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The Cave
It is March 1928. The Great War has been over for ten years, but Freddie still hasn't recovered from the loss of his brother. Even now, on holiday in south-west France, he cannot escape his grief. When his car crashes, Freddie stumbles down the hills to a village nearby. There he meets Marie, a beautiful young woman, who is also mourning a lost generation. Her story of the fate of her family moves him deeply. But it will also lead him to the caves above the village - and to the heart of a shocking secret.
97 pages, Paperback
First published February 19, 2009
53 people are currently reading
1678 people want to read
About the author
Kate Mosse
91 books3,366 followersKate Mosse is an international bestselling author with sales of more than five million copies in 42 languages. Her fiction includes the novels Labyrinth (2005), Sepulchre (2007), The Winter Ghosts (2009), and Citadel (2012), as well as an acclaimed collection of short stories, The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales (2013). Kate’s new novel, The Taxidermist’s Daughter is out now.
Kate is the Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction (previously the Orange Prize) and in June 2013, was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to literature. She lives in Sussex.
Kate is the Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction (previously the Orange Prize) and in June 2013, was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to literature. She lives in Sussex.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
March 22, 2011
This book is a earlier version of "The Winter Ghosts." The first half of the book is not so interesting, in the later half the story matures. The Winter Ghosts is a far more polished version of this story.
August 11, 2020
The book is really eerie, especially when Freddie is talking to Marie at the inn and listening to her tale of woe. The last words she says are cryptic and unsettling and these are what set him off into the mountains in search of the villagers Marie told him about. The blurb is misleading. Freddie doesn’t realise 600 years have passed until he finds something in the cave. Freddie’s tale is set in 1928 and he thinks Marie is talking about something that happened during WWI. This makes it all the more unsettling and poignant when he does realise what’s going on.
July 24, 2024
This is a straight forward, historical mystery novella set in France, in March 1928. On holiday in France, Freddie crashes his car and walks to the nearest village, where he gets entangled in a 600 year old mystery involving the caves above the village. This story is apparently an earlier version of "The Winter Ghosts."
January 13, 2023
This is another Kate Mosse short story I read last month and whilst reading it I realised it was in fact based on her novel The Winter Ghosts which I read quite a long time ago. It has made me want to read that again.
The story is atmospheric with classic ghost story elements to it. The descriptions of the scenery in France and the caves were mesmerising to read about showcasing the strength of Kate Mosse’s writing. I felt like I was there in the mountains with the characters Frederick and Marie.
The plot is simple and straightforward which is perfect for a short story yet it still has that rich feel to its historical detail. It is quite a sad, moving ghost story and I must admit it was quite predictable but that didn’t stop my enjoyment.
The Cave is a beautiful yet haunting short story all about grief and needing closure to move on. A compelling little book that is perfect to read in one sitting on a cold winter night.
The story is atmospheric with classic ghost story elements to it. The descriptions of the scenery in France and the caves were mesmerising to read about showcasing the strength of Kate Mosse’s writing. I felt like I was there in the mountains with the characters Frederick and Marie.
The plot is simple and straightforward which is perfect for a short story yet it still has that rich feel to its historical detail. It is quite a sad, moving ghost story and I must admit it was quite predictable but that didn’t stop my enjoyment.
The Cave is a beautiful yet haunting short story all about grief and needing closure to move on. A compelling little book that is perfect to read in one sitting on a cold winter night.
May 30, 2018
Quite a short ghost story but very interesting to read. Although the story is predictable since the beginning, the end is well done! I really enjoyed the writing.
February 3, 2020
It’s not often that we, as readers, get to see an earlier version of a writer’s work. There’s the ubiquitous galley proof of novels but, hey, who has the time to go through 400 odd pages to spot the difference?
Way back in 2010 I read Kate Mosse’s lyrical The Winter Ghosts. I noticed then the clean and precise prose, as my review on Goodreads says. The novel is set in 1928 and is a small volume with beautiful black and white photos. I hoped that there were other novels by Mosse set in the same timeframe but the rest of her work is medieval in setting and, as most of you know, I’m firmly rooted in the first half of the last century.
Enter The Cave which I picked up about a month ago. The setting and storyline were very familiar. “It is March, 1928. The Great War has been over for ten years but Freddie still hasn’t recovered from the loss of his brother. Even now, on holiday in south-west France, he cannot escape his grief.”
I quickly realised that The Cave was an earlier version of The Winter Ghosts. The map at the front of both books are the same except in The Winter Ghosts the setting is Nulle and the main character from 1328 is called Fabrissa. In The Cave the setting is Larzat. Marie of Larzat has a believable ring to it that Fabrissa, for me, just doesn’t.
I am going against most of the reviewers on Goodreads when I say that I believe The Cave is the better version - the true, atmospheric ghost story. By expanding the novel to create The Winter Ghosts Mosse has brought in a lot of scenes that actually, for me anyway, distill the magic of the town and its inhabitants and the lost day that Freddie experiences.
For one thing the main meetings with Fabrissa in the Winter Ghosts are split over several locations and I found this weakened the energy of the plot line too. Perhaps also the switch from third person in The Cave to first in The Winter Ghosts. Suddenly in the latter novel, Freddie meets Fabrissa in a place called the Ostal and I remember having trouble believing in this unlikely gathering where as when he descends into Larzat after the car accident, the place is almost ethereal.
“Freddie walked fast across the wet ground towards a small stone bridge in the far corner of the field. As he crossed over, Freddie glanced down to the stream below. The water was racing, lapping against the underside of the bridge and splashing up over the banks.
Then, in the distance, Freddie heard the thin tolling of a church bell. The mournful single note was carried on the wind to where he stood listening. He counted the chimes.
He raised his eyebrows. Four o’clock. The last he remembered, the clock on the dashboard of the car was at two. Freddie listened until the last echo of the bell had died away then carried on across a second field covered with tiny blue and pink mountain flowers, like confetti scattered in a churchyard after a wedding. Around the edge of the field, poppies grew tall and bright red, like splashes of blood.
At last, Freddie reached the outskirts of the village. A white mist hung like a veil over everything, skimming the tops of the houses and buildings. The grass under his feet gave way to a track wide enough for a cart to pass along. The surface was muddy after the rain, the colour of gingerbread.
He came to a small wooden sign set at the side of the road.
He read the name of the village out loud.
‘Larzat.’”
This novella is a little gem.
Way back in 2010 I read Kate Mosse’s lyrical The Winter Ghosts. I noticed then the clean and precise prose, as my review on Goodreads says. The novel is set in 1928 and is a small volume with beautiful black and white photos. I hoped that there were other novels by Mosse set in the same timeframe but the rest of her work is medieval in setting and, as most of you know, I’m firmly rooted in the first half of the last century.
Enter The Cave which I picked up about a month ago. The setting and storyline were very familiar. “It is March, 1928. The Great War has been over for ten years but Freddie still hasn’t recovered from the loss of his brother. Even now, on holiday in south-west France, he cannot escape his grief.”
I quickly realised that The Cave was an earlier version of The Winter Ghosts. The map at the front of both books are the same except in The Winter Ghosts the setting is Nulle and the main character from 1328 is called Fabrissa. In The Cave the setting is Larzat. Marie of Larzat has a believable ring to it that Fabrissa, for me, just doesn’t.
I am going against most of the reviewers on Goodreads when I say that I believe The Cave is the better version - the true, atmospheric ghost story. By expanding the novel to create The Winter Ghosts Mosse has brought in a lot of scenes that actually, for me anyway, distill the magic of the town and its inhabitants and the lost day that Freddie experiences.
For one thing the main meetings with Fabrissa in the Winter Ghosts are split over several locations and I found this weakened the energy of the plot line too. Perhaps also the switch from third person in The Cave to first in The Winter Ghosts. Suddenly in the latter novel, Freddie meets Fabrissa in a place called the Ostal and I remember having trouble believing in this unlikely gathering where as when he descends into Larzat after the car accident, the place is almost ethereal.
“Freddie walked fast across the wet ground towards a small stone bridge in the far corner of the field. As he crossed over, Freddie glanced down to the stream below. The water was racing, lapping against the underside of the bridge and splashing up over the banks.
Then, in the distance, Freddie heard the thin tolling of a church bell. The mournful single note was carried on the wind to where he stood listening. He counted the chimes.
He raised his eyebrows. Four o’clock. The last he remembered, the clock on the dashboard of the car was at two. Freddie listened until the last echo of the bell had died away then carried on across a second field covered with tiny blue and pink mountain flowers, like confetti scattered in a churchyard after a wedding. Around the edge of the field, poppies grew tall and bright red, like splashes of blood.
At last, Freddie reached the outskirts of the village. A white mist hung like a veil over everything, skimming the tops of the houses and buildings. The grass under his feet gave way to a track wide enough for a cart to pass along. The surface was muddy after the rain, the colour of gingerbread.
He came to a small wooden sign set at the side of the road.
He read the name of the village out loud.
‘Larzat.’”
This novella is a little gem.
June 2, 2012
I have copies of her two most well known books, Labyrinth and Sepulchre, but I haven't gotten around to reading them yet. People rave about her work. This book was ok for a lazy afternoon's read, but it wasn't anything amazing, and to be honest it was a bit something and nothing.
It's a short story, a ghost story set in the south of France. Not the frightening kind of ghost story, but the connecting with history kind of ghost story. Just after the first world war, Freddie, a what ho English lad, is on holiday in France. He has a car accident and has to make an unplanned stop in a little mountain village. On the evening he meets Marie, who wears strange, very old fashioned clothes (why oh why could that be?) and she encourages him to go up into the hills to find the caves where she says she and her family ran to hide from persecution, and never returned....
As I said, all right to pass the time but nothing particularly amazing.
It's a short story, a ghost story set in the south of France. Not the frightening kind of ghost story, but the connecting with history kind of ghost story. Just after the first world war, Freddie, a what ho English lad, is on holiday in France. He has a car accident and has to make an unplanned stop in a little mountain village. On the evening he meets Marie, who wears strange, very old fashioned clothes (why oh why could that be?) and she encourages him to go up into the hills to find the caves where she says she and her family ran to hide from persecution, and never returned....
As I said, all right to pass the time but nothing particularly amazing.
February 11, 2022
The Cave is part of the Quick Reads series. Through the story, Kate Mosse shows us the importance of finding closure when dealing with grief and loss. Frederick Smith lost his brother in the first World War, but his body was never found and there was no funeral or memorial. For these reasons, Fred and his parents have found it difficult to deal with their loss. The story involves a time travel twist. This technique is a useful way for Mosse to deal with the emotional issues she raises in the story.
Ten years after the war, Freddie is on his way to meet some friends when his car crashes in a bad storm. He trudges to a nearby village where he finds shelter. He meets Marie but Fred realises there’s something outdated and odd about her. She tells him the tragic story of her life during war times and the loss of her family. Through sharing their stories, Fred begins to find some comfort.
Overall, the story is well written and plotted. It provides insight into the importance of the emotional release of grieving and the closure that rituals and memorials can bring.
Ten years after the war, Freddie is on his way to meet some friends when his car crashes in a bad storm. He trudges to a nearby village where he finds shelter. He meets Marie but Fred realises there’s something outdated and odd about her. She tells him the tragic story of her life during war times and the loss of her family. Through sharing their stories, Fred begins to find some comfort.
Overall, the story is well written and plotted. It provides insight into the importance of the emotional release of grieving and the closure that rituals and memorials can bring.
April 19, 2009
I think these "quick reads" books are produced to encourage non-readers to pick up a book that isn't too long and intimidating. However I don't think that is an excuse for poor writing.
I have read both Labyrinth and Sepulchre by Kate Mosse and really enjoyed them but this one felt like she had "dumbed down" her writing style. There were obviously constraints on the length of story, but I felt this was rushed and not particularly good. And the use of the main character's name was grossly overused.
Therefore I have only given this 1 star.
I have read both Labyrinth and Sepulchre by Kate Mosse and really enjoyed them but this one felt like she had "dumbed down" her writing style. There were obviously constraints on the length of story, but I felt this was rushed and not particularly good. And the use of the main character's name was grossly overused.
Therefore I have only given this 1 star.
March 12, 2017
Kate Mosse writes stories about different time periods touching each other; about lives that just briefly become intertwined. The Cave is a novella featuring two people that are connected through their loss es and grief. The idea is quite lovely, and the story leaves the reader with a sense of satisfaction. Sadly the author is occasionally too heavy-handed, spelling out themes that could better be left suggested.
