shopping cart
Save up to 30% on our Staff Picks
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Guests | December 7, 2009

Theodore Gray: IMG The Cornucopia of Home Science



Reading old books of science experiments for children, it's easy to become nostalgic for the days when you could buy jugs of sulfur and mercury at... Continue »
  1. $20.96 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

by Maggie Ofarrell

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Cover

ISBN13: 9780156033671
ISBN10: 0156033674
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 2 left in stock at $7.25!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A Wall Street Journal Bestseller

A Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year

"I found this actually unputdownable, written with a gripping dramatic insidiousness reminiscent of classic writers like Rebecca West and Daphne Du Maurier." --Ali Smith, author of The Accidental

Esme Lennox is a dreamy child, an odd, bookish young woman, the kind of girl who stares and listens and wont flirt with boys at dances. And then, in the space of a moment, Esme Lennox is gone.

Years later, a stunning phone call breaks the silence at Iris Lockharts vintage clothing shop: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital after more than sixty years. Iriss grandmother Kitty always claimed to be an only child. But Esmes papers prove she is Kittys sister, and Iris can see the shadow of her dead father in Esmes face. But she's still basically a stranger, a family member never mentioned by the family, sure to bring life-altering secrets when she leaves the ward. If Iris takes her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit?

"Haunting. O'Farrell is a feminist avenging angel who wields the modern Gothic like a gleaming sword." – The Boston Globe

"Think Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Charlotte Gilman's ‘The Yellow Wallpaper or Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea . . . It's a breathtaking, heart-breaking creation . . . In O'Farrell's fierce, engrossing novel, the crimes of the past rear up with surprising vengeance." – The Washington Post Book World

Maggie O'Farrell is the author of three previous novels, including her acclaimed debut, After You'd Gone. Born in Northern Ireland in 1972, Maggie grew up in Wales and Scotland. She now lives in Edinburgh.

 

Visit www.HarcourtBooks.com/EsmeLennox.

 

Discussion guide available at www.HarcourtBooks.com.

Synopsis:

A gothic, intricate tale of family secrets, lost lives, and the freedom brought by truth, "The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox" is a haunting look into one woman's tragic past.

Synopsis:

Praise for THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX:

"This haunting and extraordinarily engrossing novel--part gothic mystery, part tangled family drama--reminded me why I love reading in the first place: it's because a well-written book has the power to carry us away to a place we've never been but always suspected was there." — Carolyn Parkhurst, author of THE DOGS OF BABEL

"I found this actually unputdownable, written with charge and energy and a kind of compelling drive, a clarity and a gripping dramatic insidiousness reminiscent of classic writers like Rebecca West and Daphne Du Maurier." --Ali Smith, author of Hotel World and The Accidental

"Prickly, disturbing and delicious, a novel to gulp in a single sitting." — The Observer

"Like Sarah Waters or Douglas Kennedy [O’Farrell] displays a gift for storytelling that makes her novels almost ridiculously pleasurable to read." – The London Times

"Beneath the cool Edwardian detail of this elegantly written book lie the horrors of a Gothic novel." — The Guardian

 
"I would like to think that families only behave this way in books, but unfortunately betrayal, jealousy, and secrets are all too common in real life. It was a terrific book, I will be thinking about it for a long time." — Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife

Synopsis:

In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriends attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospitalwhere she has been locked away for more than sixty-one years.

Iriss grandmother Kitty always claimed to be an only child. But Esmes papers prove she is Kittys sister, and Iris can see the shadow of her dead father in Esmes face. 

Esme has been labeled harmlesssane enough to coexist with the rest of the world. But she's still basically a stranger, a family member never mentioned by the family, and one who is sure to bring life-altering secrets with her when she leaves the ward. If Iris takes her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit?

A gothic, intricate tale of family secrets, lost lives, and the freedom brought by truth, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox will haunt you long past its final page.

About the Author

MAGGIE OFARRELL is the author of three previous novels, including the beloved After Youd Gone. Born in Northern Ireland, OFarrell grew up in Wales and Scotland. She lives in Edinburgh.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Stephanie Patterson, June 24, 2008 (view all comments by Stephanie Patterson)
Iris, a woman struggling with her own business and a complicated personal life, is stunned when she gets a call from the local asylum telling her that her aunt Esme is about to be released after 61 years of confinement. Her grandmother, Kitty, beclouded by Alzheimers and living in a nursing home, has always portrayed herself as an only child.
The story of what happens when Iris and Esme meet and what they both learn about the past and the present is beautifully and compellingly told.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(6 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780156033671
Author:
Ofarrell, Maggie
Publisher:
Harvest Books
Author:
O'Farrell, Maggie
Subject:
Historical - General
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Family secrets
Subject:
Historical
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
Psychological fiction
Edition Description:
Trade Paper
Publication Date:
June 2008
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
245
Dimensions:
7.96x5.45x.67 in. .55 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $3.95 Used Mass Market add to wish list

    Garden Spells

    Sarah Addison Allen
  2. $6.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Gathering

    Anne Enright
  3. $5.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Great Fire

    Shirley Hazzard
  4. $7.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Naked

    David Sedaris
  5. $9.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Book of Lost Things

    John Connolly
  6. $10.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.