Florence and Giles" series but from this books summary I assumed that they are standalone books. And mind you they are but I went through book #1 summary and if I had read that, this one would have definitely been more interesting to read.
May 10, 2016
In the tradition of a good gothic novel, and asylum darkness I enjoyed this book. it's nod to Jane Eyre, Shakespeare among other books that are classics in the world of reading was really wonderful. I loved the story and found it something hard for me to put down. Had I not been busy this weekend it would have been read in a shorter time. I'm glad I went slower though I found it helped. The darkness of the story was wonderful and strange. I did very much like the unreliable narrator and the young girl who I think turned out to be very smart and a strong person. I do think it left me wanting something though I could not put my finger on what that was. I hope that we get a third book to this series and I think I will go back and read the first though this works very well as a stand alone. I do think this was something new and different from many other horror like Asylum stories I've read and I was very happy with that.
April 14, 2016
This is a different and wonderful genre mix.
It's a gothic almost horror historical with a decent twist of the noir. Harding pays homage to Poe during the book, and no doubt he was inspired by the great man with his setting of a lunatic asylum in the 1890. I will never tire of gothic mansions hosting lunatic asylums. It is only right that Poe's story (The System of Dr Tarr and Prof Fether) had led to many others.
Harding does it really well though, and brings that historical idea 'up to date' as it were by adding the noir.
It is one of those books for which the propose give reader should not look too closely at the reviews. There are several important twists, and these are some of the most rewarding parts of the novel, so in no way does the impact of them want lessening.
Great fun, and a tremendous read.
It's a gothic almost horror historical with a decent twist of the noir. Harding pays homage to Poe during the book, and no doubt he was inspired by the great man with his setting of a lunatic asylum in the 1890. I will never tire of gothic mansions hosting lunatic asylums. It is only right that Poe's story (The System of Dr Tarr and Prof Fether) had led to many others.
Harding does it really well though, and brings that historical idea 'up to date' as it were by adding the noir.
It is one of those books for which the propose give reader should not look too closely at the reviews. There are several important twists, and these are some of the most rewarding parts of the novel, so in no way does the impact of them want lessening.
Great fun, and a tremendous read.
July 26, 2015
A new doctor arrives at a mental asylum but is he what he seems. And just what are the staff hiding. This had a hint of Jane Eyre and was very reminiscent of those 19th century gothic tales. Loved this and found myself quite surprised by some of the twists. This is a sort of sequel to an earlier novel of Harding's but I found my not having read that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of this book in the least. Will now be seeking out said earlier novel.
March 10, 2015
A great gothic sequel to one of my all time favourite books. While I thought that it did not quite reach the heights of Florence and Giles it was still very good. I really hope there is a third installment!!
June 30, 2017
Very hard to put down!! I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like this book! It is a sequel to a book called Florence and Giles but you don't have to have read Florence to understand/follow/like this one (I didn't!). So many SECRETS and LIES!!!
October 15, 2016
Review to come!
April 24, 2017
I sincerely hope there is a third instalment :)
April 9, 2019
The book was a fast paced, enjoyable read however, the ending was rather anti-climatic. The red herrings strewn about the book made the ending even more disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2019
Increíble, un libro espectacular.
No me aburi ni en un solo momento, prolongue la lectura de este libro para disfrutar cada capitulo como es debido. La historia es fascinante súper entretenida. Me encariñe con cada personaje, muy bien descriptos.
Y los plot twist de los últimos capitulos me dejaron con la boca abierta
El final fue simplemente ÉPICO.
Realmente lo ame, 100% recomendado
Sin duda mi nuevo libro favorito 💖
No me aburi ni en un solo momento, prolongue la lectura de este libro para disfrutar cada capitulo como es debido. La historia es fascinante súper entretenida. Me encariñe con cada personaje, muy bien descriptos.
Y los plot twist de los últimos capitulos me dejaron con la boca abierta
El final fue simplemente ÉPICO.
Realmente lo ame, 100% recomendado
Sin duda mi nuevo libro favorito 💖
January 16, 2023
Wow, wow, wow! What did I just read?! That is one of the most cleverly written books I've read in a long time. I've had it on my shelves for a while and finally picked it up and smashed through it. I loved the writing style, and believable characters and how it did take you inside the lunatic asylum of the 1800s, which was barbaric! The descriptions of methods of 'treatments' did not disappoint, and neither did the story itself with the most amazing and unexpected ending!
January 11, 2025
Fantástico !!! No he podido dejar de leer.
Los personajes, el ambiente, el hospital mental y todos los micro sucesos que arman está historia me han tenido en vilo hasta la última oración.
Solo debo decir que nada es lo que parece y en varios momentos he imaginado muchos desenlaces diferentes, para que un final me sorprenda gratamente.
Seguramente lea algo más de este autor.
Los personajes, el ambiente, el hospital mental y todos los micro sucesos que arman está historia me han tenido en vilo hasta la última oración.
Solo debo decir que nada es lo que parece y en varios momentos he imaginado muchos desenlaces diferentes, para que un final me sorprenda gratamente.
Seguramente lea algo más de este autor.
January 31, 2018
I can now confirm that this is definitely the sequel to 'Florence and Giles', and the date of 1890 in the blurb is a mistake.
At first, this story seems to bear no relation to the first, but when Jane Dove's identity is revealed, it all makes sense. It is possible that this could be read as a standalone story, but it certainly gains a lot when you know what came before.
At first, this story seems to bear no relation to the first, but when Jane Dove's identity is revealed, it all makes sense. It is possible that this could be read as a standalone story, but it certainly gains a lot when you know what came before.
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