Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Lady of Hay

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 2,495 ratings · 257 reviews

Jo Clifford, a successful journalist, is all set to disprove hypnosis and past-life regression, until she submits to a simple hypnotic session and finds herself reliving the experiences of Matilda, Lady of Hay, the wife of a baron at the time of King John.

Paperback, 760 pages

Published August 25th 2000 by Welcome Rain Publishers (first published 1986)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Best Time Travel Fiction

82nd out of 678 books — 2,197 voters

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Best Historical Fiction

434th out of 3,222 books — 13,999 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Aug 20, 2008 Misfit rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had all been in Matilda's past and skipped the stuff in the present time. The idea of regression was interesting, but it got to be a bit much after a while. I mean, how many people do you know that are experienced hypnotists? And Jo was hypnotized by was it four or five different people? That did become a bit of a stretch towards the end of the book. (view spoiler)...more

8 likes · like · see review

Feb 03, 2009 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, time-travel

This book is about Jo Clifford, a C20th journalist, who is regressed under hypnosis and finds she has lived before in the C12th, as Matilda, Lady of Hay. Matilda died a terrible death at the hands of King John. She also suffered the abuse of her husband William de Braose and had an illicit love affair with a knight, Richard de Clare.

The pain and suffering of Matilda's life threaten to take over Jo's, as she finds herself spontaneously regressing and reliving Matilda's life. The plot is complica...more

6 likes · like · see review

Aug 19, 2012 Esmanur rated it 5 of 5 stars

268. sayfa

Durum kötü kız kafayı yedi. Ama kitap süper gidiyor..... :D :D :D

.....

Kitap bitti.
Okunmaya değer. Orijinal bir konu ve güzel bir anlatım.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 28, 2009 Paigersoccerfan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I found this to be a very hard book to put down, even though there were things i didn't like about it. I just had to keep reading to find out how it would all end. I had one big problem with it, however. It really bothered me that Prince John was supposedly in love with Matilda. Who needs love like that? That was more about wanting something he couldn't have, lust and ownership, than love. If he had loved her he would not have raped her, so brutally. There was no love in that, only rage. I had t...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 18, 2013 Palmer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book... Oh what to say what to say? I guess I'll begin by saying I felt hypnotized the first couple pages and found it near impossible to put down.. In the beginning.
The book begins with Jo Clifford an apparently witty and independent journalist doing an article about regression into past lives and hypnotism. I must admit upon reading this book I myself was intrigued as to who I could have been in a past life. But as for seeing Jo as this strong feminine character... I believe the author s...more This book... Oh what to say what to say? I guess I'll begin by saying I felt hypnotized the first couple pages and found it near impossible to put down.. In the beginning.
The book begins with Jo Clifford an apparently witty and independent journalist doing an article about regression into past lives and hypnotism. I must admit upon reading this book I myself was intrigued as to who I could have been in a past life. But as for seeing Jo as this strong feminine character... I believe the author should have made it clear that Jo USE to be witty and strong in her past life of Matilda... Because Jo herself surcame to every man who laid eyes on her. Not once did she fight or even evade the problem all together!! She made it clear she knew each man's intent but for some strange reason she willingly walked into abuse.... I guess things were different in the 80s.
Other than Jo's love/rape life the story was wonderful. I did wish more time more time was spent on Matilda... But that's purely because I love reading about lady's and lords from the past. Matilda's word is beautiful yet horrid... How helpless she is yet how much she try's to empower herself is remarkable. And her love triangles.... JUICY!! I felt as if I was the one regressing into Matilda's world.. When she was in love I was in love with the book.. Ever so eager to skim to the next line and see what her knight would do next. But sadly.. She returned back to Jo and her not so scandalous love life.
There were a few parts too in the book where I thought it was going to end soon... But seeing I still had 200 pages left it did not end where I wanted it. When it did end though... I was kind of mad. Partly because it was such a long book I didn't know what to do with myself now that I couldn't read it anymore.. But mostly because the choices that Jo makes tied in with what becomes of her male lovers is not the way I would want to go. She spent soo much of her time and became consumed into Matilda's world.. And then just doesn't learn anything from it!!! She discovers her self absorbed husband.. The ruthless lustful prince... And her chivalrous knightly lover... And doesn't learn anything from her past life. She just sits there and travels along wales while the men sort it all out. Which they do. But they do it within maybe 5 pages?!? 800 years and a novel later and all they needed were 5 pages to figure out their destinies!!!!!?! That's the one thing that brought this down to a 4 instead of a 5. Although I was not happy with Jo's (or should I say the men's) choice in who she ends up with.. I could of lived with it. But to have such a beautiful story and rekindle all the ties from the past.. To have everything sorted out over night? That didn't sit well with me. Especially since the ending has nothing to do with what happened 800 years ago. Maybe if the author spent more time planting hidden feelings of love between Matilda and the prince I would of liked it more. But instead she chose to talk about rape, alcohol, and coffee... A lot of coffee drinking in this book. I personally always thought the British were more into tea? Oh well... (less)

like · see review

Jan 10, 2013 Diana Dart rated it 5 of 5 stars

As a huge fan of historical novels and all things British, this famous Erskine story was a must read. I'm lamenting that it took so long to get at it, but now that I've devoured it in a few days, my reader's mind will never be the same. With intense characters, an almost mind-boggling plot and rich historical detail, I quite literally could not put this down. Thanks to the Kindle edition on my iPhone, I didn't have to ;)

Erskine keeps you guessing, cheering and even raging at the extensive cast o...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Luinbariel rated it 3 of 5 stars

I haven't finished reading this yet, but I find I'm actually already disappointed.

The parts of the story involving Matilda's life are really interesting and seem to be better written than the parts of the story involving Jo's life.

Even though Matilda is a sort of secondary protagonist, I find myself far more interested in her and far more ready to accept her as a character than I am of Jo or any of the other characters in the present time.

Their dialogue is a little unbelievable, and the characte...more

like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Jeannie B. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Once again, I stayed up far too late into the night reading, and this book is to blame! Lady of Hay is a gripping account of two women struggling to break free of political and personal constraints in both the 12th and 20th centuries. The main character, Jo Clifford, is a journalist who recalls life in 12th century Wales under hypnotic regression. The question she and the reader must confront is: does Jo indeed remember being the Lady of Hay, or are there other forces at work in these resurfacin...more Once again, I stayed up far too late into the night reading, and this book is to blame! Lady of Hay is a gripping account of two women struggling to break free of political and personal constraints in both the 12th and 20th centuries. The main character, Jo Clifford, is a journalist who recalls life in 12th century Wales under hypnotic regression. The question she and the reader must confront is: does Jo indeed remember being the Lady of Hay, or are there other forces at work in these resurfacing memories?

I found the historical detail of life in 12th century Wales to be absolutely riveting; it lent a gritty realism to those portions of the novel. I was abysmally ignorant of Welsh history, and was drawn in completely by the events which took place in the locales in the story. The author excels at handily portraying the nuances of daily life, and the small yet accurate accounts of how the characters lived create an absolutely believable atmosphere. Most importantly, the author skillfully portrays their uniquely 12th century perspective on love, politics and survival, which is integral to the tightly woven plot. In fact, the author did such a fantastic job at recreating 12th century Wales and the cataclysmic events which happened there that I found myself stopping reading to research the main characters of that era. I became fascinated by their histories and the political and personal loyalties which drove their actions.

Interestingly, I found the 20th century portion of the novel was less gripping - I found myself impatient with Jo to "connect the dots" and figure out what was in fact transpiring! Still, the ending doesn't disappoint. It is a credit to the fine writing in this book that emotional impact of the plot resolution lingers in the mind.

The novel is an immensely satisfying read, as well as poignant in leaving the reader with the knowledge that the main characters actually lived and suffered much as shown in the book. I now look forward to someday visiting Wales, and seeing where these remarkable people lived, loved, and finished their days.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 29, 2012 Sonia rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 05, 2012 Kimble rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, as I read this story I hoped it would eventually follow it's five star ratings, and be as interesting as I hoped. For me I started getting bored following the three men in present time and the three men in the past all being in a lust fest of rape toward the main character. It would have been nice to have read a little more about their lives and daily events during Matildas and her children's time. With all the jumping back into the past and present I didn't qu...more

like · see review

Sep 30, 2011 Julia Hughes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, historic

Whilst at college, Jo agrees to being hypnotised as part of an experiment. To the hypnotist's horor, she appears to go into a fit and becomes extremely distressed. Years later Jo begins having flashbacks where she actually revisits what appears to be a past life as the 'Lady of Hay', Matilda, who becomes involved in a battle of wills between her husband and King John.

