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To Guide Her Home
In the late nineteenth century Lydia Prescott has no ambition to settle down to marriage until she has travelled and seen the world. But her life and emotions are shaken up when she meets Doctor Russell Brooks. Unknown to Lydia, Russ is actually an electronics engineer and living in 1998. They are linked by Lydia’s home, Prescott Grange on the outskirts of Worcester. In Russ’s time, this has been converted into stylish apartments and he has discovered a winding staircase that leads him into the Victorian era.
Russ finds he’s attracted to the beautiful fair-haired young woman; a woman very different from those he knows in the twentieth century. But is their love possible when it spans over one hundred years? Russ endeavours to turn himself into a nineteenth century gentleman hoping to win Lydia’s heart by playing to her rules. A rival in the person of Doctor Aiden Kinkard spoils his endeavours since Kinkard is determined that Lydia will become his wife.
Russ hopes that one day he will persuade Lydia to live with him in his time, but this has terrible consequences for Lydia and will put her life in danger. As Russ learns more about Doctor Kinkard and begins to question the man’s motives and identity, he comes to realise he has met pure evil.
NB: This story contains scenes that some readers might find distressing for a time travel romance. Be advised if you're of a sensitive nature.
Russ finds he’s attracted to the beautiful fair-haired young woman; a woman very different from those he knows in the twentieth century. But is their love possible when it spans over one hundred years? Russ endeavours to turn himself into a nineteenth century gentleman hoping to win Lydia’s heart by playing to her rules. A rival in the person of Doctor Aiden Kinkard spoils his endeavours since Kinkard is determined that Lydia will become his wife.
Russ hopes that one day he will persuade Lydia to live with him in his time, but this has terrible consequences for Lydia and will put her life in danger. As Russ learns more about Doctor Kinkard and begins to question the man’s motives and identity, he comes to realise he has met pure evil.
NB: This story contains scenes that some readers might find distressing for a time travel romance. Be advised if you're of a sensitive nature.
- GenresTime Travel
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 31, 2015
About the author
Julia Bell
13 books209 followersI'm a writer of historical romances mostly and I'm pleased to say my historical romance Songbird won a Chill Book Premier Readers' Award in March 2019 and in September 2020 it was the Finalist Winner in historical romance with Readers' Favourite. I've also been awarded a 5* review from Readers' Favourite for The Wild Poppy (2021) and A Cruel Suspicion (2023).
I've lived in Yorkshire, England for most of my life. I have two children and five grandchildren with lots more family in the North of England.
I've done many jobs in my time, including a nurse; training at St James's Hospital in Leeds and I've also done 'time' working for the Prison Service.
When my children were young I successfully completed an Open University degree studying psychology and sociology.
I'm now a proud member of Promoting Yorkshire Authors and love attending the get-togethers and meeting other authors.
As well as writing I love country walks and travelling abroad. I have great fun while waiting at bus stations, railways stations, airports and ferry ports - any place where people are on the move, as I'm a terrible people watcher.
I've lived in Yorkshire, England for most of my life. I have two children and five grandchildren with lots more family in the North of England.
I've done many jobs in my time, including a nurse; training at St James's Hospital in Leeds and I've also done 'time' working for the Prison Service.
When my children were young I successfully completed an Open University degree studying psychology and sociology.
I'm now a proud member of Promoting Yorkshire Authors and love attending the get-togethers and meeting other authors.
As well as writing I love country walks and travelling abroad. I have great fun while waiting at bus stations, railways stations, airports and ferry ports - any place where people are on the move, as I'm a terrible people watcher.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 24, 2015
As the four stars show - I really liked it.
I’ve read one of Julia Bell’s books before – she’s a good writer so when I saw that she had written a time travel book, I quickly downloaded it. It wasn’t long before I was hooked by this very good story and I started snatching time to read it. Julia Bell knows how to spring a few surprises and this is a story, be warned, that gets a bit gory but there’s a good reason for this.
I’ve read one of Julia Bell’s books before – she’s a good writer so when I saw that she had written a time travel book, I quickly downloaded it. It wasn’t long before I was hooked by this very good story and I started snatching time to read it. Julia Bell knows how to spring a few surprises and this is a story, be warned, that gets a bit gory but there’s a good reason for this.
June 20, 2018
Russell Brooks is an engineer living in Prescott Grange in 21st century. He just moved in and one night he hears music playing and decides to investigate. The old manor house has been converted into multiple apartments with his being the only one with an outside entrance on the back.
When he follows the sound of the music, he discovers some stone stairs leading up to one of the upper apartments. But, when he goes up the stairs he enters the manor house as it was back in the late 19th century, 1888 to be exact. He walks into the servants quarters and sees life as it was back then. He is so startled that he quickly returns down the stairs only to be intrigued later to find out more. He again climbs the stone staircase but finds only a stone wall so he goes back to his apartment. A few days later he tries again and this time the 'wall' is open and he again enters the house of the Prescott family. He meets Lydia Prescott, the 19 year old younger daughter, of the family. This is a wonderful book with the time travel aspect of being able to come and go between centuries. There is much mystery, a doctor who wants to marry Lydia, but she has fallen for Russell Brooks. It is a short novel but well worth the read. I will be reading more of Julia Bell's books. This one is pleasantly surprising with much character building and much anxiety. The reader knows it must end well BUT can't be sure of that.
