The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters
READ FOR BOOKERTHON
A post-war ghost story set in a dilapidated mansion with an old gentry family of declining fortunes
❚ “The Little Stranger is a ghost story set in a dilapidated mansion in Warwickshire, England in the 1940s. It features a country doctor who makes friends with an old gentry family of declining fortunes who own the old estate that is crumbling around them.
“Dr Faraday remembers the significant home from his boyhood and is shocked at its decline some 30 years later. Though attending in a professional manner at first, the doctor becomes entwined in the family’s plight and the mysterious goings on.
“The book’s post war setting provides the opportunity to delve into many societal interactions that make for great reading: class systems, repression, and transitionary gender roles, however it also laments the dissolution of a very traditional British way of life.
“Melding historical fiction and supernatural genres covers a big reader base, but purists may struggle with the unexpected. The author’s open ending, leaving the reader to develop their own thoughts on whether the events were caused by human, ghoul or house, will be adored by some and loathed by others.
There’ll be tricks, tonight. I can sense it. I’ve a feeling for it now. I’m like a weather-vane, I start twitching when the wind’s on the turn.
❚ “A very cleverly written ghost story … but is it a ghost story? Nothing is as it seems and with the tension gradually building between the two main characters and the strange happenings at the mansion, you are in for a stimulating read. One of my favourites.” – Jo
❚ “I adore Victorian gothic stories, and enjoy Sarah Waters’ works so this was a fantastic combination for me. I was captivated trying to work out what or who was behind the mysterious events. I was pleased things weren’t all completely sewn up at the end and a little was left to the reader’s imagination.” – Rachel
—–
Published 2009
Virago
510 pages
We’re currently reading:
Books read:
How many books have we read for bookclub?
The Free-Range Bookclub 
Recent Comments