When it comes to historical fiction, my, does Norah Lofts deliver.
Her main talent is the multitude of characters she invents, yet she manages to grasp the various intricacies of personality and character, in vivid, tangible detail.
I am always in awe how she delves into the thought process of her creations, how this word or that experience triggered what feelings, and what it causes them to do.
Knowing for myself how hard it is to plant oneself in another's shoes, never mind their heads, this is a truly spectacular feat of writing.
A number of her books deals with historical characters. The first book of hers I read, The Lute Player, delves into the lives of Berengaria and her husband, Richard the Lionhearted, through the eyes of a fictional illegitimate sister and a court minstrel. That book hooked me on Norah big time.
Even her tale of the supernatural, Gad's Hall, and the sequel, The Haunting of Gad's Hall, spends more time on the day-to-day experiences of a family. Those two books were more cautionary tales against running headlong into marriage rather than satanic possession. I wonder if that was her ironic point.
The trilogy composed of The Town House, The House at Old Vine, and The House at Sunset travels hundreds of years over the occurrences in one building—the good, the bad, and the terrifying ugly. She has certainly scared me off quaint ancient architecture.
But I'll keep on coming back for more.
I am always in awe how she delves into the thought process of her creations, how this word or that experience triggered what feelings, and what it causes them to do.
Knowing for myself how hard it is to plant oneself in another's shoes, never mind their heads, this is a truly spectacular feat of writing.
A number of her books deals with historical characters. The first book of hers I read, The Lute Player, delves into the lives of Berengaria and her husband, Richard the Lionhearted, through the eyes of a fictional illegitimate sister and a court minstrel. That book hooked me on Norah big time.
Even her tale of the supernatural, Gad's Hall, and the sequel, The Haunting of Gad's Hall, spends more time on the day-to-day experiences of a family. Those two books were more cautionary tales against running headlong into marriage rather than satanic possession. I wonder if that was her ironic point.
The trilogy composed of The Town House, The House at Old Vine, and The House at Sunset travels hundreds of years over the occurrences in one building—the good, the bad, and the terrifying ugly. She has certainly scared me off quaint ancient architecture.
2 comments:
Oh I do agree with your praise of Norah Lofts, a wonderful author!
I wonder if I might suggest that you call her an author, not an 'authoress' which has a kind of patronising 19th century feel to it . Hope you are not offended!
There are many languages (including the ones I'm more familiar with) that have male and female conjugation. If the Italian languages are cool with it, I see no reason to cry patronization.
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