Why am I passionate about this?
In 1998, I met H.P. Lovecraft's corpse-reanimating doctor, Herbert West. I found him intriguing, but HPL's story didn't tell me enough about what lay behind his bizarre interests. Why did his friend help and support him? To answer those questions, I wrote four genre-blending novels, of which The Friendship of Mortals is the first. Through West's librarian friend, Charles Milburn, I explore their friendship, the choices they make, and how they deal with the consequences of those choices. The setting is a college town in early 20th century New England, but with a supernatural twist.
Audrey's book list on giving reality a supernatural twist
Why did Audrey love this book?
This isn't a happy book, but it's intensely atmospheric and intriguing. I loved the depiction of a family trying to keep up appearances while their once-beautiful house crumbles. Small details of clothing and things like riveted teacups (which I had to look up) show an inevitable decline that goes from gradual to catastrophic. The reader sees everything over the shoulder of the narrator, a doctor who has his own history with the family and the house. When strange and terrible things happen, he steps in to help, but it's not clear if he's telling the truth. Is the evil supernatural or human?
4 authors picked The Little Stranger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.
After her award-winning trilogy of Victorian novels, Sarah Waters turned to the 1940s and wrote THE NIGHT WATCH, a tender and tragic novel set against the backdrop of wartime Britain. Shortlisted for both the Orange and the Man Booker, it went straight to number one in the bestseller chart. In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable…