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The Winter Ghosts
by
Kate Mosse
By the author of the New York Times-bestselling Labyrinth, a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage.
In the winter of 1928, still seeking some kind of resolution to the horrors of World War I, Freddie is traveling through the beautiful but forbidding French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. Dazed, he stumbles through...more
In the winter of 1928, still seeking some kind of resolution to the horrors of World War I, Freddie is traveling through the beautiful but forbidding French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. Dazed, he stumbles through...more
Hardcover, 260 pages
Published
February 3rd 2011
by Putnam Adult
(first published January 1st 2009)
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Rating Clarification: 4.5 Stars
Beautifully rendered ghost story that encapsulates grief better then any I have read in a long time. This tale of separation, loss and redemption is bittersweet to the very end. Author Kate Mosse's descriptive prose is lovely, and the story is haunting without being cliched. While I wasn't too impressed with her longer novel, Labyrinth, Mosse delivers an emotional knockout with this shorter work. Of added bonus is the ink drawings preceeding each chapter by Brian G...more
Beautifully rendered ghost story that encapsulates grief better then any I have read in a long time. This tale of separation, loss and redemption is bittersweet to the very end. Author Kate Mosse's descriptive prose is lovely, and the story is haunting without being cliched. While I wasn't too impressed with her longer novel, Labyrinth, Mosse delivers an emotional knockout with this shorter work. Of added bonus is the ink drawings preceeding each chapter by Brian G...more
An exquisite ghost story, well told, highly emotive, short and to the point. This one has a beautiful backdrop to it in southern France, a land of snow-clad mountains and icy forests. I'm not ashamed to admit it had me bawling at the end.
The various plot strands are neatly woven: the great sense of loss following the Great War; psychological grief; 14th century history; an atmospheric and subtle ghostly presence worthy of the best Victorian authors and even a little mystery here and there.
I've...more
The various plot strands are neatly woven: the great sense of loss following the Great War; psychological grief; 14th century history; an atmospheric and subtle ghostly presence worthy of the best Victorian authors and even a little mystery here and there.
I've...more
Oct 21, 2010
Blair
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ghostly-and-magical,
historical
This was a thoroughly enjoyable little story with plenty of atmosphere and intrigue. I've only read one other book by Kate Mosse - the readable but somewhat heavy-handed Sepulchre - and The Winter Ghosts was far better. Like Sepulchre, it reads rather like a YA novel, and I wasn't at all surprised to learn it's an expanded version of a previously published short story. But the characters are likeable, the plot grips, and Freddie's meeting with the mysterious Fabrissa and his subsequent discoveri...more
I have created a new shelf in honor of this book, ie 'too painful to finish'. I tried for another 20 pages or so, but it is too awful for me to waste my time on. This is my review when about one-third through.
This story is so tediously over-written, that I am not sure I can finish it. The plot moves at a glacial pace with childish elaboration. As I finish reading several pages when almost nothing happens, I can't help but think of the few sentences that Elmore Leonard would have wrapped it up w...more
This story is so tediously over-written, that I am not sure I can finish it. The plot moves at a glacial pace with childish elaboration. As I finish reading several pages when almost nothing happens, I can't help but think of the few sentences that Elmore Leonard would have wrapped it up w...more
A difficult one to judge, especially as I inadvisably read this over a long period of time - I always feel it's much more conducive to keeping the atmosphere in a book of this genre if read over a shorter period of time. My first impressions were good; I have never read any Kate Mosse before but I found that she writes in a literary style, which I like. There were many literary devices, especially in the first part of the book that made me enjoy reading them. That's one of the best things about...more
The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. Unable to cope with his grief, Freddie has spent much of the time since in a sanatorium. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees - another region that has seen too much bloodshed over the years. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. Shake...more
Frederick hat den Tod seines Bruders im ersten Weltkrieg nie richtig verarbeitet, immer auf der Suche reist er durch Frankreich. Durch einen plötzlich aufkommenden Schneesturm verschlägt es ihn in ein kleines französisches Dorf. Dort wird er herzlich aufgenommen und auf ein großes Fest eingeladen. Hier lernt er die ungewöhnliche Fabrissa kennen, sie erzählen sich ihre Lebensgeschichte, doch plötzlich ist sie verschwunden. Keiner kann sich an sie erinnern, das einzige, was ihm bleibt ist ein myst...more
