foreboding
atmospheric
Puritans
1640s riots against the king's rule
Makepeace Lightfoot has a difficult beginning. The world of the seventeenth-century does not look kindly on the young daughter of a single mother. The Puritan villagers are harsh and Makepeace's mother is a difficult, challenging women. What is more, Makepeace can speak to spirits and must endure uncomfortable visits to the cemetery where her mother insists she hone her ability to resist the desperate little ghosts. And then Mother is lost during terrible riots in London where opposition to the King's rule is spilling over into more that disorder. Civil War is waiting in the wings.

Mother's death lands Makepeace with the forbidding Felmottes and Makepeace realises that her experiences with spirits is linked to a dark family tradition of making themselves vessels for spirits. In the oppressive atmosphere of the ancestral home Makepeace's own ability is terrifyingly realised when she becomes possessed by the wandering and violent spirit of circus bear. It's a testament to the sophistication of Hardinge's storytelling and the strength of her main character that this bizarre turn of events fits seamlessly into the world she has created and develops into a powerful story of friendship and protection.

Makepeace is a Hardinge heroine exemplar. She's brave, quick-witted, determined, curious and resourceful, but she isn't too much of any of these things to feel exaggerated or unreal. She's a believable child in hardship and adversity despite all the fantastical elements around her. She grows through her experiences and relationships and is a thoroughly developed, heartfelt hero.

The historical setting is also vividly brought to life, with the uncertainty, conflict and violence of the period leading up the English Civil War. Hardinge addresses religious and ideological conflicts and persecution with impressive clarity and delicacy for a young audience, but never sugar-coats the reality. Hardinge has such a clever knack for writing historical fictions with a supernatural edge so that the darkness and horror of the supernatural bring the stark realities of the real world into sharp relief. But her books are always hopeful and full of the best of humanity as well as the worst.

I have really loved the Frances Hardinge books I have read before and in the end I loved this one too. But, I have to say the start was very slow and if I didn't know what a great story teller Hardinge is I might have been tempted to give up before I got to the good part. The concept is a fascinating one and the journey Makepeace takes emotionally, while learning to live with her strange ability, is very well told.

This was an excerpt from the book that had me hooked and intrigued to read more. The setting was vivid and the main character interesting enough to have me thinking about her even after I put the sample down. I'll be looking to read the rest in future.

The sample provided certainly pleased and intrigued me enough to go on to purchase it and though intended for younger audience, felt caught up in tale as her writing appeals across lines marked by age.

Have now begun to reread with full version and linked Audible audiobook though a bit put off that considerable editing in opening chapter certainly have thrown off the synch between the two. Still this is technical issue that will feed back to Audible.

My full review will be posted to Amazon and Goodreads in due course.

Another great Francis hardinge title.. Such a clever author.. well written , great characterisation.. Will definitely buy for the library.

A Skinful of Shadows

written by Frances Hardinge

cover by Aitch

published by Macmillan Autumn 2017

415 pages in paperback review copy


. . . distinctly odd and bewitching

A reader's perspective:

This is not your average Frances Hardinge novel. To begin with, I don't believe there is such a thing, and to continue, it is most decidedly itself. Where The Lie Tree was Victorian Gothic, A Skinful of Shadows is Jacobean. Think many-gabled houses and ornately carved wooden panelling. Think accusations of witchcraft, Puritans and Civil War. Think riots and espionage, bear-baiting and ghosts.

But there are elements in common: a courageous heroine who has a lot to learn, the deceptions practised by adults around her and a fascinating mix of history and magic. If you like those and want to immerse yourself in an extraordinary worlds both external and internal to Makepeace (our heroine), then this is for you.

I've tagged it MG (middle grade) because young, fluent readers who are not averse to the paranormal might well enjoy it. They would have to be comfortable with a long read, some complex ideas and unfamiliar vocabulary, but there is nothing age-inappropriate for such children. I still found it an engaging book for someone considerably older.

a writer's view

All the following elements in a recently published book gave me hope:

intelligent vocabulary and concepts for children - the opposite of dumbed-down
a balance of beautiful writing and pace - I kept stopping to admire and then plunging back in to find out what happens next
historical fantasy is alive and kicking - at least in Frances's mind
psychology and adventure - a kind of magical realism which examines truths through a rather strange lens
substantial length - perhaps having permission because of her Costa win to take the reader on a long journey into the Commonwealth era
involving social class and religious division in an historical-spy-horror-ghost-mystery!

I cheerfully admit to being an aficionado of Frances's extraordinary work. I am looking forward to interviewing her at a Golden Egg Academy event this month with a mixture of optimism and trepidation.
To conclude

It's not a perfect book (is there such a thing?) and it absolutely will not suit many readers. You want lean, pared back prose, or a fast easy read, or contemporary realism? Then don't pick this plump beauty up. Heaven knows which shelves it ought to sit on in a bookshop - and how long it would be in German - but this genre-defying tale beguiled me.

