The silent companions
Subtitle: a novel
By: Laura Purcell
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 2018
Place of publication: New York, NY, USA
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9780143131632
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Fiction; Widows; Upper class women; Country homes
First sentence: The new doctor took her by surprise.
Description: "When newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge, what greets her is far from the life of wealth and privilege she was expecting. When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure--a silent companion--that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of The Bridge are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition--that is, until she notices the figure's eyes following her. A Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear, this is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect--much like the silent companions themselves"--
Notes: "First published in Great Britain by Raven Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017."