Title: The Asylum
Author: John Harwood
ISBN: 9780224097413
Price: Hard back £14.99
A
thrilling mystery set in Victorian times, ‘The Asylum’ is the story of one
woman who is almost convinced she has lost her sanity. She wakes up confined in
Tregannon House, a professional private establishment for mental instability
having no recollection of how she came to be there or of the events of the past
three weeks. However she is aware of her identity; she is Georgina Ferrars and
wishes to contact her uncle and be sent home immediately. However when Dr
Straker sends a telegram home the reply nearly causes here to lose her mind
entirely ‘GEORGINA FERRARS IS HERE STOP YOUR PATIENT MUST BE AN IMPOSTER STOP’.
Dr Straker informs her that she is subject to a rare condition in which the
sufferer becomes so obsessed with another person they eventually take on their
identity. The woman in London who states she is the real Georgina Ferrars
states she spoke to a woman named Lucia Ardent intimately about her childhood and
life so far which would explain the patient’s knowledge of this. The woman
arrived at Tregannon house under the false alias of Lucy Aston but the Doctor
also explains that he has researched the name Lucia Ardent, which also did not
exist.
However
‘Miss Aston’ as they choose to call her at Tregannon refuses to believe that
she is not Georgina Ferrars and she knows she must find some way to escape and
return to her uncle in London and reveal the imposter. She becomes more anxious
as the Doctor informs her she is confined in the building for her own safety
and begins to wonder if she is a fly caught in a massive web- as scheme of this
imposter or indeed of the Doctor himself in order to drive her to insanity. Yet
she can’t help but wonder, of the two women who claim to be the same person, is
she the real Georgina Ferrars? Or is has she truly lost herself in the realm of
insanity?
Cleverly
written with twists in every chapter, ‘The Asylum’ is a fantastic mystery story
which also reveals some of the more scandalous aspects of Victorian life- this
is the benefit of books written today referring back of time as parts of this
book would never have been publiches during the reign of Queen Victoria. Midway
it becomes harder to follow as the narrator switches and we read a series of
letters, the significance of which do not become clear until later.
Nevertheless if you persevere it all pulls together to form a wonderfully
dramatic conclusion.
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Title: The Asylum
Author: John Harwood
ISBN: 9780224097413
Price: Hard back £14.99
Thank you for this review. The Asylum sounds like a great read and I'll keep my eyes out for it. If I can make a recommendation of my own I would suggest Journey (If Where You're Going Isn't Home) by Max Zimmer. http://maxzimmer.com/. A beautifully written coming of age novel about a teenage Mormon boy in 1960's America who pursues a dream to play the jazz trumpet. A life which conflicts with the teachings of the Mormon church. I consider this book an absolute must read. It has a bit of everything and a lot of heart.
ReplyDeleteReally really good book if you like ghost stories. I read this and then book 2 Sanctum. For me they were hard to put down just wanted to keep reading and reading.
ReplyDeleteJohn Harwood's two previous novels, The Seance and The Ghost Writer, entertain fans of Gothic thrillers with confident panache. The Asylum has every convention anticipated in the genre and its twists and turns were enough to keep me reading until the end. Well done Mr. Harwood! You deserve to be more recognized for your writing and clever plotting.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED this book! It was very well-written, and the author does a great job creating the mood of the Victorian Gothic suspense novel. Couldn't put it down and read it in almost one sitting. Entertaining and fun with mystery lurking right around the corner.
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