What do you think?
Rate this book
The Shadow of the Lynx
Fictional Novel, Romance, Lovestory
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
24 people are currently reading
1355 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Holt
372 books1,374 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia
Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
March 10, 2017
The Shadow of the Lynx is one of the four Victoria Holt novels that I picked up in an omnibus volume the other day. I stayed up way too late the other night paging through this one. It's kind of interesting but repelling. Published in 1971, this was later days for Victoria Holt, when I imagine she was tired of writing governess-marries-the-lord-of-the-manor stories. But this is not a romance so much as it is a story of obsession and revenge.
Set in Victorian England and Australia, this tells the story of 17 year old Nora Tamasin, a strong-willed young British woman who travels to Australia when her father dies, accepting the protection of her father's partner, Charles Herrick. She's escorted by Herrick's son Stirling, and falls in love with Stirling on the trip. But when she gets to Australia, Stirling's father, known as "the Lynx," wants her too, and Stirling defers to his father in this as in almost everything else. Nora, disappointed with Stirling and weirdly fascinated with the Lynx, marries him.
Nora gradually comes to realize that the Lynx, who was wrongly charged with a crime and shipped off to Australia as punishment, is obsessed with revenge against the English family that accused him. He wants them broken and he wants to live in their mansion, Whiteladies. Everyone around him, including his son and, to some extent, Nora, gets caught up in his Master Plan for Revenge. Since this is Victoria Holt, there's also a murder subplot that gets wedged into our story. There's also a very odd shift in perspective later in the story, as the first person point of view shifts to another woman for a number of chapters, but to say more about that would get us into spoiler territory.
Nora's father-son romances, if you can call it that, were just too off-putting for me, as was the fact that the father (who she marries at age 19) is in, as far as I can tell, his early 50s. Ewww! I skimmed most of this book. But if you're into an obsessive revenge type of historic fiction tale with a side of weird romance, you might enjoy this. As I mention in one of my comments in the thread below, the obsession and revenge-based plot was an interesting idea, but an author has to be a much more talented writer than Victoria Holt (sorry, Eleanor) to make reading about anti-heroes enjoyable for me. Someone like Daphne du Maurier, as in Rebecca, is much better bet for that kind of tale.
An odd one all the way around. Almost everyone in it needed a good solid smack upside the head. Though there is, kind of, a HEA, it's an unusual one, not what a typical romance reader might have expected or hoped for in this story.
Set in Victorian England and Australia, this tells the story of 17 year old Nora Tamasin, a strong-willed young British woman who travels to Australia when her father dies, accepting the protection of her father's partner, Charles Herrick. She's escorted by Herrick's son Stirling, and falls in love with Stirling on the trip. But when she gets to Australia, Stirling's father, known as "the Lynx," wants her too, and Stirling defers to his father in this as in almost everything else. Nora, disappointed with Stirling and weirdly fascinated with the Lynx, marries him.
Nora gradually comes to realize that the Lynx, who was wrongly charged with a crime and shipped off to Australia as punishment, is obsessed with revenge against the English family that accused him. He wants them broken and he wants to live in their mansion, Whiteladies. Everyone around him, including his son and, to some extent, Nora, gets caught up in his Master Plan for Revenge. Since this is Victoria Holt, there's also a murder subplot that gets wedged into our story. There's also a very odd shift in perspective later in the story, as the first person point of view shifts to another woman for a number of chapters, but to say more about that would get us into spoiler territory.
Nora's father-son romances, if you can call it that, were just too off-putting for me, as was the fact that the father (who she marries at age 19) is in, as far as I can tell, his early 50s. Ewww! I skimmed most of this book. But if you're into an obsessive revenge type of historic fiction tale with a side of weird romance, you might enjoy this. As I mention in one of my comments in the thread below, the obsession and revenge-based plot was an interesting idea, but an author has to be a much more talented writer than Victoria Holt (sorry, Eleanor) to make reading about anti-heroes enjoyable for me. Someone like Daphne du Maurier, as in Rebecca, is much better bet for that kind of tale.
An odd one all the way around. Almost everyone in it needed a good solid smack upside the head. Though there is, kind of, a HEA, it's an unusual one, not what a typical romance reader might have expected or hoped for in this story.
April 4, 2019
Adolescence is a nightmare.
And no one warns you.
Nobody sits you down and tells you: Hey, listen, one of these days your body is going to start dumping a seriously overwhelming amount of chemicals into your system - testosterone, estrogen, pheromones, and other assorted hormonal junk that's going to wind up doing a real number on you. Mysterious drives are going to start engaging and the level of your emotional sensitivity will ratchet up about a thousand percent. There's going to be a lot of shame and despair and a fundamental sense of frustration that festers twenty-four seven. And as if that weren't enough, one morning you're going to wake up, look in the mirror and discover your appearance, to quote Eddie Izzard, has taken on a general "plague" theme. Odd patches of hair. Pustule eruptions. Sheddings and oils and rank aromas. Sudden spurts of height and weight, even vocal tics and modulations - all of which will be ever-so-apparent to the public at large and prove at the very least awkward for you or, and this is much more likely, devastating in the extreme. And everyone's going to expect you to live with this, to deal with this, to find a way to behave inside this that won't adversely affect your grades or your ability to mount, for old time's sake, that sunny disposition we've come to know and love. And so, you know, good luck with that.
