Sophia Tobin

‘’ Everything was still; no rain, only the touch of wind as I walked, with the occasional call of birds in the desolation. I looked at the reddish bracken; the tall grasses; the sugary purple of the heather the colour of fondants Hester loved to eat, the bees buzzing over it, drowsy in the gloom. The grasses were of different colours and forms, from red to a startling green. I wished I could name them; but every sound and plant was foreign to me and fascinating.''

Annaleigh finds work as a housekeeper in an estate somewhere in the wild, wuthering land of the Yorkshire Moors. The mansion is occupied by a handful of servants and two siblings, Marcus and Hester Twentyman, the owners of the White Windows. This is 1814, everything is difficult. The financial status of the less privileged families, the mercurial landscape. But nothing is more dangerous than the human soul.

'My fears of rain had not been justified, for it had turned into one of those bright autumn afternoons that seem to pierce the soul with their particular beauty, a golden light on the land and the shadows sharp edged, and the soft light was kind to the house. Nothing could soften those stark outliners, but on a distant green hill the sun shone, and suddenly it did not seem as isolated as it had been.''

British Gothic Fiction is a universe on its own. Its characteristics are used to create outstanding stories. But that is rare. Most of the time, we have works where the scenery is perfect but the story begs for an adequate writer. In my opinion, Sophia Tobin is a very good writer. She chose to set her plot during the Regency era, something that doesn't happen often, within the land of Yorkshire. This is already an advantage. Tobin transfers the moorlands right into the eyes and the mind of the reader. She uses the mysterious, dark mansion trope to ''house'' her characters. But all these merely compose the backdrop of Annaleigh's adventure. What is terrifying is the spot-on depiction of the monster that lurks within us all.

Nature and houses are no threat to us. Madness, obsessions and wickedness. These are the lethal dangers. Add poverty and desperation in a tine where the choices of women were frightfully limited and you have a claustrophobic situation which cannot be escaped without consequences. I appreciated the fact that Tobin doesn't underestimate our intelligence by serving everything in every step of the action. I was trying to find the answers, I kept guessing as to the motives of the characters, Annaleigh's life in London, the potential helpers and their possible lack of honesty. It does get a bit repetitive and predictable but I liked its ambiguity. If we have all the answers served on a plate, we become automatons that merely turn pages. So, this was an interesting and overall satisfying reading experience.

Comparisons to classic works are futile and useful only to the editors creating the back covers of books. There can only be one Wuthering Heights, one Jane Eyre, one Jamaica's Inn. This isn't a Laura Purcell masterpiece, but it is a well-written story, with excellent atmosphere, an interesting plot and a very sympathetic heroine.

*This is NOT a Victorian novel. This is the Regency era. I am tired of everyone thinking that when a novel is set in a manor we find ourselves in the Victorian times. When one decides to write a review, the least one can do is check the basic facts. Google it, for God's sake!*

''But I was without sense, and without feeling.''

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/… (más)

Set in the dreary Yorkshire moors . . . Annaleigh, a foundling raised by a portrait painter, runs from a doomed romantic entanglement to be a servant at White Windows to a brother and sister, Marcus and Hester Twentyman.

Two other mysterious servants warn her not to develop any kind of friendship with the Twentymans, no matter how warm or inviting they seem. Annaleigh soon discovers that Marcus is volatile and tempestuous, often running into the foggy moor at night to be alone. Hester is timid and paranoid, and suffers from crippling headaches.

The beginning of the story is compelling and has all the elements required for a juicy gothic thriller. The darkness and isolation of the moors enhance the creepiness and claustrophobia of White Windows. There is no escape from the house, nowhere to run. The atmosphere is chilling with a constant presence of foreboding.

The second half of the book, however, becomes more unbelievable, and the characters are inconsistent. Their motivations are ambiguous and their reactions are often incongruous with their earlier temperaments. The story is still interesting enough keep the pages turning, but it requires a strong desire to suspend disbelief in order to accept the plot developments. The plot twists left me with a lot of questions, and the inexplicable actions of the characters were distracting.

I always enjoy a spooky tale, and The Vanishing did not disappoint, but other reviewers’ comparisons to Jane Eyre and Fingersmith are too generous. Despite its flaws, if you seek out Gothic mysteries, as I do, The Vanishing is for you.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the advance copy.… (más)

Foundling Annaleigh has been forced to leave London and goes into service at a house in Yorkshire. When she arrives at White Windows she is befriended by her mistress Hester but the reaction of Hester's brother Marcus is odd. Although Annaleigh makes friends in the local village, events at the house become more and more concerning, particularly when the master holds a party which descends into a debacle. Annaleigh tries to leave but she finds herself falling deeper into a web that she cannot find an escape from.

Initially this book reads like a take on Jane Eyre with the orphan moving to the wilds of Yorkshire to work for a rich and strange employer. However this novel takes a huge turn and becomes a tale of gothic menace, our heroine being trapped, drugged and abused. Finally it becomes a revenge story, however at each turn in the plot I was completely engrossed. Tobin has created something that reads like the best of 19th century fiction all rolled into one but with a knowing modern slant.… (más)

This is a debut novel set in 18th century London, and in particular in Berkeley Square and Bond Street. It is a "who-dun-it" without a central detective figure, and concerns the death of a silversmith. Whilst the plot is intriguing, I found it difficult to get too involved, partly because of the weaknesses of the three central characters, who I found fairly boring. The key problem to this book is a lack of pace, there is too much description of the lives of the two main female protagonists and no-one with whom it is easy to empathise.… (más)