Present day Jo allows herself to be overpowered and dictated to by the men in her life, who aren't very sympathetic to what appea...more

like · see review

Sep 27, 2011 Holly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I want to talk about my favorite book, LADY OF HAY, by Barbara Erskine. I don't know if you have read it, and if you haven't, you need to. (spoiler alert!) It is the story of a woman who discovers that she has memories of a previous life. I won't go too far into it, since I hope you will read it, but let's just say that it's a great story. It is based upon the life of a real person, and that person is an ancestor of Barbara Erskine.

I understand that Barbara has a college degree in medieval hist...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 01, 2011 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked this book up at 60 per cent off at the Borders' going out of business sale, for two reasons: I love historical novels, I love BIG juicy novels, and because of the rave reviews on the back cover--including the ubiquitous designation (yes, I've used it too) of "unputdownable."

Well, Lady of Hay wasn't a bad book. In fact, it was well written and well-researched, and I did care about the main character, Jo.

And though I love big books, I believe this one suffered from being TOO big.

Not only...more

like · see review

Jul 27, 2011 Cori Henderson added it · review of another edition

I was recommended this book by someone else, and I really was not a fan. From a feminist's point of view, this book is a horrific example of all that was wrong with romance fiction in the 80s. The protagonist, introduced as a strong, independent woman gets continually raped by pretty much everyone in the book, past and present. But it's ok right, because sometimes she kind of enjoys it?! The only difference between the heroes and the villains seemed to be that they both rape her continuously, bu...more

like · see review

Jul 25, 2011 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: other-era-romance, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jul 22, 2011 Kelli Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love history so I ended up liking this book quite a bit. There were parts where I was tempted to skim but refrained because I was so fascinated with the history of Matilda and didn't want to miss any of that. As for the present day parts of the book....It was okay. I kept marveling over how often they drank and swapped sex partners and were, for the most part, a bunch of back stabbers. The main character Joanna was the only one with any honor when it came to her friends. The rest of the modern...more

like · see review

Mar 08, 2011 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction

Meh, don't bother. This was such a long book. It's basically a history lesson, turned into a story, wrapped in alcohol, sex and abuse. I didn't believe the characters at all. They kept telling you that Jo is a hard hitting strong person, but in EVERY instance she is completely helpless, submissive, needy and gets walked all over. There are no consequences for any of the bad things anyone does. All of her friends are living the most ridiculously scandalous lives.
But somehow the writing did keep...more

6 likes · like · see review

Feb 21, 2011 Kimberly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Hmmm. Interesting how most people really loved this book. Because I am a lover of historical fiction, Lady of Hay has been on my reading list for some time. I recalled it being a big bestseller back in the 80s when it was first published. I'm giving it 3 stars for potential, but it's really a 2-star. At first I thought perhaps I don't like time travel since I hated The Time Traveler's Wife, but I love Diana Gabaldon's books and it wasn't the time travel in Lady of Hay I disliked. It was just too...more

6 likes · like · see review

Oct 12, 2010 Bookworm rated it 4 of 5 stars

Journalist Joanna Clifford is researching regression by hypnosis for an article she is writing. In 1970 Jo herself was hypnotized, but remembers very little about the incident. What she doesn't know is that she nearly died during the session, her heart having stopped, and the hypnotherapist gave her a mental suggestion so that she would not remember anything that occurred.

Now, 15 years later, Jo has agreed to be hypnotized again for her research. Her old flame Nick is adamantly trying to talk he...more Journalist Joanna Clifford is researching regression by hypnosis for an article she is writing. In 1970 Jo herself was hypnotized, but remembers very little about the incident. What she doesn't know is that she nearly died during the session, her heart having stopped, and the hypnotherapist gave her a mental suggestion so that she would not remember anything that occurred.

Now, 15 years later, Jo has agreed to be hypnotized again for her research. Her old flame Nick is adamantly trying to talk her out of it, while his brother Sam is as well. However after the first session, Jo regresses to 800 years in the past and finds herself seeing her life through the eyes of Matilda de Braose, The Lady of Hay.

Before she knows it, Jo's hypnotic trances are getting really vivid and she is having a hard time distinguishing what's real from what happened to Matilda. She learns that Matilda was unhappily married to William, but was secretly in love with Richard de Clare. She experiences Matilda's pain and heartache. Jo even finds herself missing Richard and wanting to regress just to be able to be with him, if only in a trance.

While under hypnosis, Jo experiences Matilda giving birth to her first born son. When Jo awakens she find herself having post-partum symptoms. She also misses the baby and hears him crying at night.
Jo starts to think that she may have at one point in time actually been the Lady of Hay, and is just now remembering her past life. She also insists on being hypnotized again and again until she finds out what became of Matilda. But soon enough, scared of what is happening to her, she tries to make herself forget Matilda, to no avail.

At 571 pages, Lady of Hay is a pretty hefty book. It took me about 100+ pages in to get hooked on the story. All the while, I didn't really relate to any of the characters, but I was curious about what was going to happen next. The plot fascinated me, but some of the characters annoyed me, mostly the men in Jo's life. There's some physical violence during the current day storyline, and the female characters put up with it, which had me shaking my head as I read.

I found the scenes where Jo would regress into Matilda's life to be really interesting. That's when the book really took a turn into the historical fiction element of the story. Barbara Erskine makes a smooth transition from Jo's world to Matilda's and vice versa. You can also tell that the author did alot of research for the book. The events and people in Matilda's world are well detailed.

The plot is full of drama, backstabbing, time travel and a touch of romance. I liked the paranormal element to the book as well. There's alot going on in this story and I found myself hooked from the second half of the book until the end.

read my full review here
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/201...

(less)

like · see review

Apr 15, 2010 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lady of Hay. Barbara Erskine. 1986. Dell. 751 pages. ISBN 0440200059.

If you're in the mood for an epic drama involving hypnosis and past-life regression during modern times, faced against historical Welsh fiction, then Barbara Erskine's Lady of Hay is definitely the book to read. What an extraordinary novel!

Lady of Hay is the story of Jo Clifford, a head-strong journalist who falls prey to being an easy subject for past-life regression within hypnosis, or even reincarnation. When Jo is under hyp...more Lady of Hay. Barbara Erskine. 1986. Dell. 751 pages. ISBN 0440200059.

If you're in the mood for an epic drama involving hypnosis and past-life regression during modern times, faced against historical Welsh fiction, then Barbara Erskine's Lady of Hay is definitely the book to read. What an extraordinary novel!

Lady of Hay is the story of Jo Clifford, a head-strong journalist who falls prey to being an easy subject for past-life regression within hypnosis, or even reincarnation. When Jo is under hypnosis, she lives the life of Matilda de Braose; a woman head-strong in her OWN time during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Not only does Jo bring components of Matilda back to present time (scars and bruises for example), but we also begin to learn that her present-day lover Nick and his brother Sam are also present-day men that knew Matilda. WHAT?! you may ask?

Lady of Hay is abundantly full of intrigue, suspense, and violence, and is good enough to keep your interest despite its length of over 700 pages. Lady of Hay will pull you in; and its combination of past and present events are distributed evenly and tastefully throughout the book. We become frustrated that Jo is forever drawn to Nick, whose past-life character continues to hurt her, and we also become emotional when dealing with Matilda's life woes and hardships. The only aspect of the book I disagree with is Jo's weakness in regards to Nick. I figured a strong, intelligent woman would not keep succumbing to Nick's advances. The redundancy of Jo constantly returning to Nick becomes annoying as we reach the end.

Although the novel was written in 1986, Lady of Hay is still very much a classic. The dialogue between the present-day characters is a little time-sensitive and old-fashioned, but it does not deter from the storyline and the joyful experience of the book.

Lady of Hay is Barbara Erskine's debut novel, and I am disappointed that I did not learn about the author sooner. Barbara Erskine is now very prolific in historical fiction featuring Wales, and her latest title is called Time's Legacy. I plan on adding all of Erskine's novels to my wish list for future reading!(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 13, 2010 Roselani rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

The first time i read this i was blown away. Each chapter revealing more and more to me. The characters being swept up in this irrealistic plot, yet believably, and it was breathtaking. The female lead was bravely trusting her heart in explosive situations. The writing and settings swept me along. Revelation after revelation kept me turning the pages. years ago I would have given this a five.
Just read it for the second time and i found it to be the most offensive, misogynistic literature i have...more

5 likes · like · see review

Sep 24, 2011 Monica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-book, fiction, historical-fiction, time, hypnosis

I don't even know where to begin with this review. My emotions were thrown for a loop while reading this book. I found myself wanting to learn more again about history.