Most of us had to trick to the truth of puberty on our own. And if you're like me (and I suspect more of you are than aren't), you took a swift right turn to a book and thrust your nose in for the duration.
Those days were recalled to me recently at a library book sale, when I came across a tattered hardcover edition of The Shadow of the Lynx. The story had been one of my favorites during that fraught stage of life and I added it to my stack on sentiment alone. Would it hold up? Strangely enough, that turned out not to matter.
Nora Tamisan had only her father to raise her. He was a dreamer; an enthusiastic scallywag forever equipped with a scheme, an enterprise or an invention sure to make them rich. When he sent her off to boarding school for the brief period of time it would take to unearth his fortune in Australian gold, she acquiesced as a matter of course, understanding this was his nature. And when word arrived of his death? The time came to discover her own. Given over as ward to her father's business partner, she journeys to the land down under where her adventure will begin.
It's so clear to me why I cherished this tale. It's strong and straight and true. These are stock characters, no question about it. Types, tropes and clichés abound, along with the anachronistic gender perceptions that were a feature of the age. Yet when your head is swimming against a ravaging hormonal riptide, you're going to flail for solid ground...and, frankly, the more hackneyed the better. Trite is trite because it's familiar, and what's familiar is often safe. I was looking for a primary color in what appeared to me to be a dizzying sea of luminescence, and this is where I found it. My ship made shore, and glory be.
This is why I find I can't begrudge a teen her reading choice. Been there, hon. Whatever gets you through. Go with that.
And no one warns you.
Nobody sits you down and tells you: Hey, listen, one of these days your body is going to start dumping a seriously overwhelming amount of chemicals into your system - testosterone, estrogen, pheromones, and other assorted hormonal junk that's going to wind up doing a real number on you. Mysterious drives are going to start engaging and the level of your emotional sensitivity will ratchet up about a thousand percent. There's going to be a lot of shame and despair and a fundamental sense of frustration that festers twenty-four seven. And as if that weren't enough, one morning you're going to wake up, look in the mirror and discover your appearance, to quote Eddie Izzard, has taken on a general "plague" theme. Odd patches of hair. Pustule eruptions. Sheddings and oils and rank aromas. Sudden spurts of height and weight, even vocal tics and modulations - all of which will be ever-so-apparent to the public at large and prove at the very least awkward for you or, and this is much more likely, devastating in the extreme. And everyone's going to expect you to live with this, to deal with this, to find a way to behave inside this that won't adversely affect your grades or your ability to mount, for old time's sake, that sunny disposition we've come to know and love. And so, you know, good luck with that.
Most of us had to trick to the truth of puberty on our own. And if you're like me (and I suspect more of you are than aren't), you took a swift right turn to a book and thrust your nose in for the duration.
Those days were recalled to me recently at a library book sale, when I came across a tattered hardcover edition of The Shadow of the Lynx. The story had been one of my favorites during that fraught stage of life and I added it to my stack on sentiment alone. Would it hold up? Strangely enough, that turned out not to matter.
Nora Tamisan had only her father to raise her. He was a dreamer; an enthusiastic scallywag forever equipped with a scheme, an enterprise or an invention sure to make them rich. When he sent her off to boarding school for the brief period of time it would take to unearth his fortune in Australian gold, she acquiesced as a matter of course, understanding this was his nature. And when word arrived of his death? The time came to discover her own. Given over as ward to her father's business partner, she journeys to the land down under where her adventure will begin.
It's so clear to me why I cherished this tale. It's strong and straight and true. These are stock characters, no question about it. Types, tropes and clichés abound, along with the anachronistic gender perceptions that were a feature of the age. Yet when your head is swimming against a ravaging hormonal riptide, you're going to flail for solid ground...and, frankly, the more hackneyed the better. Trite is trite because it's familiar, and what's familiar is often safe. I was looking for a primary color in what appeared to me to be a dizzying sea of luminescence, and this is where I found it. My ship made shore, and glory be.
This is why I find I can't begrudge a teen her reading choice. Been there, hon. Whatever gets you through. Go with that.
December 20, 2020
Intricate Plot, Complex Love Relationships and a Surprise Ending!
Set in the Victorian era, this is the story of Nora Tamsin whose father died in Australia searching for gold. Now, she is to travel there to become the ward of her father’s business partner Charles Herrick, who because of his startling eyes, is known as the Lynx. She is attracted to his son, Stirling, a handsome man who is kind to her. But the Lynx has other plans and his effect upon her is overwhelming.
