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The Spiral Staircase
The mystery at Hildick Castle is just one aspect of life that haunts Dr. Forester. Though he came to escape, he becomes further entrenched in emotional turmoil. Secrets abound in this nail-biting drama full of heartbreak and suspense, but light penetrates the cloak of night as he finds and follows the Guide.
Dr. Mark Hamby
President of Lamplighter
1 John 4:16
Dr. Mark Hamby
President of Lamplighter
1 John 4:16
257 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1906
2 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Mrs. O.F. Walton
71 books19 followersAmy Catherine Walton, better known as Mrs O.F. Walton, was a British author of Christian children's and teenage books, mainly but not exclusively fiction. She was born Amy Catherine Deck in 1849, and died in Leigh, Kent in 1939.
Amy was the daughter of the vicar of St Stephen's Church, Spring Street, Hull.
Her career as an author began with My Mates And I, written in 1870 but not published until 1873. Her first published work was My Little Corner in 1872. In 1874 came one of her most famous books, Christie's Old Organ, which has been regularly reprinted up to the present day. It is the story of orphaned Christie and his friend, the aged organ-grinder Treffy. It was introduced to Japan in 1882 and was published in 1885 by the translation of Tajima Kashi. It was one of the earliest books in history of both Christian's and children's literature of Japan and was re-translated in 1903 and 1994.
In 1875 she married Octavius Frank Walton, who was her father's curate at the time. It was under her husband's name, as Mrs O. F. Walton, that she was to become better known. In the year of their marriage they moved to Jerusalem where Octavius took up a ministry in a church on Mount Zion until 1879. While there in 1877, her book A Peep Behind The Scenes was published. It is the story of Rosalie, a child who works in a travelling theatre.
The Waltons lived at Cally, Kirkcudbrightshire for a while, and from 1883 to 1893, Octavius was in the ministry at the church of St Thomas, York, moving to St Jude's, Wolverhampton in 1893. He retired in 1918.
Although she wrote many more books, it is A Peep Behind the Scenes and Christie's Old Organ that have remained well known, continuing to be published by the Lutterworth Press, successor to her original publisher, the Religious Tract Society.
(from Wikipedia)
Amy was the daughter of the vicar of St Stephen's Church, Spring Street, Hull.
Her career as an author began with My Mates And I, written in 1870 but not published until 1873. Her first published work was My Little Corner in 1872. In 1874 came one of her most famous books, Christie's Old Organ, which has been regularly reprinted up to the present day. It is the story of orphaned Christie and his friend, the aged organ-grinder Treffy. It was introduced to Japan in 1882 and was published in 1885 by the translation of Tajima Kashi. It was one of the earliest books in history of both Christian's and children's literature of Japan and was re-translated in 1903 and 1994.
In 1875 she married Octavius Frank Walton, who was her father's curate at the time. It was under her husband's name, as Mrs O. F. Walton, that she was to become better known. In the year of their marriage they moved to Jerusalem where Octavius took up a ministry in a church on Mount Zion until 1879. While there in 1877, her book A Peep Behind The Scenes was published. It is the story of Rosalie, a child who works in a travelling theatre.
The Waltons lived at Cally, Kirkcudbrightshire for a while, and from 1883 to 1893, Octavius was in the ministry at the church of St Thomas, York, moving to St Jude's, Wolverhampton in 1893. He retired in 1918.
Although she wrote many more books, it is A Peep Behind the Scenes and Christie's Old Organ that have remained well known, continuing to be published by the Lutterworth Press, successor to her original publisher, the Religious Tract Society.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 21, 2025
Quaint... Wholesome... Uplifting...
✏️ Review ✏️
Part Christian fiction, part mystery, part romance, The Spiral Staircase features a wholesome tale set in an early 1900s English seaside setting. To my surprise, I enjoyed this story more than I had anticipated at first. At least in part, my reserved expectations stemmed from the fact that the writing style didn't always have the greatest execution or flow. After a while, though, the writing style seems to even out a bit even if it isn't always the greatest.
While the general pace of the plot is slower, the story still keeps an engaging narrative. The overarching mystery keeps a little bit of intrigue spaced throughout the story and really picks up the action near the end with an unexpected twist. Although it's not usually my thing, I liked the story's romance. It's quaint, realistic, and slowly simmers for a time before progressing. I also liked how the romantic subplot portrayed the importance of observing and knowing what a person is on the inside as opposed with basing one's love solely on physical and outward attraction.
A virtuous 3.75-star read, The Spiral Staircase delivers a historical, romantic, and mysterious tale that highlights themes of God's grace, mercy, and love.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
📊 A Quick Overview 📊
👍🏼 What I Liked:
• A good part of the plot — it's slower-paced but still intriguing with a good bit of mystery.
• The MC — while he might not have the fullest development, he still gets quite a fair amount of character development that creates some internal conflict.
• The underlying themes of God's grace and love.
• The romance — it's quaint, realistic, and has a slower progression.
👎🏼 What I Did Not Like:
• Some parts of the writing style — felt disjointed.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
❓ To Read or Not To Read? ❓
— Would I recommend this book? Yes *
— To whom? To those who enjoy Christian fiction historical stories that feature a good dose of mystery and romance and that highlight God's mercy and love.
*(Note: I leave it up to each individual to decide the maturity and discernment level required to read the books I recommend, based on my content warnings below [in my Book Breakdown]. My content warnings [if any] should always be considered alongside my recommendations when deciding who these books are best suited for.)