So this is a work of fiction which includes a bit of history from the 1200's. I am not too familiar with history that far back. I never found it interesting or something I wanted to learn. I have realized that as I read these types of books I want to do research and learn more about the history.

Joanna is the main character of this...more

like · see review

Dec 02, 2011 Jo at Jaffareadstoo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was my first introduction to Barbara Erskine's excellent writing.

I read Lady of Hay when it was first published in 1986. The quality of the writing is superb , and the depth of reader involvement in the story is something that has been maintained throughout every single Barbara Erskine book. Looking at the twenty fifth anniversary edition , it appears that this book has stood the test of time and deservedly so...

Jo Clifford is s journalist, who when assigned to look into the subject of rein...more

like · see review

Oct 30, 2010 Gaile rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 13th-century

This novel begins in 1970 when young Joanna Clifford is regressed to a life eight hundred years. It then leaps to 1985
when Joanna decides to write an article on regression for her job. The regression takes on a life of it's own as Joanne relives her life as Matilda De Braose in the 13th century. I did not much like the modern characters. Although the story is supposed to take place in England, at first I was disoriented as the characters sounded American. It was only as I got further into the st...more

like · see review

Mar 20, 2013 Isis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: time-travel-romance, mystery-and-or-fantasy

This is a rather convoluted story given that you must keep track of both past and present story lines for multiple characters. The characters are compelling by themselves, but when placed into this particular story they become entrancing.

Ms. Erskine was very thorough in researching the material for this book, and the descriptive details were wonderfully enchanting. The only place I feel she slipped a bit was in the way the historical characters spoke, occasionally using the word "hey," which was...more This is a rather convoluted story given that you must keep track of both past and present story lines for multiple characters. The characters are compelling by themselves, but when placed into this particular story they become entrancing.

Ms. Erskine was very thorough in researching the material for this book, and the descriptive details were wonderfully enchanting. The only place I feel she slipped a bit was in the way the historical characters spoke, occasionally using the word "hey," which was not introduced into common language until several hundred years after the historical portion of the story took place. And for all that Lady de Baorse was a trailblazer, I still found it a bit challenging to reconcile her attitude and how on the one hand she spoke to men - particularly the king - as if they were equals, and on the other hand she would talk about the duties of women being to submit to their husbands and acknowledging that they were owned by their husbands just like a horse or an item of clothing. But much of that can be forgiven and understood since the Lady de Baorse was being channeled by a modern-day woman who wouldn't be afraid of men as women of the 1200's would be, since women were chattel and only used to gain necessary alliances and such.

That hiccup aside, the story is riveting. All the main characters are strong forces on their own and combined together they become a volatile mix. Even the secondary characters have a surprising depth not often seen in a character that may only be in two or three scenes in the entire book. Just when you feel that the story arc is beginning to drag, you are whisked back in time to relive the extraordinary life of Matilda, otherwise known as the Lady de Baorse. However for the majority of the book the story moves right along at a lovely clip.

If you have an issue with wanton alcohol consumption be forewarned, as I'm not sure if there is a single scene in which either alcohol or coffee is not consumed - and often the coffee contains alcohol. Also, Jo comes across as having a rather loose moral code when it comes to sex, but I much of that is driven by the historical portions of the book oddly enough.

This book is perfect for those who enjoyed such books as 'The Other Boleyn Girl,' 'The Virgin's Lover,' and other books that take historical periods and their more well-known people and try to recreate what their lives might have been like. While that may sound like a simple romance novel it is clear the hundreds of hours of research that goes into the creation of the top-shelf books of this genre. And there is no doubt in my mind that this book belongs up near the top-shelf with the others, though it is not in the same league as the Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. Definitely a challenge to put the book down and get anything else done until I finished reading it. Thankfully it is a fairly quick read, regardless of its size.(less)

like · see review

Sep 28, 2012 Meg rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: romantic-historical-fic

This is the first Barbara Erskine book I've read. I found it in a few ways similar to Susanna Kearsley and Diana Gabaldon books - both authors I'm very fond of. The first half of the book kept me turning the pages, and I largely enjoyed the 12th century storyline throughout but (especially) in the second half I found the 20th century storyline got redundant with the seemingly inexhaustible repeat of an asinine cycle of behaviours by the main characters. It took me eight days to get through it wh...more This is the first Barbara Erskine book I've read. I found it in a few ways similar to Susanna Kearsley and Diana Gabaldon books - both authors I'm very fond of. The first half of the book kept me turning the pages, and I largely enjoyed the 12th century storyline throughout but (especially) in the second half I found the 20th century storyline got redundant with the seemingly inexhaustible repeat of an asinine cycle of behaviours by the main characters. It took me eight days to get through it which is incredibly uncharacteristic of me.

