Jane Eyre is an orphaned governess who develops romantic feelings for her employer, Mr. Rochester, a man ensconced in tragedy. Sent away to an orphanage as a child by her cruel aunt, Jane’s attachments in life have been few. At Lowood, she gains a friend whose perspectives enable Jane to reign in her anger and…
Category: Gothic Fiction
The Lost Castle by Kristy Cambron
A castle in a forest inspires the stories of three women, scattered across centuries. Adeline is engaged to a Duke in 18th century France, though her opinions are more aligned with the “rabble” than the wealthy aristocracy to which she will belong. But when the Duke’s castle is burned by angry serfs, and Adeline as…
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Rachel, my torment. Philip Ashley lives in a Cornish manor with his Uncle Ambrose who essentially raised him. Both men are contented bachelors until a woman named Rachel lures Ambrose into a sudden marriage that ends tragically. When Rachel returns from Italy alone, Philip is determined to be quickly rid of the witch and her…
The Address by Fiona Davis
The Dakota in New York is America’s first luxury apartment building, designed by the architect Theodore Camden. In 1884, a woman working at a hotel named Sara Smythe earns Theo’s respect and admiration, and he hires her to be the managerette of his new apartments, set to rival New York’s famous Fifth Avenue. But their…
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Daniel Sempere is a ten-year-old boy whose father owns an antique bookshop in Spain. His mother died when he was young, and nothing of note had occurred in his life until his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a secret library that contains forgotten or protected stories. He is to select one…
The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley
A very astute Catholic boy loves to play soldiers and other adventure games with his mute brother Hanny. But the young boys’ wanderings along dangerous coastal tides and discovery of a rifle will lead to such monstrosities (especially in the surrounding woods one night), that Hanny will suppress the memories as an adult, leaving only…
The Night Sister
Beside an empty motel in New England stands the “Tower of London” in Vermont, built by the motel owner for his wife. A little girl named Amy grew up in a house beside her grandfather’s ruined dream, raised by her grandmother, who kept the many secrets their family was cursed with. Jason, a neighbor boy…
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
“Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again…” Rebecca is the greatest and most haunting Gothic novel, the one to which all others written since have been compared. Set in the English countryside in the 1920’s, in a mansion by the sea, Maxim de Winter lives with his much younger new bride, whose name…
The Lake House by Kate Morton
Buried deep in the woods in Cornwall, England, is a home that hasn’t been inhabited in 40 years. The house by the lake, Loeanneth, is stumbled upon by a young detective named Sadie. She is on a forced holiday from work for becoming obsessed with a case of an abandoned toddler, which holds more of…
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women begins with four young women trying to make the most of their Christmas in New England while their father is away fighting in the Civil War. Too poor for any presents, the girls use creative, convicting generosity to overcome not only this, but other testing circumstances, aided by the benevolence of their wealthy,…
A Cupcake and a Book 