July 15, 2021
Ten years after the end of the Great War, Freddie has travelled to the South of France to search for possible news of his brother George's remains. Injured in a car crash, he takes refuge in the village of Axat and meets a young woman who directs him to a Cave where she says her family sought refuge.
A moody ghost story, Mosse is razor sharp in her observations and "The Cave" is rich in period detail.
A moody ghost story, Mosse is razor sharp in her observations and "The Cave" is rich in period detail.
February 20, 2025
بينما يذهب فريدي لقضاء عطله صيفيه مع اصدقائه بعد ان فقد اخيه في الحرب العالمية الاولي فيصاب في حادث
في تلك اللحظه ما بين الواقع والخيال جاءته ماري طلبت منه المساعده وساعدها .خطر له ذلك الشعور الذي راوده بأن ثمة عيونا خفيه تراقبه وهو يجوب الغابه .
ها هي ماري وعائلتها في مقبرتهم الصغيره لن تنسي اسماؤهم الآن فالتاريخ كلمات منحزته علي الحجر لا تنسي . الكلمات تدوم عندما تتلاشى الذكريات ويغشاها النسيان
في تلك اللحظه ما بين الواقع والخيال جاءته ماري طلبت منه المساعده وساعدها .خطر له ذلك الشعور الذي راوده بأن ثمة عيونا خفيه تراقبه وهو يجوب الغابه .
ها هي ماري وعائلتها في مقبرتهم الصغيره لن تنسي اسماؤهم الآن فالتاريخ كلمات منحزته علي الحجر لا تنسي . الكلمات تدوم عندما تتلاشى الذكريات ويغشاها النسيان
March 22, 2024
This is one of very few books that I have read several times, and I truly love it.
It's historical fiction, and it takes place in southern France, where my heart lives, and it's about one of my favorite historical subjects: the cathars.
It's historical fiction, and it takes place in southern France, where my heart lives, and it's about one of my favorite historical subjects: the cathars.
April 15, 2017
Pacy but bland, until you come to the end where story takes a turn and grips you; rather too late.
May 25, 2019
This is an earlier version of the Winter Ghost and does not quite live up to the standards you expect from this author.
An easy afternoon read though.
An easy afternoon read though.
July 5, 2024
Solid but heavily predictable short story
March 8, 2025
Really enjoyed this novella.
June 8, 2018
This was my first Kate Mosse's read and I absolutely loved it!
The Cave is a novella featuring a story where two people from diffrent time periods who meet through their underlying losses and greif.
The story line is absolutely brilliant and had a good hold on me.
I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Especially to those who loves thrillers, mystery and a pinch of horror.
My favourite quote from the book -
"Words endure when memories fade into dust"
The Cave is a novella featuring a story where two people from diffrent time periods who meet through their underlying losses and greif.
The story line is absolutely brilliant and had a good hold on me.
I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Especially to those who loves thrillers, mystery and a pinch of horror.
My favourite quote from the book -
"Words endure when memories fade into dust"
October 20, 2013
It was an enjoyable read. In the quick reads size it was a perfect book for a book to read in circumstances where you could not devote your entire energy to reading due to frequent disturbances. It was NOT a romance and was well written. It provided total distraction for me as I became absorbed in the story of post world one - ten years since the death of his brother in France and still grief stricken he has a chance encounter with a beautiful young woman after he has been involved in a car accident on a desserted mountain road in France. Her story leads him to discover a shocking secret.
March 30, 2021
Точно както очаквах, втората книга от Кейт Мос, която реших да прочета въобще не ме разочарова. Една кратка история, наситена с достатъчно съспенс, исторически препратки и интересен завършек. Главният герой Фреди, попада в ужасна буря насред гората и катастрофира. От там нататък се случват разни чудатости, които го водят към голяма тайна, пазена високо в планината. Няма грешка, всичко беше достатъчно и мога да съм спокойна, когато реша да прочета следваща книга от тази авторка.
June 23, 2011
Reading this was an experiment to see if I would enjoy Kate Mosse's writing enough to embark upon one of her more epic novels. It was okay, although I didn't enjoy the ghost-element, so it is looking rather unlikely that I will read any more of her stuff in future.
April 11, 2019
Thank goodness I only wasted an hour of my life reading this. I don't like Kate Mosse's books, and I loathe stories of the supernatural. If you like either, by all means give it a go. Otherwise, avoid.