My main issues:

- It seemed like way too lengthy a book for the story that was told.

- The regression part of the story is interesting at first but later on it seems as though anybody and everybody can hypnotize someone at will which I found a bit ridiculous.

- The only well developed character is Matilda, we actually get some insight into why she did the things she did. The rest of the characters seem incredibly weak minded and do all kinds of horrible things with almost no insight into why they do them and absolutely no consequences.

-We are supposed to believe that the main character Jo is a strong, independent female journalist and yet we are given no proof of this and the entire story she is a crying, wishy washy, weak willed woman who lets these men abuse and walk all over her. She is a feminist's nightmare!

- As for the love story, we are told several of these characters are deeply in love but again, there's no background, no proof and the majority of the behaviour shown is nothing but abusive. The only decent love story is fleeting in the past and nearly nonexistent in the present.

I was pretty frustrated after blundering through to the end to find the main storyline mostly unresolved and the 'romantic' storyline ending happily ever after. Even more frustrated when I realized that owning the 25th Anniversary Edition gets you more of the same mashed into one giant chapter and tacked onto the end, which only my OCD compelled me to read.

There was definitely some potential in her writing so in the future I will try another of her books, one written in the 21st century, and hope that time and experience saw her produce the kind of historical romance fiction I was looking for when I picked up Lady of Hay.(less)

like · see review

Sep 03, 2011 A.J. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, on-the-kindle-not-the-shelf, medieval

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Warning: Flippant discussion of a triggery subject. Read at your own discretion.

All in all, this was a lovely book. The writing style was clean and easy to follow, and both the historical and medical information was obviously well researched and presented convincingly. Perhaps best of all, I felt that almost every major character in both the historical and present day plotlines were fully developed and well rounded early on, which helped me buy into the increasingly erratic behaviors that came a...more

like · see review

Oct 23, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From my book review blog Rundpinne
I have been struggling with my review of Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine and putting it off hoping my feelings toward the book would change with time, they have not. I had truly wanted to adore Lady of Hay and quite unfortunately, I did not care for the book. There, I said it. I enjoyed the idea of the story, especially the descriptions of life in the twelfth century. Erskine did an excellent job at creating two realistic and vividly described centuries and cre...more

1 like · like · see review

May 12, 2013 Dana Burgess rated it 4 of 5 stars

I confess that I have a love of books that explore past lives of the characters. I'm not sure I believe in reincarnation but I wouold like to. In the Lady of Hay, the possible past life/possible possesion of journalist Jo Clifford as the Lady of Hay is explored. Jo begins her exploration of past life regression as research for an article she plans on writing. Soon she is totally immersed in her past life: being drawn back to her past at inconvenient times, in inconvenient ways. A smattering of d...more

like · see review

Jan 11, 2013 Renae rated it 1 of 5 stars

I simply do not understand how this book averages more than 4 stars. It's fairly terrible. The characters are shallow and if one reader could identify with them, I'd want to punch that person in the face. The plot takes FOREVER to develop -- seems as though about halfway through the book the author finally makes some revelation about what she's going to write about. The characters are in the upper echelon of London society, all have infatuations with each other (really?), are all ultra attractiv...more

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Lady of Hay	4	34	Jun 05, 2013 03:24pm

combine
Other Editions (23)

More editions...

Genres

Historical Fiction

141 users

Fantasy

42 users

Romance

40 users

Science Fiction > Time Travel

35 users

Romance > Historical Romance

16 users

Historical Fiction > Medieval

13 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

9 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

7 users

Adult Fiction

7 users

Mystery

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Barbara Erskine

An historian by training, Barbara Erskine is the author of six bestselling novels that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural, plus two collections of short stories. Her books have appeared in at least twenty different languages. She lives with her family in an ancient manor house near Colchester, and in a cottage near Hay-on-Wye.

More about Barbara Erskine...

Books by Barbara Erskine

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Lady of Hay: Two ...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Lady of Hay
avg rating	preview: Lady of Hay Goodreads rating: 4.07 (2495 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/299514.Lady_of_Hay?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1173510138l/299514.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/299514.Lady_of_Hay?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine[/url]

Lady of Hay

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website