Holt does a great job of bringing us interesting characters. We see Australia as it was, the rough life on the edge of the bush. And we see the country life in an English mansion where secrets reside.
This story takes you from England to Australia and back again with complex relationships. Those who end up together will surprise you. Treachery lurks in England and the White Ladies estate where the Lynx was sent away in shame that was not of his doing. He wants revenge and will do much to achieve it.
Fans of Victoria Holt (of which I am one) will love this. And the ending is a surprise!
Set in the Victorian era, this is the story of Nora Tamsin whose father died in Australia searching for gold. Now, she is to travel there to become the ward of her father’s business partner Charles Herrick, who because of his startling eyes, is known as the Lynx. She is attracted to his son, Stirling, a handsome man who is kind to her. But the Lynx has other plans and his effect upon her is overwhelming.
Holt does a great job of bringing us interesting characters. We see Australia as it was, the rough life on the edge of the bush. And we see the country life in an English mansion where secrets reside.
This story takes you from England to Australia and back again with complex relationships. Those who end up together will surprise you. Treachery lurks in England and the White Ladies estate where the Lynx was sent away in shame that was not of his doing. He wants revenge and will do much to achieve it.
Fans of Victoria Holt (of which I am one) will love this. And the ending is a surprise!
December 28, 2007
This book is special to me because it was the first book I got to read out of the Adult section of the library.
August 14, 2016
Victoria Holt was a master of the brisk romantic suspense novel, usually historic and always with gothic elements, although in her novels these were never supernatural, unlike many of the other novelists of her day. "The Shadow of the Lynx" is both similar and different than her other works. It is one of the first to have much of its action taking place in Australia, which would become a favorite setting for many of her novels. It contains all of her trademark sparring dialogue between characters. Yet it is longer than many of her other books and it alternates points of view between two heroines, which she would never do again under this pen name. One of its protagonists, Nora Tamasin, displays a quite rare ability to have strong, enduring feelings for several romantic interests, which is again rare in Holt's oeuvre; and its love triangle is darker, and more adult, than most. Overall, a distinctive work within her canon and one that was a pleasure to re-read.
August 5, 2012
I have a small collection of historical romance that I like to reread every now and then. This is an extremely good read. It paints a graphic picture of the lifestyle and complicated personalities of the characters and does not have a typical ending. It's a romance without the graphic bedroom scenes.
January 7, 2024
Victoria Holt was an expert at writing gothic romantic suspense. This novel fits that description with an ancient home in England being one of the characters. White Ladies is the name of this home. It is a medieval convent turned mansion and it captures the hearts and minds of several people in the novel to the point where all reason is superseded by obsession.
Nora Tamsin was an innocent 17-year-old at the beginning of the novel when she first saw White Ladies. At that time she was on her way to meet someone who would take her to Australia to meet her new guardian, a man called The Lynx. I could not help but think this sounded like a bad idea but Nora's parents have died and she needs someone.
I enjoyed reading the contrast between Victorian English life and the hardscrabble life of an outback mining community in Australia. The characters seemed sketchy, almost every one of them. Many of them were under the shadow cast by the man known as The Lynx.
100% clean - it was originally published in 1971.
Nora Tamsin was an innocent 17-year-old at the beginning of the novel when she first saw White Ladies. At that time she was on her way to meet someone who would take her to Australia to meet her new guardian, a man called The Lynx. I could not help but think this sounded like a bad idea but Nora's parents have died and she needs someone.
I enjoyed reading the contrast between Victorian English life and the hardscrabble life of an outback mining community in Australia. The characters seemed sketchy, almost every one of them. Many of them were under the shadow cast by the man known as The Lynx.
100% clean - it was originally published in 1971.
March 20, 2013
Shadow of the Lynx by Victoria Holt was published in 1971.
Nora's father is a dreamer. He always has some invention or scheme for vast riches that somehow never manages to come true. When rumors of gold in Australia make it to his ears, he leaves Nora at school and goes out to seek his fortune. While in Australia he meets Charles also known as "The Lynx". When Nora's father dies in his pursuit of gold, Nora is taken in by "The Lynx".
Nora falls in love with Stirling, Charles's son and always believes they will one day marry. But, Lynx controls all their lives and he is on an all consuming mission to seek revenge for his wrongful conviction of robbery.
Nora, no matter how much she resist can not deny Lynx. She at once loves Stirling and Lynx. Each person in Lynx's life is used to help him achieve his goals. His obsession will take them all from England to Australia and back to England where Charles's dream of revenge will eventually come to a shocking conclusion.
Victoria Holt is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is so lush and she can suck you into a story with seemingly little effort. This one was a historical saga about one man's all consuming obsession for revenge and the sad effect this has on all the people in his life.
