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Ephemera
The afterlife is alive with possibility…
In this collection of stories, we follow kings and queens as they make important (and history-defying) visits, watch a football game featuring the foulest of fouls, and meet a host of new spirits-in-residence across the British Isles and beyond.
Be transported to ancient ruins, a world-famous cemetery, and a new cathedral, and catch up with old friends – and enemies.
Because when the dead outnumber the living and start to travel, the adventures really do begin.
Kindred Spirits: Ephemera is a charming collection of stories about your favourite ghosts!
In this collection of stories, we follow kings and queens as they make important (and history-defying) visits, watch a football game featuring the foulest of fouls, and meet a host of new spirits-in-residence across the British Isles and beyond.
Be transported to ancient ruins, a world-famous cemetery, and a new cathedral, and catch up with old friends – and enemies.
Because when the dead outnumber the living and start to travel, the adventures really do begin.
Kindred Spirits: Ephemera is a charming collection of stories about your favourite ghosts!
84 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 2020
8 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer C. Wilson
32 books46 followersJennifer is a marine biologist by training, who developed an equal passion for history whilst stalking Mary, Queen of Scots of childhood holidays (she has since moved on to Richard III). She completed her BSc and MSc at the University of Hull, and has worked as a marine environmental consultant since graduating.
Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east reignited Jennifer’s pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since. In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story competition, and also continues to work on developing her poetic voice, reading at a number of events, and with several pieces available online. Her debut novel Kindred Spirits: Tower of London was published by Crooked Cat Publishing in October 2015.
Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east reignited Jennifer’s pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since. In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story competition, and also continues to work on developing her poetic voice, reading at a number of events, and with several pieces available online. Her debut novel Kindred Spirits: Tower of London was published by Crooked Cat Publishing in October 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 6, 2020
I love the idea behind this series, a collection of famous (or infamous) historical ghosts living in familiar places. It’s genius.
A welcome addition to the series, I liked the mix of old and new characters, John of Gaunt and Charles Brandon along with Richard III pop up this time around. Thoroughly enjoyed St Paul’s, York and Windsor Castle. These short stories worked well and slotted in nicely with the longer tales.
There were also a couple of hints as to what could come next, a possible tour of Scotland - fingers crossed!! - and one very larger than life character. I for one can’t wait.
A welcome addition to the series, I liked the mix of old and new characters, John of Gaunt and Charles Brandon along with Richard III pop up this time around. Thoroughly enjoyed St Paul’s, York and Windsor Castle. These short stories worked well and slotted in nicely with the longer tales.
There were also a couple of hints as to what could come next, a possible tour of Scotland - fingers crossed!! - and one very larger than life character. I for one can’t wait.
June 12, 2020
An excellent addition to the Kindred Spirits series and I love the move to short stories too. Great fun to read and a very interesting ending... will say no more!
Enjoyed Ephemera a lot. I hope there will be more short stories in this series in due course.
Enjoyed Ephemera a lot. I hope there will be more short stories in this series in due course.
July 6, 2020
My favorite of the series so far. All of King Henry's wives together in one place? Amazing. This book is more a collection of short stories and was just so entertaining. Another must read.
June 14, 2020
This is a sweet collection of short stories with a common theme: the spirits are (mostly) famous historical figures who we can identify with. Also, the settings tend to be places we know (like Windsor Castle or Westminster Abbey), so we dig into the stories with the knowledge of preexisting conflicts, likes and dislikes. How would one react five hundred years later from the other side of the grave?
The ghosts are randomly thrown together and it’s fun to see how their well-known personalities interact. Events are scheduled for grand reunions and sometimes ghosts meet who haven’t seen each other since they were alive—for instance Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Arguments need to be derailed, and new ideas are voiced. It’s kind of like they are still alive, though some are missing: those who have gone into the light. Or are the missing spirits simply elsewhere?
“Just a minute.” The deep voice of their father made both men turn. The 3rd Duke of York stood, flanked by Queens Anne Neville and Elizabeth of York. “With or without warning, this might not be the most gracious of welcomes. Richard, have you even seen your brother since you died? Edward might not be happy, if you catch my meaning?”
Richard tensed. He knew exactly what his father meant. Reuniting the three ‘suns of York’ may not, in hindsight, have been the brightest idea he had ever had. Still, if he could find a way to be civil with the usurper Tudor, he could do this.
A thought struck him. “Come to think of it, what about Tudor’s brat of a son? Is he here?”
His wife stepped forward. “I spoke to Anne of Cleves after their little gathering at Hampton Court, and she assures me not. Surely Ms Boleyn reported the same to you?”
Of course, with all these royal spirits wandering around, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the gazillion other dead people who should be crowding them. But no, that’s not the point, is it? The spirits appear to let “bygones be bygones” for the most part, though I suspect they are only being polite. Some betrayals are just too deep to be forgiven, even through eternity.
The ghosts are randomly thrown together and it’s fun to see how their well-known personalities interact. Events are scheduled for grand reunions and sometimes ghosts meet who haven’t seen each other since they were alive—for instance Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Arguments need to be derailed, and new ideas are voiced. It’s kind of like they are still alive, though some are missing: those who have gone into the light. Or are the missing spirits simply elsewhere?