Twelve year old Makepeace has inherited a particular 'gift' from the father she never knew - she is able to house the spirits of the dead within mind. Her mother has spent much of her life training her to keep them out but now, with England on the brink of a devastating civil war, and her mother dead, Makepeace is taken to live with her father's strange and eerie relatives. Will they be able to tell that Makepeace is not the only soul inhabiting her body? And what would they do if they found out?

Let me start by declaring my utter devotion to the writing of Frances Hardinge, which started when I read a NetGalley ARC of The Lie Tree a few years ago. After that, I went through her entire back catalogue - in which there is not a single dud. I love her writing, her worlds, her ideas and her characters. And so it was with huge excitement that I got my grubby digital paws on this, her latest novel.

It is almost impossible to summarise a Hardinge novel, as they always take the reader on a journey full of unexpected turns and ideas. A small section of her stories is filled with so many ideas and plots, so much character development and sumptuous writing that many other writers would be delighted to spread over a whole book. I love the layers of ideas, and the way they weave and work together to create such a rich world. A Skinful of Shadows is another fantastic addition to the Frances Hardinge canon.

The difficult second book - and a triumph. Loved the Lie Tree and love this too. Needs to be on every child's reading list and I will push it with passion.

A creature dies, its spirit goes to look for somewhere it can survive

Makepeace has to defend herself nightly from spirits who try to possess her.
An event leaves makepeace with her guard down and allows a spirit to enter her body.
Makepeace is left with a decision to make - allow the strong and determined spirit to take over her body and allow it to become her only defence or die as the civil war takes hold of the country

Didn’t absolutely love the book as I never felt very connected to the story. Although interesting it failed to grip me but Frances is an author that if you have enjoyed other book you will certainly love this

Loved this sample, so tautly written with a wonderful mix of mystery and horror - can't wait to read the rest!

Disappointing after the lie tree as I was expecting another 5* knock your socks off read but this was quite a convoluted plot and hard to imagine. Liked the time setting by but just thought it was a bit too out there in terms of plot. Would only recommend for real fantastic lovers

I loved the Lie Tree and this sample of her new book is fantastic, I can't wait to read the full book!

Another flooring masterpiece from the queen of dark Gothic adventures!

I need more! Gripping! I have now been and brought this book I am so excited!

Look forward to reading more than just the sampler.

I knew I had to read this after loving The Lie Tree, and it does not disappoint. It is beautiful and wistful. The prose is nothing short of enchanting and left me aching for the rest of the book.

It's cruel behaviour to put a sampler of Makepeace's story up when I assume most people are like me and begging for the whole story. I have been a fan of Frances Hardinge since the very beginning, I tried to make everybody read her books and was always extremely perturbed that she was never more popular. That all changed with The Lie Tree and, I suspect, will change again with A Skinful Of Shadows. Frances is no longer a big secret and everybody knows her name, quite deservedly too. I cannot wait to get my hands on the full version of the beautiful bear-hearted girl, mostly so I can again tell everyone they're missing out if they don't read it!

'Let me tell you a story,' she began, as she occasionally did when there were serious matters to discuss. ' There was a little girl lost in the woods, who was chased by a wolf. She ran and ran until her feet were torn, but she knew that the wolf had her scent and was still coming after her. In the end she had to make a choice. She could keep on running and hiding and running forever, or she could stop and sharpen a stick to defend herself with. What do you think was the right decision, Makepeace?'

Makepeace could tell that this was not just a story, and that the answer mattered a great deal.

I am beyond excited for this book!

Frances Hardinge is one author whose books I will buy on sight, based on the wonderful experience I have had with previous books of hers.

My personal favourite is Cuckoo Song as, you know, I love fairytales far too much. I also loved The Lie Tree.

When Netgalley offered this extract (the first 64 pages) I jumped at the chance. The story hooked me in straight away and I can't wait until the book is published next month. I will come back and update this review once I have finished the entire book.

We are introduced to Makepeace, a young girl being raised in a puritan community near London. She has horrible nightmares which make her relatives uneasy, leading to her mother forcing her to face up to and fight the spirits she believes are trying to possess her.

The first five chapters introduced just enough to get me hooked so I was really frustrated when the sampler ended - please hurry up 21st September so I can read the rest!

They understood something together at that moment, Makepeace and Bear. Sometimes you had to be patient through pain, or people gave you more pain. Sometimes you had to weather everything and take your bruises. If you were lucky, and if everyone though you were tamed and trained...there might come a time when you could strike.

What I liked: Makepeace's character, the ghost of the Bear, the historical details, the set-up for what is sure to be an intriguing mystery.

Even better if: 5 chapters is just enough to cruelly tantalize you with the story - need the rest as soon as possible!

How you could use it in your classroom: Like many other books by Frances Hardinge I am sure this will be widely read and enjoyed by a variety of reader. She often deals with complex issues which could lead to discussion in class.

(Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for my review copy)

An intriguing introduction to the book that both made me desperate to read more without giving too much away and spoiling my enthusiasm.