This one has a little bit of a twist in the end when another person's obession rivals the obssession of the all powerful Lynx.
Nora seems helplessly swept along in the plans of revenge and obssession although she has the backbone to stand up and voice her opinion, it seems to do her little good.
What I had a hard time with was the complete and total adoration of Stirling to his father and his then his father's obsessions becoming his own to the point of destroying his own happiness.
But, it was a very interesting novel. Strangely absorbing. I liked it, but not as much some others by this author.
This style of novel is often forgotten about, but these books are probably still in your local library.
Overall a B-
Nora's father is a dreamer. He always has some invention or scheme for vast riches that somehow never manages to come true. When rumors of gold in Australia make it to his ears, he leaves Nora at school and goes out to seek his fortune. While in Australia he meets Charles also known as "The Lynx". When Nora's father dies in his pursuit of gold, Nora is taken in by "The Lynx".
Nora falls in love with Stirling, Charles's son and always believes they will one day marry. But, Lynx controls all their lives and he is on an all consuming mission to seek revenge for his wrongful conviction of robbery.
Nora, no matter how much she resist can not deny Lynx. She at once loves Stirling and Lynx. Each person in Lynx's life is used to help him achieve his goals. His obsession will take them all from England to Australia and back to England where Charles's dream of revenge will eventually come to a shocking conclusion.
Victoria Holt is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is so lush and she can suck you into a story with seemingly little effort. This one was a historical saga about one man's all consuming obsession for revenge and the sad effect this has on all the people in his life.
This one has a little bit of a twist in the end when another person's obession rivals the obssession of the all powerful Lynx.
Nora seems helplessly swept along in the plans of revenge and obssession although she has the backbone to stand up and voice her opinion, it seems to do her little good.
What I had a hard time with was the complete and total adoration of Stirling to his father and his then his father's obsessions becoming his own to the point of destroying his own happiness.
But, it was a very interesting novel. Strangely absorbing. I liked it, but not as much some others by this author.
This style of novel is often forgotten about, but these books are probably still in your local library.
Overall a B-
June 10, 2009
Thomas Tamasin spends his life chasing rainbows and leaves his daughter Nora firmly ensconced at school as he chases the biggest one of all and heads for the gold fields of Australia. He soon dies and leaves Nora in the care partner/employer Charles Herrick - also known as The Lynx for his dominating personality. Charles's son Stirling arrives in England to escort Nora to Australia, but they make a curious stop at a country estate called The Whiteladies (named for the nunnery it had been at one time) and Stirling seems to have a strange interest in the estate and it's inhabitants. Stranger still, when Nora arrives in Australia the Herrick home is a copy of Whiteladies.
Nora soon discovers that The Lynx has a mysterious past of his own, falsely accused of theft in England and deported to Australia as a criminal. As the Herrick family's fortune increases it leads them ever closer to the obsession of Charles - enacting financial havoc on those he blames for his false conviction. Nora and Stirling return to England with Stirling bent on completing his father's plans for revenge. They soon insert themselves into the lives of the residents of Whiteladies as Nora fights to stop Stirling before his lust for revenge destroys all their lives.
Whew, that's more plot description than I care to give but there's not much on the product page. I found this book a bit slow paced at times and a tad too predictable, especially the murder attempts on Minta. I also found the alternating POV's between Sara and Minta in the latter part of the book quite distracting. A nice comfort read for a rainy day - it's a good book, just not a great one. 3/5 stars.
Nora soon discovers that The Lynx has a mysterious past of his own, falsely accused of theft in England and deported to Australia as a criminal. As the Herrick family's fortune increases it leads them ever closer to the obsession of Charles - enacting financial havoc on those he blames for his false conviction. Nora and Stirling return to England with Stirling bent on completing his father's plans for revenge. They soon insert themselves into the lives of the residents of Whiteladies as Nora fights to stop Stirling before his lust for revenge destroys all their lives.
Whew, that's more plot description than I care to give but there's not much on the product page. I found this book a bit slow paced at times and a tad too predictable, especially the murder attempts on Minta. I also found the alternating POV's between Sara and Minta in the latter part of the book quite distracting. A nice comfort read for a rainy day - it's a good book, just not a great one. 3/5 stars.
October 27, 2021
I should have known I was in dicey territory when I saw this was set in Australia. Victoria Holt suffers from The Georgette Heyer Problem, which is, essentially, casual bigotry and a fondness for English imperialism.
There is social commentary in here about the destructiveness of greed and revenge, but what I took from it was that charming white men always land on their feet. Charles Herrick, better known as Lynx, was sent to Australia as a convict after being falsely accused of a crime. In barely any time at all, he works his way up as a trusted servant in a manor home, eventually marrying his employer's daughter. He uses his charm, wit, and skills to amass a fortune, but it isn't enough. He wants revenge.
Nora, our heroine, is much younger when she meets Lynx. After being orphaned she's sent to live with him in Australia as his ward. Nora is fond of Lynx's son and heir, Sterling, but she soon catches Lynx's eye, and he wants her for a wife.
The Shadow of the Lynx is an apt title. The problem with having a character that sucks all of the air out of the room is that it becomes unbearable when they leave the room.
There is social commentary in here about the destructiveness of greed and revenge, but what I took from it was that charming white men always land on their feet. Charles Herrick, better known as Lynx, was sent to Australia as a convict after being falsely accused of a crime. In barely any time at all, he works his way up as a trusted servant in a manor home, eventually marrying his employer's daughter. He uses his charm, wit, and skills to amass a fortune, but it isn't enough. He wants revenge.
Nora, our heroine, is much younger when she meets Lynx. After being orphaned she's sent to live with him in Australia as his ward. Nora is fond of Lynx's son and heir, Sterling, but she soon catches Lynx's eye, and he wants her for a wife.
The Shadow of the Lynx is an apt title. The problem with having a character that sucks all of the air out of the room is that it becomes unbearable when they leave the room.
October 5, 2024
I was simultaneously compelled and repelled. This is a very non formulaic Holt, so if you’re into this genre and think Holt was too repetitive, you might like this.
January 23, 2013
Fantastic example of why I love Victoria Holt's work. The story takes you across the world and is filled with mystery and adventure and at it's heart is a story of love and revenge. What more could you ask for?
The plot revolves around, first, young Nora who is embarking on a life-changing journey to Australia to be with her ward, a man she has never met. Nora's father left her in the care of a complete stranger who sends only his son to usher her back to her new home. Before they begin their trip, Nora and her escort, Sterling, make a chance visit to a very fascinating old house in England. While the simple tea time spent within the garden walls seems insignificant, it becomes a far more important part of the story as Nora and Sterling have met a Minta and her family.
The book switches between Minta and Nora's stories so you hear both sides and you will be constantly surprised by where the story takes you and ends up.
The plot revolves around, first, young Nora who is embarking on a life-changing journey to Australia to be with her ward, a man she has never met. Nora's father left her in the care of a complete stranger who sends only his son to usher her back to her new home. Before they begin their trip, Nora and her escort, Sterling, make a chance visit to a very fascinating old house in England. While the simple tea time spent within the garden walls seems insignificant, it becomes a far more important part of the story as Nora and Sterling have met a Minta and her family.
The book switches between Minta and Nora's stories so you hear both sides and you will be constantly surprised by where the story takes you and ends up.
September 20, 2019
I forgot about the details about this book, but I remember the plot and a quote that gives me a chill, even today: You've spent your life preparing revenge. You should've spent it searching for happiness.
These two lines summarize the tragic life, under difficult circumstances. It's quite shocking how influential the main male protagonist is, when his ideas are passed to his heir and then to a woman he's been fond of. The revenge he seeks is a payment for a hurtful pride and prejudice towards him, but it's not some cliche that's been seen, over and over. You need to read it, to understand it's full meaning and I'm also considering it to give this novel a new try. It was different than anything else I've read before or after and with that reason I've put it in my top 5 British novels. Of course, at the end of the year I may change it, but until that time, this work will stay among my favorite titles.
These two lines summarize the tragic life, under difficult circumstances. It's quite shocking how influential the main male protagonist is, when his ideas are passed to his heir and then to a woman he's been fond of. The revenge he seeks is a payment for a hurtful pride and prejudice towards him, but it's not some cliche that's been seen, over and over. You need to read it, to understand it's full meaning and I'm also considering it to give this novel a new try. It was different than anything else I've read before or after and with that reason I've put it in my top 5 British novels. Of course, at the end of the year I may change it, but until that time, this work will stay among my favorite titles.
April 4, 2024
Although somewhat predictable, the premise of the story was interesting, for lack of a better word. If you like to read about overwhelming revenge and greed, this book would be to your liking. At times it was a bit redundant in characters, action, and dialogue. Most of the characters were incredibly weak-willed and unlikeable. I listened to the audio book. It became a bit tedious and I found my mind wandering, but able to tune back in and still follow the storyline. The narration was okay. However, sometimes, particularly in dialogue, it was hard to distinguish between characters. The quality of the recording was quite poor. Throughout the entire audio book, there was a white noise in the background. I didn’t absolutely hate the book, but I was glad when it finally ended.
October 9, 2014
Another personal favourite of mine. This novel was a marked departure from the usual Holt style of writing. The heroine itself is very different from previous holt heroines very spirited and plucky and the location Australia comes alive in this book. Also there is more of sexual content in this book than any of her other novels. The ending may not be the one u might expect. I love this book and never grow tired of reading this one.
October 12, 2019
Regressing to my teenage years and re-reading an old favourite. I loved Ms Holt back in the day and while it was nice giving her a go again I'm not sure I'd want to re-read any of her other books. While I've fallen in love with all things Gothic I found this one just a bit silly. An o.k read but nothing special.
March 20, 2024
i never thought i'd enjoy a book like this so much but then again-- the lynx had me on my knees...
April 17, 2023
Added to my knowledge of NSW and the Aussie gold rush. Loved the mystery and pov switching too
November 12, 2024
Esta historia realmente me gustó .
No es una historia para todos, y no me gustó particularmente porque los giros o como se desarrolla la trama me haya encantado, si no porque es una historia realista y sobre todo bien construida.
Nora Tamasin es una adolescente que debe dejar toda su vida en Inglaterra para irse a vivir a Australia junto con su nuevo tutor tras la muerte de su padre. " El lince", comienza a vivir en este entorno y durante todo el rato el interés amoroso de Nora es Stirling el hijo del Lince.
No me caía muy bien el chico, me parece que carecía de gracia, pero siento que Nora logro una conexión con él, aunque no me queda muy claro si como amigos, hermanos o interés amoroso. Cuando la historia transcurre ella se hace la idea de una vida a su lado, teniendo hijos y viviendo junto con el Lince en una hermosa casa y justo eso es lo que me hace dudar de los sentimientos de Nora. No sé si al final ella se hace esa idea en su cabeza o si realmente lo quiere ( Who knows ???)?.
Pero definitivamente el Plot Twist que destruyó mi cabeza fue el hecho de que el Lince no viera a Nora como su hija , si no como MUJER. Le pide que se case con él y es como "Que?" , definitivamente no pude procesar eso de buena manera, me parecía terrible y nomaemde cuantas masneras el Lince manipulo a Nora para que aceptara dicha propuesta. Por más que Nora "fuera muy madura para su edad " no dejaba de ser una niña y el Lince un viejo .
También es cierto que nuestra Nora tampoco veía tan mal todo esto , no quiero decir que fue obligada o algo así, solo que si comparamos una relación de una chica de 19 años con un viejo de quizá 60 años pues no importa cuánto lo,quieras o como lo veas al final del día este hombre le lleva toda una vida de experiencia y no veo que Nora esté tomando buenas decisiones.
Además que dentro de todo el Lince cuando le propone matrimonio no le deja otra opción más que el decir que si, el maldito viejo todo lo que quería lo conseguía.
La verdad odie eso no se de cuántas maneras posibles.
Lo bueno es que el final de Nora no es trágico, no se queda ni con el simplón de Stirling que su único objetivo en la vida es complacer al Lince , ni con el Lince quien no puedo entender como podía ver a Nora de esa manera.
Sin embargo pese a todo esto , yo siento que el libro está muy bien escrito. Tiene una historia muy acogedora y la verdad es que yo ame a Nora, también hay que situarnos en la época de la historia quizá 1890? . Siento que victoria Holt logro algo muy bueno y hoy en pleno 2024 , el libro sigue siendo una excelente opción para pasar el rato.
Siento que también deja reflexivo a la persona que lo lee, o por lo menos yo me cuestione varias cositas de la vida.
Entonces siento que como libro es muy bueno, lo recomiendo y personalmente sí me gustó , cumplelas 5 estrellas
😊
No es una historia para todos, y no me gustó particularmente porque los giros o como se desarrolla la trama me haya encantado, si no porque es una historia realista y sobre todo bien construida.
Nora Tamasin es una adolescente que debe dejar toda su vida en Inglaterra para irse a vivir a Australia junto con su nuevo tutor tras la muerte de su padre. " El lince", comienza a vivir en este entorno y durante todo el rato el interés amoroso de Nora es Stirling el hijo del Lince.
No me caía muy bien el chico, me parece que carecía de gracia, pero siento que Nora logro una conexión con él, aunque no me queda muy claro si como amigos, hermanos o interés amoroso. Cuando la historia transcurre ella se hace la idea de una vida a su lado, teniendo hijos y viviendo junto con el Lince en una hermosa casa y justo eso es lo que me hace dudar de los sentimientos de Nora. No sé si al final ella se hace esa idea en su cabeza o si realmente lo quiere ( Who knows ???)?.
Pero definitivamente el Plot Twist que destruyó mi cabeza fue el hecho de que el Lince no viera a Nora como su hija , si no como MUJER. Le pide que se case con él y es como "Que?" , definitivamente no pude procesar eso de buena manera, me parecía terrible y nomaemde cuantas masneras el Lince manipulo a Nora para que aceptara dicha propuesta. Por más que Nora "fuera muy madura para su edad " no dejaba de ser una niña y el Lince un viejo .
También es cierto que nuestra Nora tampoco veía tan mal todo esto , no quiero decir que fue obligada o algo así, solo que si comparamos una relación de una chica de 19 años con un viejo de quizá 60 años pues no importa cuánto lo,quieras o como lo veas al final del día este hombre le lleva toda una vida de experiencia y no veo que Nora esté tomando buenas decisiones.