I have not read any of Kate Mosse’s books before although the reviews of labyrinth have been great I have not got around to reading any, which after this book I realise is my loss! This book is set after the First World War when Freddie unable to come to terms with losing his brother in the war and the fact his brother was the obvious favourite of his parents. He travels to the French Pyrenees seeking solace the weather is becoming increasingly worse and after a violent snow storm his car spins...more
Being that I'm a huge fan of gothic literature, I was excited to find "The Winter Ghosts" in my neighborhood bookstore. Although I usually am a bit jaded when it comes to reading contemporary authors (dedicating my undergraduate degree to English Literature has most assuredly made me a snob), I figured that the USA Today quote stamped on the cover: "This classically haunting novel...will chill the blood of the most jaded mystery fan" deemed it worth a shot. Ok, I tried. Although Mosse is a skill...more
The main part of this story takes place in the past as Freddie tells it to a bookshop owner. His tale is told in 1933, but takes place in 1928. Freddie is still mourning the loss of his older brother in the First World War. His brother was the only one in his family that he had a true connection with, and he was not told the details of his brother's death at the time. Subsequently, he had a nervous breakdown and spent some time in a sanatorium, but he still feels very close to his brother and di...more
Oct 10, 2012
Elizabeth Sulzby
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
historicalfiction
I found this brief novel about the Cathars' persecution in the 14th Century of France to be much more elegant and rewarding than The Labyrinth. I think Mosse uses the time shifting from the early 20th Century to the 14th century much more skillful and convincing. As with the Labyrinth, the caves allowed whole communities to hide from persecution and death--to a point. The main character has to resolve issues in his modern life with his grief for his brother who was killed in WWI, with his relati...more
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse
In The Winter Ghosts, a despondent Freddie Watson mourns the loss of his favored brother who perished in WWI. Even ten years after the war, Freddie cannot rid himself of a paralyzing case of survivor's guilt. After crashing his car in a snowstorm in the French Pyrenees, he hikes to the nearest village where some of the local denizens give him a cold reception.
However, he soon finds himself invited to a fête, treated to a reenactment of a centuries old conflict. It...more
In The Winter Ghosts, a despondent Freddie Watson mourns the loss of his favored brother who perished in WWI. Even ten years after the war, Freddie cannot rid himself of a paralyzing case of survivor's guilt. After crashing his car in a snowstorm in the French Pyrenees, he hikes to the nearest village where some of the local denizens give him a cold reception.
However, he soon finds himself invited to a fête, treated to a reenactment of a centuries old conflict. It...more
On the face of it, this is a great ghost story - were it not sent in rural France, I would have said it had a rather gothic feel to it. A lone man roaming through the wilderness after a car crash in a blizzard, stumbles upon an eerily quiet village before finding a guest house and realising that everything is not as it seems...Had it been nothing more, it would be great. As it happens, it was even better!
At less than 250 pages, I expected either a quick-fire story or a character study. I was ple...more
At less than 250 pages, I expected either a quick-fire story or a character study. I was ple...more
Freddie Watson, haunted by the death of his brother, is travelling through the south of France in the winter of 1928, when he crashes his car in the Pyrenees during a snowstorm. Alone and freezing, Freddie wanders through the mountain forest until he arrives in Nulle, a quiet village grieving its own losses.
During his stay in Nulle, Freddie meets a young woman by the name of Fabrissa, the two sharing their respective stories of loss over the course of an evening. The following morning Freddie f...more
During his stay in Nulle, Freddie meets a young woman by the name of Fabrissa, the two sharing their respective stories of loss over the course of an evening. The following morning Freddie f...more
A number of contemporary authors have reminded us of the devastating human loss to Europeans as a result of World War I. When one considers the breadth of this loss and the absurdity of the battles in which they fought, it is a wonder that more family members and survivors were not paralyzed by the trauma of this war.
This novel traces the journey of Freddie Watson, a young man who loses his older brother in the war, who comes to understand his relationships with his parents, his particular react...more
This novel traces the journey of Freddie Watson, a young man who loses his older brother in the war, who comes to understand his relationships with his parents, his particular react...more
It's 288 pages? What is this a short story? The Winter Ghosts is a stand alone novel, not part of the series that ties Labyrinth and Sepulchre.Is Kate Mosse mad at me?
The Winter Ghosts starts like a classic spook tale with the arrival of a stranger. In 1928 Freddie Watson enters a bookshop in Toulouse clutching a letter written in a dead language. He then tells the shocked bookseller his story. Watson had not been able to get past his adored brother's death during WWI. After ten years of grievi...more
The Winter Ghosts starts like a classic spook tale with the arrival of a stranger. In 1928 Freddie Watson enters a bookshop in Toulouse clutching a letter written in a dead language. He then tells the shocked bookseller his story. Watson had not been able to get past his adored brother's death during WWI. After ten years of grievi...more
Freddie Watson is a man consumed by grief. In the 6 years that have elapsed since the death of his brother in the First World War, his mental state has steadily deteriorated until a nervous breakdown sees him admitted to a sanatorium.
The months of rehabilitation see him improve to a level where he can integrate into society once more, so he takes a trip to France where he is unwittingly being led into an adventure that will bring him face to face with his grief once more.
Charming story this.
Mo...more
The months of rehabilitation see him improve to a level where he can integrate into society once more, so he takes a trip to France where he is unwittingly being led into an adventure that will bring him face to face with his grief once more.
Charming story this.
Mo...more
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse is the perfect read for a wintery afternoon. Still struggling with the loss of his brother in the Great War, the winter of 1928 finds Freddie Watson is travelling in the French Pyrenees. When his car goes off the road in a sudden snowstorm, Freddie makes his way to a small, nearly deserted town in the mountains. He arrives on the day of “La fete de Saint-Etienne,” where he meets the lovely Fabrissa, who has also suffered the effects of war. Freddie is immediately...more
Set in in the years following WWI and framed by the majestic winter austerity of the French Pyrenees, The Winter Ghosts is a small, eerily beautiful tale about loss, mourning and redemption. Within its modest number of pages, which easily could (and possibly should) be read in one sitting on a cold winter's night, new life is breathed into fairy tale, history lesson, love story, ghost story and travelogue.
If you've read Mosse before, the setting and even some of the details will be familiar gr...more
If you've read Mosse before, the setting and even some of the details will be familiar gr...more
I love ghost stories so I picked up this book with great expectations. Its a story about a man who has lost his brother in the first world war and is still trying to cope with the loss and the subsequent nervous breakdown. As he travels through the south-west of France, trying to overcome his grief, a car break down forces him to take shelter in a small silent village nearby. His promise to attend the annual festivities at the village square later that evening lead to mysteries, romance and adve...more
Kate Mosse has taken the history of the Cathars, a persecuted religious sect in 14th century France, and made it her own. In her third novel, The Winter Ghosts, she departs from the archaeo-thriller genre to try her hand at a ghost story. Freddie Watson has lost ten years of his life to his grief over the death of his beloved brother in the Great War. Having recovered from a severe breakdown, he's mentally and physically fragile, and his physician recommends an extended holiday. Freddie decides...more
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I really enjoyed this but admittedly it is a style of book that I love. Romance, war, ghosts, tragedy, history - blend them together and it's something I probably won't be able to resist.
The protagonist is likeable and sympathetic - Freddie is a young man who is still struggling to cope with his brother's death in the war and in his grief has stumbled through life in his shadow, ending up in an asylum due to his extreme grief and eventually deciding to travel to France. While there he loses cont...more
The protagonist is likeable and sympathetic - Freddie is a young man who is still struggling to cope with his brother's death in the war and in his grief has stumbled through life in his shadow, ending up in an asylum due to his extreme grief and eventually deciding to travel to France. While there he loses cont...more
Dec 06, 2011
Kathy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who loves historical fiction or ghost stories.
Recommended to Kathy by:
Found at library on new book shelf
Shelves:
odds-and-ends
"We are who we are because of those we choose to love and because of those who love us."
Freddie has been facing the ghosts of his past for years, in an out of the sanatorium, battling the darkness of his grief and pain. In an effort to forget, even for a short time, he sets out on a journey to visit friends in the French Pyrenees only to find himself stranded in a small, forgotten town after an accident leaves his car dangling over a cliff.
Freddie meets a beautiful and mysterious young woman, F...more
Freddie has been facing the ghosts of his past for years, in an out of the sanatorium, battling the darkness of his grief and pain. In an effort to forget, even for a short time, he sets out on a journey to visit friends in the French Pyrenees only to find himself stranded in a small, forgotten town after an accident leaves his car dangling over a cliff.
Freddie meets a beautiful and mysterious young woman, F...more
Jan 24, 2011
Dawn
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-reads,
historical-fiction
I received a copy of Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse as a "First Reads" giveaway. This book was a very interesting & lovely tale of a tragic part of history. I found it difficult to read in the beginning, but as the story progressed I found myself entranced. As in her book Labyrinth, there is so much description of detail that I had to reread sentences to complete the picture in my mind. This being said, it took me longer than it should have to read this book.
Dec 12, 2009
Kirsty (Blatant Biblioholic)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
paranormal-supernatural,
historical-fiction
Freddie's older brother died in action in WW1. Years later, Freddie is still mourning his loss whilst travelling through France. When he crashes his car in the middle of nowhere and happens upon a small village, he meets Fabrissa, a young woman also in mourning. They share their stories and Freddie finds out there is more to this woman than he originally thought...
This was an absorbing read. I was pulled in from the beginning and found myself captivated throughout. I'm new to Mosse's work and wi...more
This was an absorbing read. I was pulled in from the beginning and found myself captivated throughout. I'm new to Mosse's work and wi...more
Freddie is haunted by the memory of his brother George, who lost his life during World War I. After years of sadness and a brief stint in a sanitarium Freddie journey's around France. When a snow storm leaves him with a broken car and lost in the mountains he winds up in the village of Nulle, Freddie finds a girl with a similar past who leads him to a monumental historical discovery.
The Winter Ghosts is a quick read, which is good because it will distract you from the lack of story it has. Mosse...more
The Winter Ghosts is a quick read, which is good because it will distract you from the lack of story it has. Mosse...more
Der junge Freddie hat seinen Bruder im Krieg verloren. Doch auch etliche Jahre der Trauer danach, kommt er immer noch nicht darüber hinweg. Daraufhin verlässt er seine Heimat und beginnt eine Reise durch Frankreich. Auf dieser Reise hat er die Chance seine Lebensfreude, den Sinn nach Liebe und den Sinn des Daseins, wieder zu finden und zu erkennen. Doch wie und ob es dazu kommt, und was dieser geheimnisvolle Brief damit zu tun hat, den er zu Anfang des Buches einem Franzosen vorlegt, damit er ih...more
I had high hopes of this book, as I loved "Labrynth" when it came out some years ago and enjoyed "Sepulchure" too, although it was a bit heavy-handed. However, I'm afraid I was disappointed by "The Winter Ghosts".
I've rated it as "I liked this book" because I didn't dislike it. It's a nice little story and well told. However, it felt to me like reading a slimmed down version of the Labrynth story. In fact, if I didn't know that "The Winter Ghosts" was written later, then I would have assumed th...more
I've rated it as "I liked this book" because I didn't dislike it. It's a nice little story and well told. However, it felt to me like reading a slimmed down version of the Labrynth story. In fact, if I didn't know that "The Winter Ghosts" was written later, then I would have assumed th...more
This is the third Kate Mosse book I've read, following Labyrinth and Sepulchre. It's much smaller than these two and was a very quick read. It has it's historical roots in the persecution of the Cathars, like Labyrinth, and in the post war period. As before she utilizes a way of writing continually slips between both time periods. She isn't merely working to the same formula, however, but introduces the exploration of recovery after emotional upheaval and bereavement as well as ghosts. Yes this...more
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Kate Mosse is an English author and broadcaster. She is the author of a novel, Labyrinth, which has been translated into more than 37 other languages.
-Wikipedia
Her debut book, Labyrinth has been turned into a two part mini series for television starring Merlin's John Hurt and Katie McGrath and Harry Potter's Tom Felton.
More about Kate Mosse...
-Wikipedia
Her debut book, Labyrinth has been turned into a two part mini series for television starring Merlin's John Hurt and Katie McGrath and Harry Potter's Tom Felton.
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“We are who we are, because of those we choose to love and because of those who love us.”
—
42 people liked it
“And I shall set this last truth down. We are who we are because of those we choose to love and because of those who love us.”
—
17 people liked it
More quotes…
Jul 13, 2012 07:11pm
Oct 10, 2012 02:01pm