Book picks similar to
Death and the Mother from Dickens to Freud by Carolyn Dever


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The Unforgetting


Rose Black - 2020
    Her death was foretold. Her past is about to be unforgotten...1851. When Lily Bell is sold by her father to a 'Professor of Ghosts' to settle a bad debt, she dreams of finding fame on the London stage. But Erasmus Salt wants Lilly not as an actress, but as his very own ghost - the heart of his elaborate illusion for those desperate for a glimpse of the spirit world . . .Obsessed with perfection, Erasmus goes to extreme lengths to ensure his illusion is realistic. When Lily comes across her own obituary in the paper, and then her headstones in the cemetery, she realises that she is trapped, her own parents think she is dead, and that her fate is soon to become even darker . . .A spellbinding story of obsession, the lure of fame, and the power of illusion.

The Book of Fires


Jane Borodale - 2009
    Lost and frightened, she finds herself at the home of Mr. J. Blacklock, a brooding fireworks maker who hires Agnes as an apprentice. As she learns to make rockets, portfires, and fiery rain, she slowly gains his trust and joins his quest to make the most spectacular fireworks the world has ever seen.Jane Borodale offers a masterful portrayal of a relationship as mysterious and tempestuous as any the Brontës conceived. Her portrait of 1750s London is unforgettable, from the grimy streets to the inner workings of a household where little is as it seems. Through it all, the clock is ticking, for Agnes's secret will not stay secret forever.Deeply atmospheric and intimately told from Agnes's perspective, The Book of Fires will appeal to readers of Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Waters, Sheri Holman, and Michel Faber.

Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde


Alan Grant - 2008
    Both are seen through the eyes of John Utterson, a lawyer and friend of the scientist Dr. Jekyll. After hearing the alarming account of the horrendous trampling of a small girl “like some damned juggernaut” by a violent man named Mr. Hyde, who also holds a connection to the lawyer’s dear friend, Utterson’s curiosity gets the better of him and he begins to investigate. As he probes further into the events and the hidden life of Mr. Hyde, Utterson slowly uncovers a terrifying and ghastly story.This graphic novel adaptation of RL Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde brings together the creative comic “dream team” of Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy and is a follow-up to their first collaboration, Kidnapped — The Graphic Novel.

The Snake's Pass


Bram Stoker - 1890
    Patrick battled the King of the Snakes, who hid his crown of gold and jewels in the hills near the village. But it is not only legend that haunts the town. The figure of the demonic money-lender Black Murdock looms over the village, as he searches for the lost treasure while manipulating the townsfolk to his own evil ends. Even more threatening than Murdock is the shifting bog, personified as a baneful "carpet of death," which will swallow up anything -- and anyone -- in its path. Art and his friend Dick will brave the dangers of the bog to seek out the treasure, but the sinister machinations of Murdock will lead to a deadly conclusion! Featuring a slow accumulation of terror worthy of Le Fanu, The Snake's Pass was Bram Stoker's first novel. A clear precursor to Dracula, The Snake's Pass was the only of Stoker's novels set in his native Ireland. This edition follows the text of the first edition published at New York in 1890.

Courting A Sinful Stranger


Emily Honeyfield - 2021
    Sarah yearns for so much more, secretly lusting for an enthralling adventure... When she attends a masquerade ball, she is allured by the raven-haired seductive stranger, who whispers shockingly tempting things into her ear, without revealing his identity. She knows all this is far from how a lady should behave, but she finds this game of seduction simply irresistible. After all, what hope can a respectable young lady have in finding any kind of tantalizing excitement? While trying to unveil this captivating masquerader's identity, will she indulge in an adventure of inappropriate promises and lustful desire?Arthur Colton, the Viscount Nordarken, is a bored gentleman, ready to risk it all for the sake of pleasure. While visiting his father in the district, he is on the hunt for a rousing distraction. Sadly, not even one of the eligible young ladies sparks his interest after the whirlwind of excitement that London was. Little did he know that everything was about to change with the announcement of a masquerade ball and the appearance of an enticing dark-eyed beauty into his dangerous path. Being used to always getting what he wants, he comes up with a wicked plan, to make her succumb to his sinful passion. How far is he willing to go in order to conquer her fiery heart?Against all odds, their lives and their feelings get tangled and challenge everything they have ever known. That is when a game of false identities and flaming desire begins... A game that must end soon, or it could otherwise lead to their destruction. For Sarah it is being in the midst of a scandal and losing her gracious place in society. For Arthur it is being targeted and risking turning into a social pariah. Will an arising old scandal threaten their affair to its very core? Will their untamed passion for one another be enough to thrive, in spite of all the hardships or will they drift apart after all?

The Girl in the Photograph


Kate Riordan - 2015
    Kate Riordan’s novel is a beautifully dark and beguiling tale which will sweep you away. It will appeal to fans of Kate Morton and Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca.In the summer of 1933, Alice Eveleigh has arrived at Fiercombe Manor in disgrace. The beautiful house becomes her sanctuary, a place to hide her shame from society in the care of the housekeeper, Mrs Jelphs. But the manor also becomes a place of suspicion, one of secrecy.Something isn't right.Someone is watching.There are secrets that the manor house seems determined to keep. Tragedy haunts the empty rooms and foreboding hangs heavy in the stifling heat. Traces of the previous occupant, Elizabeth Stanton, are everywhere and soon Alice discovers Elizabeth's life eerily mirrors the path she herself is on.(

ToddlerCalm: A Guide for Calmer Toddlers & Happier Parents


Sarah Ockwell-Smith - 2013
    Her mission is to let parents know that there are other ways to cope with a toddler apart from putting him or her on the naughty step or resorting to controlled crying. This book will fill a gap in the market, helping parents enjoy their toddlers, understand the limitations of current popular toddler parenting methods such as sticker charts and time out, and to have the confidence to ignore the current mainstream 'experts' and parent their own child with trust and empathy. Chapters include: Why toddlers are not mini-adults; the importance of night-time parenting; coping with a picky eater; communication - toddler style; avoiding difficult situations; the importance of unconditional love and why you don't need to be permissive to parent respectfully.

Lovely Digits


Jeanine Englert - 2019
    But can the killer be found before there is a third?Lovely Digits is the town oddity…But quirky spinster Lucy Wycliffe prefers to ignore gossip and embrace her position as the town’s layer out of the dead, despite how her parents’ deaths thrust her into such unlikely work. Lovely Digits, as she’s known to the local townspeople, no longer dreams of marriage, but takes pride in providing dignity to the dead. Desperate to hold on to her family’s cottage and support her widowed sister and young niece, an unexpected offer of employment as assistant to the constable arrives at the perfect time. Former sailor John Brodie is the mysterious new constable… But John Brodie is far from a stranger to Clun or the events of its past. Accepting the position as constable in the small town is a double edged sword meant to heal his past and redeem his future, but falling for the beautiful and intelligent Lucy Wycliffe was never part of his plan. As the killer closes in, will John reveal his secret and risk losing everything to save Lucy’s life?

Murder at Mondial Castle


Issy Brooke - 2019
    By using her wit, unconventional intelligence and good humour, she’s risen to marry an earl who dotes on her; she’s raised and married off seven beautiful daughters; what more is there for her now? What, indeed. Adelia’s looking for a new adventure. She’s not ready for her twilight years of slumber just yet…Then her daughter’s friend is found brutally murdered in the grounds of Mondial Castle – in the company of a man who is not her husband. That man is the Marquis of Mondial but he’s also injured and obviously above suspicion. Yet his subsequent peculiar behaviour soon sets fashionable tongues wagging…Adelia negotiates the gossips of the drawing room while her husband Theodore wrestles with the other gentlemen and their foibles.Adelia and Theodore are shocked as they peel back layers of deadly secrets in the household of the castle but the truth at the heart of it threatens their own daughter’s marriage … and their whole family’s place in society. Unmasking the murderer is impossible alone but working as a team, they are unique. And unstoppable.

Mrs. Poe


Lynn Cullen - 2013
    As Frances tries to sell her work, she finds that editors are only interested in writing similar to that of the new renegade literary sensation Edgar Allan Poe, whose poem, “The Raven” has struck a public nerve.She meets the handsome and mysterious Poe at a literary party, and the two have an immediate connection. Poe wants Frances to meet with his wife since she claims to be an admirer of her poems, and Frances is curious to see the woman whom Edgar married.As Frances spends more and more time with the intriguing couple, her intense attraction for Edgar brings her into dangerous territory. And Mrs. Poe, who acts like an innocent child, is actually more manipulative and threatening than she appears. As Frances and Edgar’s passionate affair escalates, Frances must decide whether she can walk away before it’s too late...Set amidst the fascinating world of New York’s literati, this smart and sexy novel offers a unique view into the life of one of history’s most unforgettable literary figures.

A Load of Old Tripe


Gervase Phinn - 2009
    In fact, things can be quite complicated, and don't always turn out as he'd planned . . . Born in 1946, Jimmy lives with his Mum and Dad in a shiny red brick terraced house in South Yorkshire near the steel works. Sometimes the air is thick and metallic tasting, with bits of soot floating around like little black snowflakes. Despite all this, Jimmy wouldn't want to live anywhere else. His very best friend, Ignatius Plunkett, is a scrawny boy with a sharp beak of a nose, ears like jug handles and a mop of jet black hair. Micky is his rather 'posh' friend from the big houses down the road. The boys get into a few scrapes in the year leading up to the eleven-plus exams, but will they come out on top in the end? Will Jimmy survive a week looking after Butch, the temperamental, barrel-bodied bull terrier? Will the truth about the trip to buy Dad's tripe ever come out? What really happens to Jimmy's Mum's coffee and walnut cake, and will the mystery of the missing locket ever get solved?

Angelica Died


Jill Rowan - 2014
    Convinced that her Aunt Grace is fully aware but locked inside a helpless body, Angelica tries to discover what really happened to her. While visiting the hospital where Grace once worked as a nurse, Angelica has one of the strange hallucinations she's been experiencing since her mother's funeral. Only when she opens her eyes afterwards it's not 2013, it's 1965. She's not Angelica any more; she's Grace. And the journey is just beginning.

Deep Blood


Phillip Thompson - 2013
    He doesn't care for the mundane parts of his job, he drinks too much, is separated from his wife, and has a former stripper girlfriend who regularly violates the drug laws of the county. Even when the son of a close friend is murdered, he has a hard time concentrating. But when his incorrigible father is arrested again for DUI, he learns of a secret of his father's past that threatens his own future and must confront it in a Southern tale of justice, redemption and family secrets.

Shades of the Past


Kathleen Kirkwood - 1999
    Little does she expect to remain at the estate beyond the funeral itself, or to find herself caught up in the secrets of Sherringham’s turbulent past or those of the deceased noblewoman’s dark, brooding nephew ― Viscount Adrian Marrable. A Mysterious Viscount: Twice wed and twice widowed, the darkly handsome lord is implicated in both his wives’ tragic and untimely deaths. Adrian is captivated by Vanessa’s golden beauty and willingly fulfills his late aunt’s dying wishes. His generous financial support allows Vanessa to remain at Sherringham and pursue her passion for photography. But her growing attraction to the enigmatic viscount proves as unsettling as the ghostly figure that appears in her photographs. Royal Sherringham: An expansive castle-mansion complex in the English West Midlands, its long history dates back to the times of the druids. What mysteries does Sherringham hold, and why did Adrian’s late aunt flee her beloved home to live in self-imposed exile? Now, as the Marrable family gathers after years apart, Sherringham’s unseen residents stir. What might they reveal, if the planes between the spiritual and material dimensions are breached? Will Vanessa find an adversary or an ally in the otherworldly presence that beckons from her photographs as secrets are unearthed, shade by shocking shade? Dare Vanessa embrace her blossoming love for the dark viscount or, like her late employer, flee Sherringham forever?

Spirited


Julie Cohen - 2020
    Searching for meaning in her grief, she uses her photography to feel closer to her late father, taking solace from the skills he taught her - and to keep her distance from her husband. But her pictures seem to capture things invisible to the eye . . .Henriette is a celebrated spirit medium, carrying nothing but her secrets with her as she travels the country. When she meets Viola, a powerful connection is sparked between them - but Victorian society is no place for reckless women.Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, invisible threads join Viola and Henriette to another woman who lives in secrecy, hiding her dangerous act of rebellion in plain sight.Faith. Courage. Love. What will they risk for freedom?