Además que dentro de todo el Lince cuando le propone matrimonio no le deja otra opción más que el decir que si, el maldito viejo todo lo que quería lo conseguía.
La verdad odie eso no se de cuántas maneras posibles.
Lo bueno es que el final de Nora no es trágico, no se queda ni con el simplón de Stirling que su único objetivo en la vida es complacer al Lince , ni con el Lince quien no puedo entender como podía ver a Nora de esa manera.
Sin embargo pese a todo esto , yo siento que el libro está muy bien escrito. Tiene una historia muy acogedora y la verdad es que yo ame a Nora, también hay que situarnos en la época de la historia quizá 1890? . Siento que victoria Holt logro algo muy bueno y hoy en pleno 2024 , el libro sigue siendo una excelente opción para pasar el rato.
Siento que también deja reflexivo a la persona que lo lee, o por lo menos yo me cuestione varias cositas de la vida.
Entonces siento que como libro es muy bueno, lo recomiendo y personalmente sí me gustó , cumplelas 5 estrellas
😊
February 5, 2012
When I was dusting off my bookshelf, I found this book, a book I read oh so long time ago that I barely remember the plot or the characters. Which means that this book wasn't memorable at all. But as I read the blurb at the back of the book, strange remembrance started creeping into my memory and I started "feeling" what I felt when I first read this book.
It was bizarre. The story was a romance story, and I liked the protagonist, but didn't like the love triangle she fell into by falling in love with a friend of her father and her son! That was freaking strange. I remember that the father was doing business with Nora's father, until Nora's father died or something. Then Nora went to live with the Lynx and the son.
The relationship with Nora and the son was flowering, and I thought it was really sweet. Then out of the blue she feels something for the father too! That was freaking creepy! And nasty. I was hoping that she'd choose the son rather than the father. But she chose Lynx. *shudders*
And the son ended up with a girl I didn't really like, but he was having an affair with her or something. Anyway, they secretly liked each other and I felt that as a betrayal to Nora and my inclinations for their relationship.
Ms. Holt likes to write strong, independent woman who fall in love with the strangest of individuals, totally unexpected though they're all handsome and hunky guys.
It was bizarre. The story was a romance story, and I liked the protagonist, but didn't like the love triangle she fell into by falling in love with a friend of her father and her son! That was freaking strange. I remember that the father was doing business with Nora's father, until Nora's father died or something. Then Nora went to live with the Lynx and the son.
The relationship with Nora and the son was flowering, and I thought it was really sweet. Then out of the blue she feels something for the father too! That was freaking creepy! And nasty. I was hoping that she'd choose the son rather than the father. But she chose Lynx. *shudders*
And the son ended up with a girl I didn't really like, but he was having an affair with her or something. Anyway, they secretly liked each other and I felt that as a betrayal to Nora and my inclinations for their relationship.
Ms. Holt likes to write strong, independent woman who fall in love with the strangest of individuals, totally unexpected though they're all handsome and hunky guys.
February 7, 2013
É um livro interessante, mas confesso que não gostei, visto que são poucos livros q gosto que são narrados em 1ª pessoa. este é narrado por duas protagonistas: Nora e Minta, cuja vidas se entrelaçam num certo ponto. Não gostei porque em nenhum momento houve um tcham, aquele estalo que sentimos quando dois personagens se encontram e a gente começa a torcer por eles.
Há pouco cenas românticas e Lynx/Lince que dá nome ao título era carismático, poderoso e lutava por tudo aquilo que queria. mas tinham eu senti uma certa ambiguidade nele, nunca descobri se ele alguma vez amou de verdade as mulheres que passaram pela vida dele, sempre havia mais de uma mulher apaixonado por ele, na juventude, no exílio na Austrália, algumas delas tinham uma relação de amor e ódio com ele. E não sei se ele casou por amor ou interesse com Nora quando esta encontrou o ouro, que lhe permitiu tornar-se poderoso para completar sua vingança, uma vingança sem sentido pois o personagem que lhe fizera mau já estava morto e mesmo com todos os defeitos eu gostei muito dele. Stirling, achei um mera cópia do pai, fraco e não soube lutar pela mulher que amava e 2 vz a deixou. Quando chegou na narrativa de Minta, senti vontade de abandonar o livro. Não gostei do final pois Nora termina com alguém pelo qual não estava nem mesmo apaixonada e não recomendo.