When he follows the sound of the music, he discovers some stone stairs leading up to one of the upper apartments. But, when he goes up the stairs he enters the manor house as it was back in the late 19th century, 1888 to be exact. He walks into the servants quarters and sees life as it was back then. He is so startled that he quickly returns down the stairs only to be intrigued later to find out more. He again climbs the stone staircase but finds only a stone wall so he goes back to his apartment. A few days later he tries again and this time the 'wall' is open and he again enters the house of the Prescott family. He meets Lydia Prescott, the 19 year old younger daughter, of the family. This is a wonderful book with the time travel aspect of being able to come and go between centuries. There is much mystery, a doctor who wants to marry Lydia, but she has fallen for Russell Brooks. It is a short novel but well worth the read. I will be reading more of Julia Bell's books. This one is pleasantly surprising with much character building and much anxiety. The reader knows it must end well BUT can't be sure of that.
August 19, 2017
Russell Brooks lives in the 20th Century and Lydia Prescott lives in the 19th Century. Their paths meet after Russell discovers a portal in Prescott Grange. A story about time travel with a difference. Russell and Lydia fall in love, but unforseen events mean that Lydia is forced to marry Doctor Aiden Kinkard, a man she does not love. There is a locked room at Kinkard's house and Lydia unfortunately witnesses first hand, the evil goings on that take place in that room. Russell hears some distressing news from his ex wife and he tries to return through the portal to try and stop a tragedy from happening.
This book has a great storyline and I enjoyed reading it. First book that I have read by Julia Bell and I will definitely be checking out her other books.
This book has a great storyline and I enjoyed reading it. First book that I have read by Julia Bell and I will definitely be checking out her other books.
August 12, 2021
Time travel and romance
I think one of my favorite things about time travel is the juxtaposition of now and then in the behavioral sense, the roles of male female responsibilities and positions.
I think one of my favorite things about time travel is the juxtaposition of now and then in the behavioral sense, the roles of male female responsibilities and positions.
December 10, 2016
House in two centuries
Creative use of unsolved serial killer mystery. Love story beyond the ages and social morals. Missing is the why for the portal. Photo album a nice finish.
Creative use of unsolved serial killer mystery. Love story beyond the ages and social morals. Missing is the why for the portal. Photo album a nice finish.
July 28, 2026
I’m a fan of Julia Bell’s writing, so I came to To Guide Her Home with high expectations — and it still managed to surpass them. If I could award more than five stars, I would. This is, without question, my favourite of her books, and I’d recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoys historical romance, time travel, or just a genuinely gripping story told with real skill.
The premise is wonderfully inventive. Lydia Prescott is a spirited, independent young woman in late Victorian England, with little interest in marriage and every intention of seeing the world first. Russ Brooks is an electronics engineer living in 1998, who discovers a winding staircase in his converted apartment — once Lydia’s family home, Prescott Grange on the outskirts of Worcester — that deposits him squarely into the nineteenth century. What follows is a love story that has to work against not just social convention but more than a hundred years of history separating them.
Bell handles the time travel with a deft touch — it adds a wonderful dimension to the romance without ever feeling gimmicky. Watching Russ navigate Victorian society, doing his best to pass himself off as a gentleman of the era in order to win Lydia’s heart, is both charming and quietly funny. But the story has real darkness in it too, and that’s largely down to the villain. Doctor Aiden Kinkard is exactly the kind of antagonist this period demands — menacing, calculating, and deeply unsettling. As Russ begins to uncover the truth about the man, the story shifts into genuinely tense territory, and the stakes feel very real indeed.
Fans of Barbara Erskine will feel right at home here. Bell blends historical atmosphere, romance and danger with the same confidence that makes Erskine’s best work so compelling. The plot is excellent and well-constructed, the pacing assured, the dialogue natural throughout. Russ and Lydia are characters you root for from the first page, and the question of whether their love can survive what separates them — not just a century, but he very real dangers that closing that gap might bring — keeps you turning pages well into the night.
Dramatic, romantic, and at times genuinely spine-tingling — this is an enormously entertaining read and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. Do not miss it.
NB: This story contains scenes that some readers might find distressing for a time travel romance. Be advised if you’re of a sensitive nature.
I award 5 stars.
The premise is wonderfully inventive. Lydia Prescott is a spirited, independent young woman in late Victorian England, with little interest in marriage and every intention of seeing the world first. Russ Brooks is an electronics engineer living in 1998, who discovers a winding staircase in his converted apartment — once Lydia’s family home, Prescott Grange on the outskirts of Worcester — that deposits him squarely into the nineteenth century. What follows is a love story that has to work against not just social convention but more than a hundred years of history separating them.
Bell handles the time travel with a deft touch — it adds a wonderful dimension to the romance without ever feeling gimmicky. Watching Russ navigate Victorian society, doing his best to pass himself off as a gentleman of the era in order to win Lydia’s heart, is both charming and quietly funny. But the story has real darkness in it too, and that’s largely down to the villain. Doctor Aiden Kinkard is exactly the kind of antagonist this period demands — menacing, calculating, and deeply unsettling. As Russ begins to uncover the truth about the man, the story shifts into genuinely tense territory, and the stakes feel very real indeed.
Fans of Barbara Erskine will feel right at home here. Bell blends historical atmosphere, romance and danger with the same confidence that makes Erskine’s best work so compelling. The plot is excellent and well-constructed, the pacing assured, the dialogue natural throughout. Russ and Lydia are characters you root for from the first page, and the question of whether their love can survive what separates them — not just a century, but he very real dangers that closing that gap might bring — keeps you turning pages well into the night.
Dramatic, romantic, and at times genuinely spine-tingling — this is an enormously entertaining read and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. Do not miss it.
NB: This story contains scenes that some readers might find distressing for a time travel romance. Be advised if you’re of a sensitive nature.
I award 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews