The Widow of Ratchets

by Owen Brookes

Here is a gothic tale in the finest tradition of Thomas Tryon, Victoria Holt, and Phyllis Whitney-an auspicious debut for Owen Brookes.

The Widow of Ratchets tells the slightly supernatural and highly ominous story of American Lyndsay Kramer Dolben, an attractive newlywed who arrives in England to rejoin her husband only to be immediately informed of his recent death. Overcome with grief, the young widow travels to Ratchets, the remote village where Michael's family has lived for centuries. But even before the funeral arrangements are completed, Lyndsay begins to suspect that the traditions of the town and its inhabitants, especially their unorthodox reverence for the Land, are frightening and peculiar. The unraveling of these ancient and bloody fertility rituals and incestuous primitive taboos keeps her intellectually and emotionally occupied for the remainder of this awesome and gripping story. Through Lyndsay's eyes and actions we come to understand the formidable powers of the earth. Owen Brookes has written a masterful tour de force, an occult novel at once seductive and authentic, in character and plot.

Owen Brooks, who lives and teaches in London, is the author of several works of nonfiction. The Widow of Ratchets is his first novel.

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[``Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Widow of Ratchets begins as any good gothic, horror book should as the young widow seems to be a normal person dealing with everyday normal events. Slowly the author introduces strange and weird events that the poor widow must make sense of quickly if she is to survive.

The widow was such a sympathetic heroine as she navigated her changing reality thus making this book one of my all time favorite gothic, horror books.

This was author Owen Brookes first published book and it might be difficult for him to surpass his first effort.

Definitely a 5 star book for me that I'm looking forward to rereading in the future.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars--I really liked it, but this isn't quality literature.

This is another 70s gothic (I'm addicted), and if you can ignore some of the more dated/offensive elements (super rational men slapping hysterical women and such) and some of the more lurid details (par for the course with the genre), it's an interesting English cult story with some good twists.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you liked the original version of the Wickerman and were enthralled by Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca then this is book worth reading. By turns creepy Gothic novel and ethnography. I read it in one sitting.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gothic horror, not a romance.

[Matthew Bielawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m glad I stuck with this one, a nice example of folk horror. It had several characteristics which I enjoy: English countryside, folklore, and a bit of the supernatural.

I admit that it got quite heavy with all the family connections after a nice start (so much so that at one point I thought I got tricked into reading a romance novel), but then came a few unsettling moments and hints that all is not what it seems in the village of Ratchets.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I'm so thankful for WorldCat, and my local library.

I place this book in the realm of Rebecca, The Woman in Black, Dark Matter,Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone, and A Head Full of Ghosts. All books whose plot slowly crept up on me and proceeded to disturbed me, where I had to find out how it ended.

[Scott Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I brought this as it was compared to Thomas Tryon’s Harvest Home, which is my favourite book

I have read a few that were supposed to be comparable but this one comes closest I think

Spectral Dogs, cultists, Mother Earth worship what more could you want

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts off slow and then picks up. If you stick with it, the story definitely gets better.