The Door through Washington Square

by Elaine Bergstrom

Dierdre MacCallum is summoned to her great-grandmum Bridget's house to settle her affairs. She opens the sun room's french doors to the sunlight-- and finds a doorway to the past, seventy-two years ago.

There she will meet great-grandmum as a young lady. She will find love with a man destined to die before she was born. And she will find danger as she uncovers Bridget's secret--her involvement with the infamous Alistair Crowley, whose dabblings in the dark powers promise destruction for the MacCallum clan.

Now Dierdre must set things right, and rescue both her family, and her one true love...

Genres: Fantasy, Time Travel, Romance, Fiction, Paranormal, Cats, Historical Fantasy

360 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Elaine Bergstrom is a Milwaukee-based novelist whose writing melds vampire, romance, mystery and, always, suspense.

Her first published piece of fiction was her first novel, Shattered Glass (1989). It introduced the character of the immortal Stephen Austra and artist Helen Wells, a victim of polio, along with Stephen's family of vampires who are “born not created and have an abhorrance for coffins, particulary their own.” The novel was a critical success, a consistent favorite with readers of adult-oriented vampire fiction. Bergstrom has written six novels in the Austra series, including Daughter of the Night, which featured Elizabeth Bathory as a half-breed Austra vampire. Beyond Sundown, the newest book in the Austra series, released early in 2011. The Violin, a novella, in 2012. Most are in print. All are available on Amazon kindle or through the author's website www.elainebergstrom.com

Using her grandmother's name, Marie Kiraly, Bergstrom wrote a sequel to Dracula called Mina ... The Dracula Story Continues, and its sequel, Blood to Blood ... The Dracula Story Continues, which both look at Mina Harker as a woman changed by her experience in Transylvania, struggling to find her way in the repressive Victorian society. Both were featured in the Science Fiction Book Club and Doubleday Book Club.

For the novel Madeline ... After the Fall of Usher, she adopted Poe’s journalistic style to tell a story in which the details of the last few months of Poe’s life are correct, with her own fictional story overlaid on them.


J. Gordon Melton (The Vampire Encyclopedia) notes that Shattered Glass contains "one of the most horrific scenes in vampire literature." (less)

Reviews

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that seduced me with its cover but didn’t quite deliver the goods. The time travel parts are interesting but the magick bits are rather dry. I cared more about the secondary characters than the main ones (mostly because the insta-love that sprang up between them was disappointing and rushed.). Finally the plot felt uneven and carried a few small loopholes.
Overall- this is an okay read but nothing spectacular.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This takes time travel and multiple story lines to a whole new level!! I enjoyed the plot for the most part. I felt the author used the time traveling and the magic as a way to introduce new details without explanation; something changed because of the magic. I loved Bridget. She was a feisty old woman and very powerful and intelligent, especially considering the era of her birth.

[Lynette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the book for me. Way too much magick and sex. And the author had the Spanish flu pandemic off by 10 years, and got Bridget's brothers' names wrong.

[Deedee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel kept switching genres -- the reader can either appreciate the unusual combination, or get annoyed. The genres: straightforward science fiction oriented time travel, historical fiction, time travel romance with a touch of the occult.

I appreciated the novel more when I realized that a major character in the novel, Aleister Crowley, really existed, and that some of his actions in the novel were actions that he really did, thus proving once again that truth is stranger than fiction.

from Wikipedia:
[ Aleister Crowley (born Edward Alexander Crowley (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He was responsible for founding the religion and philosophy of Thelema, in which role he identified himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Aeon of Horus in the early 20th century. ]

Of course, the real-life Aleister Crowley did not have the success with his occult practices that the novel’s Aleister Crowley did.

Overall, I liked the novel. Recommended for when you are in the mood for a fantastical – historical occult novel with a touch of romance.

[AquaMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. I get it. Time travel stories are HARD to manage. Especially when a character or characters keep going back and fourth and deliberately messing with events in order to change things. It's a lot to keep track of. And this was a good try. I appreciated what the author was trying to do. Because I did like the story...even if the female lead was totally emo and whiny (a terrible thing in the era of Grrl Power).

BUT (and it's a big 'but'...like "Rap Guy's Girlfriend"-sized but)

But...I think the author got confused while writing. Because the events and such (like the time of year events were supposed to have happened) in the two timelines just didn't match up. By the end things were so convoluted I didn't know what was what.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

REad this in NYC this summer. Found the story disappointing and very convoluted, too much bringing in of historic and famous personages. Even the back and forth in time element didn't really grab me. But I did love the descriptions of Washington Square, and released it in the Square in June.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow but interesting.

[Roslyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time travel romance I read in 1998 that I found engaging and enjoyable but don't remember much more about! I really should re-read this. It might be closer to 4 stars than 3, really.

[Maria (miamaria_348) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Läste om boken på semestern. Kanske inte lika bra som förra gången jag läste den då jag blev mer överraskad. Tycker om historier om det förgångna som påverkar nuet, i denna bok på mer än ett sätt.

[Jennifer]

Strangest book ever...