What do you think?
Rate this book
The Spectrum
Spreyton is a village in Devon that is haunted by many ghosts, but none is more fascinating than the spectrum, a female poltergeist who threw people about rather than furniture. One day in 1682, she began a series of spiteful attacks on Philip Conybeare, a gardener at the rectory.
Alan, a young thatcher who is helping his father to thatch the roof of the rectory, finds a ring buried deep in the reed near the chimney. The ring has the power to transport him into the past, and he and the rector's daughter, Kate, find themselves back in the seventeenth century, living out the lives of Philip Conybeare and his wife, Jane.
Unfortunately, the removal of the ring releases the power of the spectrum into the present, and she starts on another course of malicious destruction, terrorising Alan and some of the inhabitants of the village.
It needs not only all the intelligence, trust and growing affection of Kate and Alan to outwit the spectrum, but assistance, at the moment they most need help, from the most unexpected quarter.
Alan, a young thatcher who is helping his father to thatch the roof of the rectory, finds a ring buried deep in the reed near the chimney. The ring has the power to transport him into the past, and he and the rector's daughter, Kate, find themselves back in the seventeenth century, living out the lives of Philip Conybeare and his wife, Jane.
Unfortunately, the removal of the ring releases the power of the spectrum into the present, and she starts on another course of malicious destruction, terrorising Alan and some of the inhabitants of the village.
It needs not only all the intelligence, trust and growing affection of Kate and Alan to outwit the spectrum, but assistance, at the moment they most need help, from the most unexpected quarter.
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
6 people want to read
About the author
David Rees
40 books24 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
David Rees was born in London in 1936, but lived most of his adult life in Devon, where for many years he taught English Literature at Exeter University and at California State University, San Jose. In 1984, he took early retirement in order to write full-time. Author of forty-two books, he is best known for his children's novel The Exeter Blitz, which in 1978 was awarded the Carnegie Medal (UK), and The Milkman's On His Way, which, having survived much absurd controversy in Parliament, is now regarded as something of a gay classic. He also won The Other Award (UK) for his historical novel The Green Bough of Liberty. David Rees died in 1993.
David Rees was born in London in 1936, but lived most of his adult life in Devon, where for many years he taught English Literature at Exeter University and at California State University, San Jose. In 1984, he took early retirement in order to write full-time. Author of forty-two books, he is best known for his children's novel The Exeter Blitz, which in 1978 was awarded the Carnegie Medal (UK), and The Milkman's On His Way, which, having survived much absurd controversy in Parliament, is now regarded as something of a gay classic. He also won The Other Award (UK) for his historical novel The Green Bough of Liberty. David Rees died in 1993.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
Read
May 3, 2017I found this in the school library when I was 12 - it's a tale of haunting and time travel set in Devon, involving a young adult couple, Kate Coombes & Alan Coneybeare. She's quite posh and he's not, but they fall for each other.
I remember being really shocked by this, because it had the f word on page 87. And on page 124, they were clearly actually DOING IT. We were only just discovering young adult books at the time, being in our first year at secondary school and raiding the library shelves for anything remotely shocking. I preferred this kind of thing to American teen romances - despite the supernatural, I could more easily relate to a story set in Devon!
I remember being really shocked by this, because it had the f word on page 87. And on page 124, they were clearly actually DOING IT. We were only just discovering young adult books at the time, being in our first year at secondary school and raiding the library shelves for anything remotely shocking. I preferred this kind of thing to American teen romances - despite the supernatural, I could more easily relate to a story set in Devon!
Displaying 1 of 1 review