Melissa was sure it was the doll, Dido, who brought evil to the family, not once, but again and again. Three generations were haunted by the strang...
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Mar 29, 2009
Abigail
rated it: 
The third of Ruth M. Arthur's children's novels to be published in the United States, following upon Dragon Summer (1963) and My Daughter, Nicola (1965), A Candle In Her Room is probably also the author's best-known work. It is certainly one of her most powerful, and - ironically, as it is the last of her later works I have read - now one of my favorites. It is the story of three generations of women whose lives are shaped by the malevolent doll, Dido, whose evil influence creates an eerie atmos
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29 comments
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(8 people liked it)
May 23, 2011
Melody
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5/2011 Oh, how I love this book. It's tightly written, suspenseful without being terribly scary, haunting and utterly infused with a gentle love. It's rooted so deeply in its place that one comes away from it loving Pembrokeshire-as-was. Full of insights into obsession, forgiveness, family and above all love, this story is one of the classics. Scary haunted doll aside, there's just so much in this book that's rewarding. We learn about war, about cruelty and madness, about art and music and danci
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(7 people liked it)
Dec 14, 2009
Lisa
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I loved the voices of the 3 girls/women over 3 generations whose voices told the story. The book is told is 4 sections, by Melissa, Dilys (Melissa’s neice), Melissa again, then Nina (Dily’s daughter and Melissa’s great neice). I was so attached to Melissa’s character that when it was Nina’s turn to tell the tale I occasionally briefly forgot it wasn’t Melissa anymore. All 3 of these characters are well drawn as are many others; I especially enjoyed Emmy’s character.
It’s an incredibly More...
It’s an incredibly More...
20 comments
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(6 people liked it)
Feb 02, 2008
CLM
rated it:
Perhaps Arthur's best known book and certainly the most unsettling. It begins:
"I suppose if we had not come to live in Pembrokeshire, Judith, Briony and I, this story would never have been written, for in another set of circumstances our lives might have run very differently. There would have been no Dido."
The story is about three generations of women who are haunted by an evil doll, and how it changes their lives.
"I suppose if we had not come to live in Pembrokeshire, Judith, Briony and I, this story would never have been written, for in another set of circumstances our lives might have run very differently. There would have been no Dido."
The story is about three generations of women who are haunted by an evil doll, and how it changes their lives.
7 comments
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Jan 11, 2009
Claire
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I won a copy of this book in 5th grade, in relation to doing some number of book review. I've been haunted by it ever since!
This is one of the spookiest, most gripping things I've read. Of course - disclaimer - blood and gore are a whole different thing, this has none of that. So if that's 'gripping' for you, what I'm writing won't apply.
But it's about a doll that has ... an effect on people. And it traces that effect across multiple generations of a family that buys the house in w More...
This is one of the spookiest, most gripping things I've read. Of course - disclaimer - blood and gore are a whole different thing, this has none of that. So if that's 'gripping' for you, what I'm writing won't apply.
But it's about a doll that has ... an effect on people. And it traces that effect across multiple generations of a family that buys the house in w More...
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Oct 05, 2007
Stephanie
rated it: 
Evil doll? Haunted family? Welsh backdrop? What's not to love about this book? Don't read it the night before you have something important to do, though, as this story will keep you keep you awake from sheer terror.
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Aug 27, 2011
Sally
rated it: 
Actually... I'm not sure I could say I LIKED this book. I read it only once, way back, and found it so creepy I never read it again. However, it has stuck with my memory, so I assume it is well-written so I can't give it a ho-hum-not-so-good two stars. (So many books SEEM good while I'm reading them, but then two days later I'm stuck for the heroine's name!) I have quite a few books by Ruth M. Arthur, but don't seem to have reread many. This one is the only major memory-sticker.
Mar 01, 2011
Victoria
rated it:
I read this book when I was in fifth grade in 1972...I am now 51 and could walk to the shelf in my grade school library and know its exact location. I think I checked this book out 10-12 times in the two years I went to that school. I loved the way the book focused on the lives of the children...as though what the adults were doing barely mattered. My husband bought me a copy for Christmas this year, read it through in one sitting and found it as good as ever.
Nov 28, 2008
Erica
rated it:
One of my favorite novels when I was 12 or 13, though I don't usually go for stories of more than one generation. Some seriously creepy sections (not for children susceptible to nightmares!) but very exciting, very satisfying. Like most of R A Arthur, just a bit of magic set in everyday Great Britain.
I love Margery Gill's illustrations! She also did some of the early Susan Cooper books.
I love Margery Gill's illustrations! She also did some of the early Susan Cooper books.
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Jun 15, 2011
Maura
rated it:
I read this book so many times as a pre-teen! It was so eerie but totally believable, and somewhat foreign as well, hence exotic. The melancholy mood over missed happiness yet with redemption in the 3rd generation made for a terrific plot. This was definitely a childhood favorite.
Mar 12, 2009
Anne
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As a child, I never realized that the book that so creeped me out was written by the same author as another favorite "Requiem for a Princess." I loved both these books at a time when most of my reading was almost exclusively focused on horses.
Feb 04, 2009
Corinne
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I read this at least once in my early teens...to this day I'm not sure why our school library had this book on the shelves as it was much more supernatural than our parochial school would have allowed. Maybe the librarian never read it!
Jul 29, 2011
Nancy
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I read this when I was 10 or so and it always haunted me. I finally found a copy on ebay a few years ago and it was still pretty scary in parts!
Jan 04, 2011
Tara
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I read this as a child and remembered being a bit freaked out by it so I sought it out as an adult to reread it. Definitely a bit spooky!
Aug 14, 2009
Megan
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A doll who enchants and imprisons with malicious intent! Can anyone break free of her?
Mar 25, 2010
Lobstergirl
rated it:
Holy ****, I completely forgot about this book. Dramatic and scary.
Mar 07, 2011
One of my creepy childhood favorites, I remember reading this one dark night and being too afraid to fall asleep afterwords. It's either ESP or poltergeists or something like that.
Dec 16, 2009
Wilma
rated it:
i read this novel in elementary school, and it has stayed with me ever since. the story of three generations of girls in one family, each touched by the sorcery of a doll that gets passed down among them. lives are forever and tragically changed, because of dido, until the youngest girl is finally able to overcome the curse.
Nov 12, 2011
M.
rated it:
This novel had a profound affect on me as a teenager. I have tried to purchase it many times, but have been ripped off by different distributors. It is now a collector's item and out of my reach, sadly.
I love this book. Can't even reread it as it is out of print.
I love this book. Can't even reread it as it is out of print.
Jan 09, 2010
Megan
rated it:
Not first reading (date below)
May 30, 1996: or 5/31; back to P&P
April 21, 2001
May 30, 1996: or 5/31; back to P&P
April 21, 2001
Feb 10, 2012
Feb 06, 2012
Jan 31, 2012