“Just a minute.” The deep voice of their father made both men turn. The 3rd Duke of York stood, flanked by Queens Anne Neville and Elizabeth of York. “With or without warning, this might not be the most gracious of welcomes. Richard, have you even seen your brother since you died? Edward might not be happy, if you catch my meaning?”
Richard tensed. He knew exactly what his father meant. Reuniting the three ‘suns of York’ may not, in hindsight, have been the brightest idea he had ever had. Still, if he could find a way to be civil with the usurper Tudor, he could do this.
A thought struck him. “Come to think of it, what about Tudor’s brat of a son? Is he here?”
His wife stepped forward. “I spoke to Anne of Cleves after their little gathering at Hampton Court, and she assures me not. Surely Ms Boleyn reported the same to you?”
Of course, with all these royal spirits wandering around, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the gazillion other dead people who should be crowding them. But no, that’s not the point, is it? The spirits appear to let “bygones be bygones” for the most part, though I suspect they are only being polite. Some betrayals are just too deep to be forgiven, even through eternity.
June 8, 2020
So, what is my own take on this set of stories?
Well, first I should concede that it is not a book that I would normally read, but I was attracted by the notion of getting into the heads of some key historical figures – with, of course, the benefit of hindsight.
Clearly, because these are short stories, there is no great depth of development, but the writer does show a impressive level of skill and subtlety in how she weaves the characters, often from different time periods, into each story. It is not easy to create a convincing portrait of a dead person, such as Anne Boleyn, who is probably quite familiar to many readers even if they only have a casual interest in history. Not only that, but the character might have been dead for hundreds of years and emotionally they have changed, perhaps ‘moved on’ from whatever misfortunes befell them in life.
As with any collection of stories, some are stronger than others. My own favourite story explores the relationships between Henry VIII’s six wives as they finally have a get-together! Without giving much away, it would be fair to say that there are a few tensions… This story I think displays the strength of the collection and the author’s ability to create connections between people who may never have met during their lives. Characters are also given roles that they may not have had in life – so for example, among the six wives, there is an organiser and a peacemaker too. These roles add further depth to the characters making them far more than cardboard cutout historical figures.
Because of the insight the author shows, this book is both entertaining and interesting. The reader never feels that the characters are stereotypes, chiefly because of the cleverly choreographed interaction between them. I found it a book that was easy to dip into and most enjoyable to read.
Well, first I should concede that it is not a book that I would normally read, but I was attracted by the notion of getting into the heads of some key historical figures – with, of course, the benefit of hindsight.
Clearly, because these are short stories, there is no great depth of development, but the writer does show a impressive level of skill and subtlety in how she weaves the characters, often from different time periods, into each story. It is not easy to create a convincing portrait of a dead person, such as Anne Boleyn, who is probably quite familiar to many readers even if they only have a casual interest in history. Not only that, but the character might have been dead for hundreds of years and emotionally they have changed, perhaps ‘moved on’ from whatever misfortunes befell them in life.
As with any collection of stories, some are stronger than others. My own favourite story explores the relationships between Henry VIII’s six wives as they finally have a get-together! Without giving much away, it would be fair to say that there are a few tensions… This story I think displays the strength of the collection and the author’s ability to create connections between people who may never have met during their lives. Characters are also given roles that they may not have had in life – so for example, among the six wives, there is an organiser and a peacemaker too. These roles add further depth to the characters making them far more than cardboard cutout historical figures.
Because of the insight the author shows, this book is both entertaining and interesting. The reader never feels that the characters are stereotypes, chiefly because of the cleverly choreographed interaction between them. I found it a book that was easy to dip into and most enjoyable to read.
June 27, 2020
Review - I have loved Jennifer Wilson’s writing since I discovered her books while working at my local library. When I found out that this was a collection of short stories, I was a little disappointed – I really wanted a story set at Windsor Castle with Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville and Henry VIII, but hopefully that will come in the future. There are characters both old and new including Richard III, John of Gaunt, and Charles Brandon. The variation of characters from so many different periods is one of the things that I love about this series, and this short story collection is brilliant in that respect.
Genre? - Historical
Characters? - Richard III / Mary Queen of Scots / Richard Duke of York / Edward IV / Katherine of Aragon / Anne Boleyn / Jane Seymour / Anne of Cleves / Katherine Howard / Katherine Parr / Xanthe / Dick Turpin
Setting? - London & Carlisle (England)
Series? - Kindred Spirits #5
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 18/20
For full review see my blog https://bookbloggerish.wordpress.com/...
Genre? - Historical
Characters? - Richard III / Mary Queen of Scots / Richard Duke of York / Edward IV / Katherine of Aragon / Anne Boleyn / Jane Seymour / Anne of Cleves / Katherine Howard / Katherine Parr / Xanthe / Dick Turpin
Setting? - London & Carlisle (England)
Series? - Kindred Spirits #5
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 18/20
For full review see my blog https://bookbloggerish.wordpress.com/...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews