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182nd out of 247 books
—
85 voters
The Vanishing Point
by
Mary Sharratt (Goodreads Author)
In the tradition of Philippa Gregory’s smart, transporting fiction comes this tale of dark suspense, love, and betrayal, featuring two star-crossed sisters, one lost and the other searching.
Bright and inquisitive, Hannah Powers was raised by a father who treated her as if she were his son. While her beautiful and reckless sister, May, pushes the limits of propriety in thei...more
Bright and inquisitive, Hannah Powers was raised by a father who treated her as if she were his son. While her beautiful and reckless sister, May, pushes the limits of propriety in thei...more
Paperback, 369 pages
Published
June 2nd 2006
by Mariner Books
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When I began this book I was not sure if I even wanted to get through it. I thought the character of May being so sexually liberal from the beginning was a little forced. A woman during that time in England and in America would have been punished (quite wrongly, but still) and therefore I was not surprised at what happened to May in America with her new husband. I really liked the character of Hannah, and her naivete and then her strength. She did what she had to do to protect herself and her ch...more
2.5 Stars. This one started out iffy for me but I kept going and was glad I did because once Hannah got to America I was hooked on the story. But then just as the mystery of what really happened to May started to heat up, Hannah unraveled and so did the rest of the story. I didn't care for the stupidity that suddenly enveloped Hannah nor the choices she made. In the end, neither of the girls were worthy enough in my eyes to be heroines and I felt like I'd been cheated out of the time it took me...more
In art, the place where parallel lines meet on the horizon is called the vanishing point. Mary Sharratt's novel is about the difference between how things appear and how things really are.
At first, sisters Mary and Hannah seem to live lives that are more like diverging lines than parallel ones. May, the older, wilder, and beautifully sensuous sister samples men like sweets at a fair. When her sexual appetite ruins her marital prospects in England, she is sent to Maryland to wed a distant cousin....more
At first, sisters Mary and Hannah seem to live lives that are more like diverging lines than parallel ones. May, the older, wilder, and beautifully sensuous sister samples men like sweets at a fair. When her sexual appetite ruins her marital prospects in England, she is sent to Maryland to wed a distant cousin....more
May Powers is no stranger to a good roll in the hay. In fact, she's a little bit too familiar with it. Her honor gone, and no hope of finding a respectable match in her small English town, her father sends her to America to be wed to a distant cousin's son Gabriel. May's sister Hannah is distraught about this, she doesn't want her sister to leave her all alone with their ailing father. Knowing they will meet again after their father dies, May leaves for America and Hannah is left to cling to her...more
I am honestly not sure what I think about this book. The blurb on the back drew me right in...Colonial Maryland, mystery, intrigue and forbidden love? Count me in! But the further I got into the book, the more unbelievable it seemed. I firmly believe May would never have gotten away with her sexual escapades without some dire consequences. And Hannah, oh Hannah...she started out as my favorite character but it seemed as if the second she stepped off the boat in Maryland she became a completely d...more
“A mere optical illusion, Hannah,” her father told her, referring to the vanishing point on the horizon. “In truth, the ship does not disappear. The vessel is still there, even if we on the shore cannot see it.” So it transpired that both people and ships could become ghosts without ever dying or sinking beneath the waves. (Prologue, The Vanishing Point)
The Vanishing Point, by Mary Sharratt, is 364 pages and was published in 2006. It was a gift from my beloved writing critique partner, Kelly. Sh...more
The Vanishing Point, by Mary Sharratt, is 364 pages and was published in 2006. It was a gift from my beloved writing critique partner, Kelly. Sh...more
The Vanishing Point is an enjoyable historical romance about two sisters, the beautiful and promiscuous May and the plain and intelligent Hannah. In the late 1680s, May sets off from her native England to Maryland to marry a distant cousin who lives on a tabacco plantation. May has ruined her prospects for marriage in her own village because of her promiscuous behavior. Hannah stays behind in England to tend to their ailing father. After their father dies, Hannah travels to the colonies to join...more
In art, the place where parallel lines meet on the horizon is called the vanishing point. Mary Sharratt's novel is about the difference between how things appear and how things really are.
At first, sisters Mary and Hannah seem to live lives that are more like diverging lines than parallel ones. May, the older, wilder, and beautifully sensuous sister samples men like sweets at a fair. When her sexual appetite ruins her marital prospects in England, she is sent to Maryland to wed a distant cousin....more
At first, sisters Mary and Hannah seem to live lives that are more like diverging lines than parallel ones. May, the older, wilder, and beautifully sensuous sister samples men like sweets at a fair. When her sexual appetite ruins her marital prospects in England, she is sent to Maryland to wed a distant cousin....more
I had all intentions of loving this book. The summary I read had me scrambling all over to find a copy. Unfortunately, while I was engaged in the story overall, the ending had me just plain ‘ole upset.
This was a dark book that contained a lot of grief and hardships. Sharratt did a great job of writing daily life in the 1600’s, the scenes were so descriptive I found I had a clear picture of the surroundings.
(view spoiler)...more
This was a dark book that contained a lot of grief and hardships. Sharratt did a great job of writing daily life in the 1600’s, the scenes were so descriptive I found I had a clear picture of the surroundings.
(view spoiler)...more
I've only recently discovered Mary Sharratt's work after reading her latest novel Daughters of the Witching Hill (which is set near to where I live and is a story I know well).
The Vanishing Point took me into new territory to explore a time and country that I wasn't so familiar with and I found the descriptions vivid and evocative.
It was written in an interesting and unusual way that twisted together the stories of the lives of two sisters and a man. The plot was unexpected, but that did not de...more
The Vanishing Point took me into new territory to explore a time and country that I wasn't so familiar with and I found the descriptions vivid and evocative.
It was written in an interesting and unusual way that twisted together the stories of the lives of two sisters and a man. The plot was unexpected, but that did not de...more
This was a great page turner. The story starts in England with two sisters who love eachother but are vastly different. When the older sister commits acts that prevent her from marrying someone in her community so her father is forced to send her to the New World. There she starts a new life but shortly later, a major life change occurs and the younger sister is forced to follow her sister to Maryland. At this point, the family has lost track of the older sister and so a great risk is at stake....more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I would really rate this one 2.5 stars instead of just two.
In short, it tells the story of a "loose" girl from England living in the 16th century who gives away her virtue and takes lover after lover. She's sent to America to marry a distant cousin in the hopes that the marriage will reform her.
After her father dies and her younger sister (the epitome of virtue) goes to America to be reunited with her sister. Instead she finds her and her newborn dead and her husband angry, devastated, and resen...more
In short, it tells the story of a "loose" girl from England living in the 16th century who gives away her virtue and takes lover after lover. She's sent to America to marry a distant cousin in the hopes that the marriage will reform her.
After her father dies and her younger sister (the epitome of virtue) goes to America to be reunited with her sister. Instead she finds her and her newborn dead and her husband angry, devastated, and resen...more
The pages flew past as I read on feverishly trying to find the answers to this lusty, sad and absorbing novel. Set in the American wilderness of the late seventeenth century, Hannah Powers, follows her sister, May, from England to colonial Maryland where she envisions her fully entrenched in her new life as wife to their distant relative Gabriel. Mystery snowballs with each chapter, as the reader picks up the scent of foul play, becoming Hannah's accomplice in her hunt to dig out the truth on th...more
I couldn't put this one down. It interesting in that it's about sister's who move to Maryland to wed after their father dies in England in the 1600's. There is a twist and the plot keeps you guessing.
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period piece - - set between England the new colonies in the Americas in the mid to late 1800s. This isn't a time period I tend to read about or have much interest in - but I really did enjoy this book. It wasn't heavy on plot twists, but the dialogue and characters were well-developed, and I found myself wanting to know how they dealt with the everyday problems they were encountering. my heart strings were tugged at the end when the book tied story lines together, but yet not necessarily with t...more
I thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to the writings of Mary Sharratt with this book. The historical research was spot-on and the journery of two English sisters, Hannah and May Powers, was intriguing and well told. The added bonus is that Mary Sharratt's supporting cast of characters are also intriguing and well drawn...especially Adele and Nathan whom I would like to know more about.
However, I am left with one nagging question; "What happened to Ruby when Hannah and Daniel left the homestead o...more
However, I am left with one nagging question; "What happened to Ruby when Hannah and Daniel left the homestead o...more
Please do not read the description of this book on Amazon, Goodreads, or the book jacket - they all contain spoilers. Read my spoiler-free review below:
This book is about two sisters in England in the 1600's. The eldest is sent to America to marry her distant cousin, sight unseen. Upon the death of the father, the younger daughter travels to Virginia to join her sister. Once she gets there, she finds that things are not as she expected.
This book has different levels: period piece, romance, myst...more
This book is about two sisters in England in the 1600's. The eldest is sent to America to marry her distant cousin, sight unseen. Upon the death of the father, the younger daughter travels to Virginia to join her sister. Once she gets there, she finds that things are not as she expected.
This book has different levels: period piece, romance, myst...more
I finished reading the book this morning before I went to work. Bad idea. I could not stop thinking about the ending ( I really do not want to give anything away). I could not stop my brain from trying to process all the different emotions I was going through. It is a good book. It is a thought provoking, passionate book you will not be able to put down ... whether you love OR hate the book. There are characters you love; characters you weep for; and characters you hate and wish Karma would have...more
Had trouble with this one, possibly because I wasn't doing too great when reading it. I was excited to read about colonial Maryland plantation life because my paternal ancestors owned a significantly large plantation in Maryland during this time (it became less and less impressive as it was split between siblings, their children, etc.). I was disappointed in this because I didn't get the "experience" I was looking for. A few times it started going gothic, which made me excited, but it didn't fol...more
I loved this book. Okay, yes, May's wanton ways gave me pause. But I've always suspected there were many women like her around and not written about very often. And in the authors after note she explains where May must have gotten her ideas from, which probably should have been handled somehow in the text itself. But I thought it was written well and the plot and characterization were wonderful. I loved the way it glimpsed early American history through very personal terms. I enjoyed her writing...more
I found that after I finished this book, I was still caught up in it. I mourned for Hannah and Gabriel what could've have been if only they had listened to their hearts, instead of choosing to believe lies. May's character was a bit hard to believe; the sexual liberties that she took during the time period would have been unacceptable, both before she left England, as well as once she was in the new World. Beyond that it made me examine the decisions that we make and the consequences with which...more
This book was so absorbing I read it in one day. It doesn't fit any of the genres of modern day but either do I think it was written in the tradition of Philippa Gregory. This book reminds me more of an older writer, Elizabeth Goudge.
May Powers is seven years older than her sister, Hannah. She is also a loose woman. Having earned a bad reputation in their small village, her father decides to send her to the new world as a bride for his cousin's son. May thinks of the journey as a great adventure...more
May Powers is seven years older than her sister, Hannah. She is also a loose woman. Having earned a bad reputation in their small village, her father decides to send her to the new world as a bride for his cousin's son. May thinks of the journey as a great adventure...more
Loved this book - it was so well written I felt as though I was there travelling from England to the wilds of America with Hannah and May 2 sisters who are so human with all their faults and flaws.
Back in the late 1600s in small town England the choices for women were few. Devoted sisters May and Hannah are very different in personality, May is lusty and lively and rather wanton and her desires are to be free, seek adventure and find excitement, but her promiscuous nature brings her nothing but...more
Back in the late 1600s in small town England the choices for women were few. Devoted sisters May and Hannah are very different in personality, May is lusty and lively and rather wanton and her desires are to be free, seek adventure and find excitement, but her promiscuous nature brings her nothing but...more
"The Vanishing Point" was far, far different from what I was expecting it to be. And far, far darker too- but in a good way.
The summary on the back of the book really doesn't do justice to the complexity of the story. Before reading it, I only knew the basic start to Hannah's story: her sister May goes to America for an arranged marriage, Hannah follows her there a while later, she finds out that May has passed away, and she falls in love with May's widow, Gabriel. And being very naive, I though...more
The summary on the back of the book really doesn't do justice to the complexity of the story. Before reading it, I only knew the basic start to Hannah's story: her sister May goes to America for an arranged marriage, Hannah follows her there a while later, she finds out that May has passed away, and she falls in love with May's widow, Gabriel. And being very naive, I though...more
While I liked this historical novel through most of the story; I was totally confused by the author's sort of abrupt ending. The story was well written until the two main characters separate and leave the place where they were living. The male character is just mentioned in passing in the resolution the author presents and the female character resolved nicely, if rather strangely. The references to the title are strange and unsettling.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book was painful to read and I had to force myself to finish it. THe summary on the back cover was not the same as the book itself. By the end of this book I hated every character and couldn't wait to finish it so that I could move on. The distrubing details about the animal slaughterings were unnecessary and were two pages long. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
I didn't find either of the girls the story was based on very likeable. I felt the only likeable person in the whole thing was Gabriel.
Sometimes in books the book doesn't take where you expected or wanted to go, but the journey was worth it and you are glad of the time you spent with the characters. Still on the fence whether I could hsve done without this one or not.
Sometimes in books the book doesn't take where you expected or wanted to go, but the journey was worth it and you are glad of the time you spent with the characters. Still on the fence whether I could hsve done without this one or not.
Jul 25, 2011
Tori
added it
2010- This was a quick read for me, mainly because the author did a good job of building a suspenseful plot. The main characters, sisters May and Hannah, have unique voices and I liked that the author used multiple viewpoints.One thing that irked me was the description on the back of the book. I felt it revealed too much of the plot and probably should be rewritten.
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Mary Sharratt is an American writer who lives with her Belgian husband in the Pendle region of Lancashire, England, the setting for her acclaimed 2010 novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL, which recasts the Pendle Witches of 1612 in their historical context as cunning folk and healers.
Previously she lived for twelve years in Germany. This, along with her interest in sacred music and herbal medic...more
More about Mary Sharratt...
Previously she lived for twelve years in Germany. This, along with her interest in sacred music and herbal medic...more
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Jan 12, 2011 06:33am