June 14, 2016
Not much suspense; I could see where it was going early on in the piece, but I did enjoy the descriptions of, not only World War I, but also 14th century France. Tickled my history bone, if nothing else.
July 13, 2017
Meh.
Read this at work today (what can I say, it was a slow afternoon), and can't say I was hugely impressed with the story or the writing. It was predictable, cliched, and ham-fisted in its execution, but it killed an hour or so, I guess.
Doubt I'll pick up anything else by this author.
Read this at work today (what can I say, it was a slow afternoon), and can't say I was hugely impressed with the story or the writing. It was predictable, cliched, and ham-fisted in its execution, but it killed an hour or so, I guess.
Doubt I'll pick up anything else by this author.
April 26, 2012
Nice short campfire ghost story.
June 23, 2014
Not awful but really not great, it's a bit too simple to be truly interesting and the 'twists' are not surprising. Feel a little cheated but at least it was only short!
May 9, 2015
Mediocre, predictable read.
November 20, 2015
Too short for my liking. But a good introduction into Kate Mosse, indeed.
Read
July 5, 2016A nice, quick read which was a little predictable but thats possibly because it would seem I've read it before!
January 10, 2019
This book was ok, but I didn't love it, sorry. It's an easy read with large print and short chapters. I got through it quickly, so it's ideal for a long journey or a holiday read.
The story idea was really good, but the writing of it was quite simple with lots of telling and not so much showing. I found the narrative a little lazy and annoying at times, with simple structures and too much explicit information. I would much rather infer information and work things out for myself rather than being told everything. It read like a children's/teen's book in that respect.
I also picked up on some errors that distracted me from the story:
pg 15. Lightning strikes the road right ahead, but Freddie counts seven seconds and estimates that the storm is 7-8 miles away.
pg 4. Marie's last candle has burned out, yet she continues writing in a cave with no light.
I don't want to list every error I noticed, but those two really put me off from the start, killing any suspense or emotion associated with the scene.
I also thought that the story wasn't very believable. The way Freddie was driving in the storm. Why not pull over and wait it out?
Freddie was a little stupid not to put the pieces together sooner to work out what was happening. It was obvious and predictable to me, as a reader, that Marie was a ghost. The naivety of his character was a little annoying. It took him way too long for the penny to drop.
I have read LABYRINTH by the same author, and I felt that book to be superior to this one.
I also have THE WINTER GHOSTS by Kate Mosse, on my shelf. Skimming through it, it looks as though it is a longer and more sophisticated version of THE CAVE.
I will read THE WINTER GHOSTS at some point, reviewing that, too. I suspect I will rate the full version higher, based on the little fragments I just looked at.
If I had known these two were the same story, I'd have skipped THE CAVE and gone directly to WINTER GHOSTS.
The story idea was really good, but the writing of it was quite simple with lots of telling and not so much showing. I found the narrative a little lazy and annoying at times, with simple structures and too much explicit information. I would much rather infer information and work things out for myself rather than being told everything. It read like a children's/teen's book in that respect.
I also picked up on some errors that distracted me from the story:
pg 15. Lightning strikes the road right ahead, but Freddie counts seven seconds and estimates that the storm is 7-8 miles away.
pg 4. Marie's last candle has burned out, yet she continues writing in a cave with no light.
I don't want to list every error I noticed, but those two really put me off from the start, killing any suspense or emotion associated with the scene.
I also thought that the story wasn't very believable. The way Freddie was driving in the storm. Why not pull over and wait it out?
Freddie was a little stupid not to put the pieces together sooner to work out what was happening. It was obvious and predictable to me, as a reader, that Marie was a ghost. The naivety of his character was a little annoying. It took him way too long for the penny to drop.
I have read LABYRINTH by the same author, and I felt that book to be superior to this one.
I also have THE WINTER GHOSTS by Kate Mosse, on my shelf. Skimming through it, it looks as though it is a longer and more sophisticated version of THE CAVE.
I will read THE WINTER GHOSTS at some point, reviewing that, too. I suspect I will rate the full version higher, based on the little fragments I just looked at.
If I had known these two were the same story, I'd have skipped THE CAVE and gone directly to WINTER GHOSTS.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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