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31st out of 120 books
—
80 voters
Tryst
When Sabrina Archer, a lonely girl of 17, moves with her father and aunt away from their city flat in London to the lavish summer home of Nuns Farthing for her father's work, she has nothing to do but explore the English country home. Finding a locked room at the top floor of the house, Sabrina picks the lock one afternoon and subsequently spends many days trying to discov...more
Hardcover, 264 pages
Published
June 1st 1974
by Amereon
(first published 1939)
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I've just finished this incredible book and my eyes are red and snot is dripping from my nose and I have the worst headache from sobbing uncontrollably, and all I can say is I wish I could feel this way more often about a book.
- I LOVED this book.
- I ADORED this book.
- I wish I had written this book.
- I wish this was one of those black & white movies from old Hollywood ala "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir".
- I wish I had read this when I was 17 years old.
and my highest praise of all....
wait for it...more
- I LOVED this book.
- I ADORED this book.
- I wish I had written this book.
- I wish this was one of those black & white movies from old Hollywood ala "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir".
- I wish I had read this when I was 17 years old.
and my highest praise of all....
wait for it...more
13 likes · like · see review
view all 48 comments
I read Hannah's reveiw of this book this summer and went right to my library's on-line catalog to put a hold on it. I waited for a really long time for the book to arrive when finally I was notified that my hold request was cancelled. When I went back to try again the book was no longer in the library's collection. I was disappointed...until I went shopping at 'the Friends of the Library' book sale...where lo and behold there it was waiting for me.
And I'm glad it was, I really enjoyed this, it w...more
And I'm glad it was, I really enjoyed this, it w...more
4 likes · like · see review
This is such an old book, I think I first read it in high school...in the 70's and it was old then. It is the very first supernatural love story, written for young adults, that I had ever read. I loved it, and eventually was able to find a beautiful copy of it offered online.
I love this book. I’ve loved it since I first read it at the age of, perhaps, twelve. I read it many times during my youth, before I managed to lose it, possibly in the course of a move. It wasn’t until about ten years ago that I was able to remember the title so I could search for another copy of it. Once I’d found one, I added it to my collection, but without reading it. I think I was reluctant to discover that perhaps it wasn’t as good as I remembered it to be, or worse still, that it was com...more
Sep 30, 2011
Melee
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
living-with-ghosts,
wishlist
This is the sweetest ghost story I've ever read! I rather like ghost stories, but haven't read very many. In fact, I've probably written more of them than I've read.
It's because I don't go for the typical "scary ghost story" as much as "ghosts as a manifestation of people who cannot be forgotten."
I've been looking for a ghost story like this one and am so pleased I've found it! The only book that has come near to meeting this foggy, undefined criteria is A Fine and Private Place. That was a go...more
It's because I don't go for the typical "scary ghost story" as much as "ghosts as a manifestation of people who cannot be forgotten."
I've been looking for a ghost story like this one and am so pleased I've found it! The only book that has come near to meeting this foggy, undefined criteria is A Fine and Private Place. That was a go...more
4 likes · like · see review
Brilliant little novel about Sabrina a slight seventeen year old who feels that she has come 'home' when her Father takes a house on a year long lease. Nuns Farthing is the country home of the Shenstone family and the lease is on condition that they leave the one locked room in the house along; it is the 2nd son's Hilary's and he hasn't been able to clear it out as he is abroad on government business.
Finding her way into the room with the complicity of Mrs Pilton the housekeeper, Sabrina finds h...more
Finding her way into the room with the complicity of Mrs Pilton the housekeeper, Sabrina finds h...more
Not sure why this book came into my mind this past summer, but I was determined to read it again. This was my very favorite book as a young girl and I remember taking it of the library numerous times. So the hunt was on. This old fashioned book is out of print, but I found it in a small library (shared by our high-school) in my town. This nostalgic story was just as good a read to me as it was way back when. It will remain one of my very favorites...good writing...good story and still as magical...more
At the end of this book I had tears streaming down my cheeks. The characters were so well-developed and seemed natural - Hillary and Sabrina acted right on target for their ages. The plot was great because there was no big revelation or climax when the "mystery" is discovered - it's just a soft, calm, love story nearing perfection... I do wish it had been a big more SENSUAL though, not erotic with bodice-ripping and all that, but maybe a little more sexy. Still, any book that can make me cry lik...more
So this is more of a classic, written in 1939 so I had to get used to the writing style which is always fun if you're going to love the book. I knew I would like the book because it was recommended to me by one of my best friends!
At first while reading it I wasn't sure if I'd like it at all because I was upset that one of the main characters actually died! I was hoping more for a "out-of-body" experience instead of him actually being dead. darn.
But you get to learn more about who with the man w...more
At first while reading it I wasn't sure if I'd like it at all because I was upset that one of the main characters actually died! I was hoping more for a "out-of-body" experience instead of him actually being dead. darn.
But you get to learn more about who with the man w...more
This is not a book that one can just run out to the local bookstore and grab off the shelf. It was last printed in wide release in the 70's, and is now available mainly used or through reprint services, so it requires a little tracking down. Nevertheless, I would argue that it will be worth the effort for most readers. The story starts out just after World War I and follows 17 year-old Sabrina as her father and aunt move her from their London flat to a leased house in the country. Sabrina immedi...more
Aug 02, 2011
Jill
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Jill by:
Hannah
Shelves:
romantic-historical-fiction
Set in 1938, Tryst is tender, sweet and hauntingly beautiful. I can't help but feel that author Elswyth Thane was a 1930's and 40's forerunner of today's Susanna Kearsley. This is a gentle story for those who believe in destiny, soul mates and love across time. And for those who believe that a small thing like death can never hinder true love.
You said to thank you later Hannah. So thanks.
You said to thank you later Hannah. So thanks.
3 likes · like · see review
This book was wonderful!! Sabrina is lonely until she breaks into a forbidden room in the house her father is renting. There, over the course of the story, she finds a forbidden love that rivals the romance of Bella and Edward. Tryst was written in 1939, and the story takes place just after WWI. The writing is beautiful and the plot will keep you guessing right up to the very end - keep your tissues handy!
Haven't read this in years, and wondered if I should even keep it. Then I discovered that it is almost impossible to find except at exorbitant prices ($30 up for this edition), and not available on kindle.
I remember that I really liked it and read it many times when younger. I think I will have to read it again soon
I remember that I really liked it and read it many times when younger. I think I will have to read it again soon
This is an old favorite from my youth and I pulled it out recently to see if it would still give that sense of comfort and innocent love, mixed with gentle spookiness. It does, in spades! I'm planning on reading more Elswyth Thane and recovering old-fashioned courtly romance--I'm sick of brassy, bold, foul-mouthed characters!
1 like · like · see review
I read this book many years ago when Elswyth Thane's books were still in the local libraries. As with most of her novels, it was a story of enduring love and grabbed my young heart. I loved Ms. Thane's books so much that I wrote her a fan letter and we started a correspondence that lasted a couple of years.
A quick read about a girl who becomes intrigued and then in love with the occupant of an off-limits locked room in the home her family is renting in the English country side. I'm sure as a teenager I would have given it 5 stars...
An all time favorite. When I am in need of total comfort and love from a book / I turn to Tryst. And have so for over 40 years. It never fails to charm each time I read it and cry again and again.
This was my first Elswyth Thane novel. The story of a lonely girl falling in love with an unsuitable man(a ghost) just sat well with me. I still retread it once a year.
Jul 24, 2010
Liz Brown
added it
A very romantic book, with a supernatural overtone. I read it many years ago, and loved it. I have it still but am afraid to re-read it and break the spell.
This was a sweet little ghost story. I especially liked the parts where the ghost, a man who recently died, is trying to figure out what he can and cannot do is his new 'form'.
Apr 11, 2010
CLM
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to CLM by:
Ward School Library
In the forbidden room at the top of the stairs, Sabrina found love...and enchantment." That is what it said on the back cover copy of the Tempo paperback I found in my elementary school (I was too young to appreciate it), but there is so much more to this evocative and unforgettable story. The heroine is 17, and sensitive, self-contained, old for her years - it is inevitable that she will fall in love with the first handsome man she encounters.
How can anyone not fall in love with a book that be...more
How can anyone not fall in love with a book that be...more
4 likes · like · see review
This was a really fun old fashioned romance! It was a quick, short read and in today's society would be labled a young adult book. I found it really sweet and it made me nostalgic for the time of innocent young love.
Loved this book as a teenage and as an adult. And it still makes me cry!
I don't know why I loved this story. But as a teenager I would go into the stacks of the San Francisco Main Library, pull this worn little book out, and read it over and over again.
I read this years ago and loved it. It will always be my favoorite book.
I never get tired of this one; I've read it twice - maybe three times.
Read this when I was in Junior High and loved it, hence the 5 stars.
A ghost story of great beauty.
Heartwarming, bittersweet love/ghost story. Very enjoyable book.
beautiful- made me cry
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Thane is most famous for her "Williamsburg" series of historical fiction. The books cover several generations of a single family from the American Revolutionary War up to World War II. The action moves from Williamsburg in later books to England, New York City and Richmond, Virginia.
More about Elswyth Thane...
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