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Summary
Summary
When twelve-year-old Florence boards the horse-drawn coach in London, she looks forward to a new life at Crutchfield Hall, her great-uncle's manor house in the English countryside. Anything will be better, Florence thinks, than the grim London orphanage she has just left.Florence doesn't reckon with the eerie presence that haunts the cavernous rooms and dimly lit hallways of Crutchfield. It's the ghost of her cousin Sophia, who died the year before. Sophia's ghost seeks to recreate the scene of her death and cause someone else to die in her place so that she will be restored to life. And she intends to force her newly arrived cousin to help her.Blending elements from classic ghost stories of the past, Mary Downing Hahn pays homage to such renowned writers as Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens while creating a bone-chilling new story of her own.
Author Notes
Mary Downing Hahn grew up in College Park, Maryland. After graduating college, she worked as an art teacher, a college instructor, and a children's librarian in Prince George's Public Library System. She published her first novel, The Sara Summer, at the age of 41. Since then, she has been a full-time writer and averages one book a year. Her ghost story Wait till Helen Comes was the winner of 12 state children's book awards and she received the Scott O'Dell award for her World War II novel Stepping on the Cracks. She currently lives with her husband in Columbia, Maryland.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Twelve-year-old Florence Crutchfield leaves a London orphanage in the winter of 1883 to live in her Great-Uncle Thomas's country house. Resembling her cousin Sophia who died in an accident the previous year, Florence quickly makes an enemy of Great-Aunt Eugenie who doted on Sophia and will not allow anyone to take her place. Florence is drawn to her frail and reclusive cousin James, who blames himself for his sister's death. In gloomy Crutchfield Hall, Florence first senses, then feels, and finally sees Sophia's ghost who has grown stronger as the anniversary of her death approaches. Though repelled by the ghostly figure, smelling of earth and mold, she is powerless to resist Sophia's demands. Florence removes the protection over the door of James's bedroom and must watch on the snow-covered roof as the boy is forced to reenact the dare that caused his sister's death. Sarah Coomes narrates Mary Downing Hahn's atmospheric gothic tale (Clarion, 2010), giving a distinctive voice to each character. Particularly chilling is Sophia's spoiled, vengeful voice assuring Florence that she always gets her way. Yet when James climbs down from the roof, finally overcoming his fear, Coomes convincingly voices the envious, insecure girl that Sophia was in life. This short, spooky tale will captivate listeners.-Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Florence is happy to leave the orphanage for the home of a newly found great-uncle, but she isn't long inside Crutchfield Hall when she senses that Something Is Not Right. Hahn, the author of ghost stories as well as rousing historical fiction, here combines the genres for a truly scary period tale. The setting is a country estate in late Victorian England, the weather distinctly Brontean, and the ghost is classic Hahn: a mean little girl made only meaner by her accidental death. When said ghost, Sophia, says through her grave-stained teeth to Florence, "I need a friend, and so do you. We could be like sisters, sharing secrets," readers will want to run -- but Florence is the kind of vulnerable, relatable heroine who will make them stick around to be sure things turn out all right for her. They do, if only just, in an ending that is satisfying but touched with uncertainty: is Sophia truly at peace? Brrr! roger Sutton (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Ever since her parents drowned in a boating accident when she was five, 12-year-old Florence has led a wretched life at Miss Medleycoate's Home for Orphan Girls in London. Now she has moved to Crutchfield Hall, her great-uncle's country estate, and surely life will be better there. But when she meets Great-Aunt Eugenie, every bit as sour as Great-Uncle Thomas is kind, Florence isn't so sure, especially when she meets up with the ghost of her cousin Sophia, who died the year before and who blames her passing on her brother James. Sophia is out for revenge, and Florence finds herself becoming a pawn in her evil game. Set in 1884, the tale has all of the trappings of a superb ghost story: the bitter relative, the invalid, the mysterious groundskeeper, a sprawling gothic mansion with lots of drafty old rooms, a likable protagonist and, of course, a ghost. Hahn is a master of the supernatural tale, and her legions of fans will revel in this chilling volume, reminiscent of Dickens and Poe. (Gothic fiction. 9-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Twelve-year-old book lover Florence is thrilled to be leaving Miss Medleycoate's Home for Orphan Girls to live at Crutchfield Hall with her newly discovered great-aunt, great-uncle, and cousin James. Six months before, James' sister, Sophia, died in an accident, and Florence quickly discovers that Sophia's ghost is haunting Crutchfield to punish James for his part in her death. Sophia is full of malice and pride, and as she grows in strength, Florence fears for James' safety, yet she feels powerless to resist Sophia's control. As in every ghost story, readers must suspend disbelief to avoid being tripped up by the inexplicable (most notably, Sophia's ability to touch others and control their actions), but this short tale is a good choice for reluctant readers, especially girls. Just as she did in The Old Willis Place (2004) and countless others, Hahn once again creates a brooding atmosphere and a powerful, chilling ghost in a gothic mystery that explores family, the love of reading, and the dangers of revenge.--Moore, Melissa Copyright 2010 Booklist