Há pouco cenas românticas e Lynx/Lince que dá nome ao título era carismático, poderoso e lutava por tudo aquilo que queria. mas tinham eu senti uma certa ambiguidade nele, nunca descobri se ele alguma vez amou de verdade as mulheres que passaram pela vida dele, sempre havia mais de uma mulher apaixonado por ele, na juventude, no exílio na Austrália, algumas delas tinham uma relação de amor e ódio com ele. E não sei se ele casou por amor ou interesse com Nora quando esta encontrou o ouro, que lhe permitiu tornar-se poderoso para completar sua vingança, uma vingança sem sentido pois o personagem que lhe fizera mau já estava morto e mesmo com todos os defeitos eu gostei muito dele. Stirling, achei um mera cópia do pai, fraco e não soube lutar pela mulher que amava e 2 vz a deixou. Quando chegou na narrativa de Minta, senti vontade de abandonar o livro. Não gostei do final pois Nora termina com alguém pelo qual não estava nem mesmo apaixonada e não recomendo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2022
For an Australia setting, I chose Victoria Holt's The Shadow of the Lynx, which is a historical novel set in England and Australia.
The orphaned heroine Nora is sent to live with her new guardian in Australia's gold fields. Lynx as Charles Herrick is called, is a man driven by revenge against those who falsely convicted him and had him transported to Australia.
This is one of those sweeping sagas that covers years and the globe. There is a love story between an older man and younger woman. Also a love triangle that doesn't end as the reader might expect.
Those two items, a love triangle and a romance between an older man and younger woman, can be contentious tropes in today's stories. Some readers love to read them and others loathe them. This polarization can be seen in this book's reviews.
Although the book is set in Australia and there are mentions of the convict ships, the flora and fauna, in some ways I didn't think this book was as deeply rooted within its Australian setting as when the story was set in England. Maybe that was because the author was English herself.
Still Victoria Holt can tell a spellbinding historical tale no matter where it's set.
The orphaned heroine Nora is sent to live with her new guardian in Australia's gold fields. Lynx as Charles Herrick is called, is a man driven by revenge against those who falsely convicted him and had him transported to Australia.
This is one of those sweeping sagas that covers years and the globe. There is a love story between an older man and younger woman. Also a love triangle that doesn't end as the reader might expect.
Those two items, a love triangle and a romance between an older man and younger woman, can be contentious tropes in today's stories. Some readers love to read them and others loathe them. This polarization can be seen in this book's reviews.
Although the book is set in Australia and there are mentions of the convict ships, the flora and fauna, in some ways I didn't think this book was as deeply rooted within its Australian setting as when the story was set in England. Maybe that was because the author was English herself.
Still Victoria Holt can tell a spellbinding historical tale no matter where it's set.
January 18, 2008
This is my second Victoria Holt, and I don't think it was as good as the Landower Legacy. It focuses on Nora, a young woman who only has her father, and he dies in Australia hunting for gold while she is at finishing school. She is then sent to his partner in Australia, who will be her guardian. The man goes by the name Lynx, because he is a powerful, magnetic man, with the hypnotic eyes of a lynx. And even though he is her father's age, he becomes interested in her, and asks her to marry him, even though she is in love with his son, Stirling. Quite a little incestuous there, Ms. Holt! The book did keep my interest, especially on the long flight from Miami to Los Angeles that I took the week after Christmas. I definitely plan on reading more of her work. What fun!
May 18, 2013
As with all Victoria Holt's books, there was a lot of mysterious goings on. Very good read and I have yet to be disappointed in any of her books I've read so far. I think I've almost all of them, but know there are a few that I haven't read yet and look forward to reading them also. My goal is to have each and every Victoria Holt book published.
February 5, 2014
Victoria Holt is a very good writer. I was drawn into the characters immediately and enjoyed this novel. It wasn't a "typical" romance. I don't think she ever wrote a typical romance! I like reading her because she writes character driven stories and I like those the best. I recommend this to those who like drama and romance, but not the typical type.
March 11, 2024
This one might not be one of Victoria Holt's most prominent novels, but it's definitely worth reading.
This was a revisit for me, I read it abot four years ago, it was my first outing with her, and I enjoyed it but I think I enjoy it more now. I wish I'd kept my paperback, but I got to listen to the audio for free with my membership.
This was a revisit for me, I read it abot four years ago, it was my first outing with her, and I enjoyed it but I think I enjoy it more now. I wish I'd kept my paperback, but I got to listen to the audio for free with my membership.
March 17, 2008
I read all of Victoria Holt mystery/romance books in my 30s. Holt books are a higher caliber of romance fiction than something like Harlequins. Historically accurate. Good recreational reading with something to keep you turning pages.
June 6, 2009
not big on love stories, but this one wasn't too bad. It spoke to the control a woman has over herself and her intimate involvements without being gaudy or crass(it IS based in the 19th century). It even had a realistic ending without a ot of tooth-aching saccharine.
April 3, 2016
Books written by Victoria Holt are so cheesy, but sometimes that's exactly what you need. I've read a loooot of her books when I was 14/15 years old..that was the last time I've read them. I absolutely loved them at the time. I'm thinking of reading one of her books just for the old times sake! =)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews