Synopsis

The Sunday Times Bestseller.

On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames, the regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open and in steps an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child.

Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life.

Is it a miracle?

Is it magic?

And who does the little girl belong to?

An exquisitely crafted multi-layered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.

A glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, the beginning of this novel will sweep you away on a powerful current of storytelling, transporting you through worlds both real and imagined, to the triumphant conclusion whose depths will continue to give up their treasures long after the last page is turned.

Details

• Format : Standard Thick 2nd Hand Paperback.
• Condition : Very Good
• Category : Fiction - Historical Fiction
• Published : 2018 (Black Swan / Penguin)
• ISBN : 9781784163631
• SKU : B001371
• PPC : SP450gm
• RRP : £8.99
• Quantity Available : 1 only.

External Reviews

'Infused with the spirit of Jane Eyre, Rebecca and The Woman in White' - The Independent.

'I was completely spellbound' - Ruth Hogan.

'A delight . . . I devoured it' - Jo Baker.

'Truly extraordinary' - Dinah Jeffries.

" . . . the story is very slow burn and that's how the whole book unfolds - there's no "aha!" moment when the pace suddenly starts racing. It's a gentle, often sad, story of the magic in the mundane, and the normal in the seemingly miraculous."

"This was such a pleasure to read. I loved the atmosphere the author created with rivers, rain and floods, old waterside inns, folk tales and unexplained mysteries. All just wonderful." - Goodreads Reviews.

The Author

Diane Setterfield is an English author whose 2006 debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale, became a New York Times No. 1 best-seller. she won the 2007 Quill Award, Debut author of the year, for this novel. It is written in the Gothic tradition, with echoes of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.