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 3.75/5 [rounded up to 4 on Goodreads])
~Fundamentals: (1=worst; 5=best)
— 📈 Plot: 3.5/5
— 📝 Writing: 2.5/5
— 👥 Characters: 3/5
~Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)
— 🤬 Language: 0/5
— ⚔️ Violence: 1/5
• A few recountings of mild, off-page brutality, including some brief descriptions of injuries (mentions blood).
— ⚠️ Sexual: 0/5
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
📣 Random Comments 📣
• Just a heads-up that the last half of The Spiral Staircase focuses heavily on a romantic relationship. This would be something to keep in mind when deciding who this story would be best suited for.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
💬 Favorite Quotes 💬
• Life is never quite the same after a very heavy sorrow; the loving, merciful hand of God is laid on the wound which we thought would never be healed, and the sore gradually closes. But the scar left by that wound is still there, and will remain as long as life itself. (p. 78)
✏️ Review ✏️
Part Christian fiction, part mystery, part romance, The Spiral Staircase features a wholesome tale set in an early 1900s English seaside setting. To my surprise, I enjoyed this story more than I had anticipated at first. At least in part, my reserved expectations stemmed from the fact that the writing style didn't always have the greatest execution or flow. After a while, though, the writing style seems to even out a bit even if it isn't always the greatest.
While the general pace of the plot is slower, the story still keeps an engaging narrative. The overarching mystery keeps a little bit of intrigue spaced throughout the story and really picks up the action near the end with an unexpected twist. Although it's not usually my thing, I liked the story's romance. It's quaint, realistic, and slowly simmers for a time before progressing. I also liked how the romantic subplot portrayed the importance of observing and knowing what a person is on the inside as opposed with basing one's love solely on physical and outward attraction.
A virtuous 3.75-star read, The Spiral Staircase delivers a historical, romantic, and mysterious tale that highlights themes of God's grace, mercy, and love.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
📊 A Quick Overview 📊
👍🏼 What I Liked:
• A good part of the plot — it's slower-paced but still intriguing with a good bit of mystery.
• The MC — while he might not have the fullest development, he still gets quite a fair amount of character development that creates some internal conflict.
• The underlying themes of God's grace and love.
• The romance — it's quaint, realistic, and has a slower progression.
👎🏼 What I Did Not Like:
• Some parts of the writing style — felt disjointed.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
❓ To Read or Not To Read? ❓
— Would I recommend this book? Yes *
— To whom? To those who enjoy Christian fiction historical stories that feature a good dose of mystery and romance and that highlight God's mercy and love.
*(Note: I leave it up to each individual to decide the maturity and discernment level required to read the books I recommend, based on my content warnings below [in my Book Breakdown]. My content warnings [if any] should always be considered alongside my recommendations when deciding who these books are best suited for.)
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 3.75/5 [rounded up to 4 on Goodreads])
~Fundamentals: (1=worst; 5=best)
— 📈 Plot: 3.5/5
— 📝 Writing: 2.5/5
— 👥 Characters: 3/5
~Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)
— 🤬 Language: 0/5
— ⚔️ Violence: 1/5
• A few recountings of mild, off-page brutality, including some brief descriptions of injuries (mentions blood).
— ⚠️ Sexual: 0/5
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
📣 Random Comments 📣
• Just a heads-up that the last half of The Spiral Staircase focuses heavily on a romantic relationship. This would be something to keep in mind when deciding who this story would be best suited for.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
💬 Favorite Quotes 💬
• Life is never quite the same after a very heavy sorrow; the loving, merciful hand of God is laid on the wound which we thought would never be healed, and the sore gradually closes. But the scar left by that wound is still there, and will remain as long as life itself. (p. 78)
October 9, 2022
First of all, like all Lamplighter Publishing book, the cover on this one is beautiful and looks awesome on my shelf. You just can't get books that are bound like this anymore. The story was good and the characters were fairly well written (I personally related to the main guy), but coincidences and happy endings are overrated in my opinion, and I wish the MC could have learned to actually live with disappointment like a man instead of having everything come alright in the end. It's just not how life works that everything falls perfectly into place, and I wish just sometimes books could cover the less-than-ideal ending, but with people leaning to live on and follow God anyway. To be perfectly fair, however, I complained on the last book I reviewed that the ending was too depressing and not happy enough, so I guess it just depends on my mood and the book content itself.
August 4, 2025
Loved this story! The truthfulness of Forester's character and backstory was great, and paired with his complicated arc he was a very interesting character. Also the mystery and intrigue was also very enjoyable.
November 16, 2025
A marvelous book filled with mystery and a little love! The romance part of the book was very light and sweet to read. I loved the way the book was not written like a mystery but was clearly a mystery. (When people say things such as "How odd, I wonder why that is? Oh well!") Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys old books with mystery and love!
September 19, 2025
I loved this book. Lately I have been having trouble finding good books to read, and I found this one to be perfect - the cosy, early-1900s mystery with Christian values and also the ultimate message of hope through despair. I loved the mystery, light romance, and overall story, and especially felt it was a good break from too many murder mysteries, love triangles, etc. Even though it's marketed as junior fiction, I would say it's great for teens and families as well.
January 3, 2022
A very good story. Written for an older child so it is engaging but a tad simple for adult comprehension. Still a very enjoyable read for this adult and a nice break from the heavy reading I've been doing.
August 28, 2022
It took me a little bit to really get invested in the story, but once I did I really enjoyed it. The mystery was really fun, and I loved the ending! <3
May 21, 2025
This would have been really good if not for a horrible ending.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews