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The Mist in the Mirror
A terrifying ghost story by the author of The Woman in Black...
One dark and rainy night, Sir James Monmouth returns to London after years spent travelling alone.
Intent on uncovering the secrets of his childhood hero, the mysterious Conrad Vane, he begins to investigate Vane’s life, but he finds himself warned off at every turn.
Before long he realises he is being followed too. A pale, thin boy is haunting his every step but every time he tries to confront the boy he disappears. And what of the chilling scream and desperate sobbing only he can hear?
His quest leads him eventually to the old lady of Kittiscar Hall, where he discovers something far more terrible at work than he could ever have imagined.
One dark and rainy night, Sir James Monmouth returns to London after years spent travelling alone.
Intent on uncovering the secrets of his childhood hero, the mysterious Conrad Vane, he begins to investigate Vane’s life, but he finds himself warned off at every turn.
Before long he realises he is being followed too. A pale, thin boy is haunting his every step but every time he tries to confront the boy he disappears. And what of the chilling scream and desperate sobbing only he can hear?
His quest leads him eventually to the old lady of Kittiscar Hall, where he discovers something far more terrible at work than he could ever have imagined.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
218 people are currently reading
4467 people want to read
About the author
Susan Hill
170 books2,227 followersSusan Hill was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1942. Her hometown was later referred to in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short stories especially "Cockles and Mussels".
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".
Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.
In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.
Librarian's Note: There is more than one author by this name.
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".
Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.
In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.
Librarian's Note: There is more than one author by this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 574 reviews
December 8, 2024
“It was as I was a few paces from the door that I began to have the sensation of being watched, watched and silently followed. I spun round and shone my torch behind me, for the windows had ended here and the corridor was pitch dark. There was no one. I went quietly back a few yards, stopped and waited, straining my ears through the silence. Perhaps the wood settled every now and again, perhaps a board creaked. Perhaps they did not. I waited again, and then said in a low voice, ‘Who is there?’ There was no reply and, impatient with myself and my imaginings, I turned back and went again to the library door.”
Are you intrigued by this extract from the middle of the book? Do you want to read more? Well then, read on ...
“I expected it to be locked, like the rest, but it swung open slowly to my touch, so that, involuntarily, I jumped back. The sensation of being watched was stronger and now my nerves were on edge and I cursed myself for a fool, not to have remained in my bed, where I would surely by now have been peacefully asleep. But my curiosity grew, for I was eager to examine the library, where I planned to be working for the next few days, and beginning to be fascinated by the grave, venerable beauty of this ancient place.”
Such carefully controlled mounting tension creates a feeling of an earlier time, perhaps the 19th century, when in most classic novels of English literature, fear was merely a suggestion in the mind. And it continues:
“I stepped inside, and stood, letting my eyes grow accustomed to the change of light. I found myself in a room that stretched far ahead of me into the gloom. But there was enough of the soft, snow-reflected light coming in through the tall windows for me to have a view of a gallery, that ran the whole way around, rising towards the vaulted and elaborately carved ceiling. I felt no fear, but rather a sense of awe, as if I had entered some church or chapel.
Oak bookcases were lined on either side of the central aisle, with desks set in the spaces between, and as I looked up I could see more book stacks that rose behind the gallery, up to which iron spiral staircases led at intervals.”
Not only the 19th century, then, but perhaps the academic and religious settings of M.R. James? But who is our narrator? And why is he so unsettled?
The themes of a ghostly presence and a haunted house, are commonplaces of atmospheric writing from the 19th century. A musty old house, an edgy young man as narrator, overly subject to nervous anxiety, and gradually succumbing to his paranoia as he chases shadows through an old university library. Where have we seen this before?
Ah yes, replace “university library” with “old mansion” and we have “The Woman in Black”, from the same author, just three years before in 1989. The short novel “The Woman in Black” was phenomenally successful, and a dramatisation of it continues to play to rave audiences worldwide. A recent film is popular too, and since then Susan Hill has established a tradition for herself of writing a ghost story every Christmas, much as M.R. James did. And as we continue, the writing could come straight from one of his own short stories:
“[I]went to the spiral staircase nearest to me, and began to climb, my steps echoing harshly in the stillness of the room.
The gallery was dark, high and narrow, with only a foot or two of passage between the bookstacks, and the wooden rail. I switched off my torch. The air up here was colder, but at the same time oddly dead, and close, as though the dust of years, the dust of books and learning and thought, was packed tightly, excluding any freshness.
The soft breathing came again, from a different place, in the darkness just ahead of me and I began to edge forwards, and then to stop, move and stop, but it was always just out of reach. I looked down into the great barrel of the room below. Every shadow seemed like a crouched, huddled figure, every corner concealed some dreadful shape. There was no one there. There was nothing ... I wanted to run but could not and knew that this was what was intended, that I should be terrified by nothing, by my own fears, by soft breathing, by the creak of a board, by the very atmosphere which threatened me.”
The Mist in the Mirror, the short novel from 1992 reviewed here, and from which these short extracts are taken, has the feel of classic ghost stories. The author, Susan Hill, aims to chill rather than horrify; to intrigue and mystify rather than scare. She is a supreme manipulator, lulling us into a false sense of security with cosy and comforting descriptions, such as:
“The lamps were lit, and a good fire crackled in the great stone fireplace. There was a discreet chink of china, the brightness of silver teapot and muffin cover, the comforting smell mingled of steaming hot water, toast and a little sweet tobacco”
evoking a sense of place as well as any author I know, before unleashing all the fears lurking inside her protagonist — and by now, her readers.
The Mist in the Mirror is a pastiche of writers such as Wilkie Collins, or even Charles Dickens. It employs a common Victorian literary device of a story within a story, involving a manuscript which is passed on by Sir James Monmouth, to a younger man at his gentlemen’s club. The novel begins with a preface to this manuscript, before Sir James Monmouth tells his own story.
We learn that Sir James Monmouth spent his childhood abroad, and as a young man travelled all over the globe, following in the footsteps of an earlier great pioneer, Conrad Vane. For the last twenty years Sir James Monmouth has become almost obsessed with both his quest, and Conrad Vane himself. Now he has returned to his family home in England, the remote Kittiscar Hall, which he cannot remember. He aims to research and trace Conrad Vane, having discovered that Conrad Vane’s life is inextricably entangled with his own.
Sir James Monmouth sets off for Kittiscar Hall on a cold and rainy winter night. There are definite echoes here of “The Woman in Black”, as a young man clutches a mysterious manuscript and travels through the foggy mizzle of the English countryside in winter, to an unfamiliar destination. Straightaway, at every turn, something seems to warn him away, and he begins to have intense feelings of being watched. And as he learns more about his hero’s past, he discovers that Kittiscar Hall is hiding a terrible secret.
What started as a simple attempt to write a biography of his boyhood hero, the famous adventurer Conrad Vane, becomes increasingly strange, with a great sense of foreboding. Monmouth has many chances to abandon his quest for knowledge, but always refuses. The compulsion to learn more ever urges him onward, much as it does the reader, whose spine tingles as they learn more about Conrad Vane’s dreadful and nefarious secret. Gradually Monmouth learns that his life is bound together with that of his hero, in a way nobody could ever have imagined.
A terrible curse has been passed down through the generations for hundreds of years. Concerned priests, elderly librarians, hysterical psychics — even total strangers counsel him with dire warnings:
“leave be,” “be wary,” “go back.”
“It is evil of which I speak, Monmouth, wickedness, things best left concealed, undisturbed. Whoever is touched by Vane suffers.”
Coupled with this sense of unease is the strange arrival of a pale and sad, ragged boy in dirty old-fashioned clothes. He is about twelve years old, and appears and disappears with regularity. But why is it that he appears whenever there is trouble, and then seems to vanish without a trace? Who is the old woman behind the curtain? And why is it that only he hears the chilling scream and the desperate sobbing?
Susan Hill is a born story-teller of considerable talent. She can take a trope such as a mysterious, malevolent curse, mix it with her carefully described turn of the century London, plus the evocative North Yorkshire moors, imbue it with a feeling of doom and torment — the draughty, musty library, the sinister and threatening church — and a dash of something else.
The tale is a masterpiece of suspense as the mystery is slowly revealed. Sinister happenings in both the present and the past conspire to show a man’s fate and drive him to his doom. Or do they?
All is impression, and hints. What is the mysterious mirror? Does it show the future, or or something else? Susan Hill’s superbly crafted work enthralls the reader with its atmosphere and description. She is a master of the understated, using spare language when that is all that is needed:
“Rain. London. The back end of the year.”
Immediately we are there, on the very first page of Sir James Monmouth’s story. Not one word is wasted. The text continues, shifting to India, as contrast:
“There had been only heat and dryness for month after month, followed abruptly by monsoon, when the sky gathered and then burst like a boil and sheets of rain deluged the earth, turning it to mud, roaring like a yellow river, hot, thunderous rain that made the air sweat and steam. Rain that beat down upon the world like a mad thing and then ceased, leaving only debris in its wake.”
And we momentarily gain glimpses of India, Africa, the Antipodes and the Far East — wherever Monmouth had explored during his travels — in this brief tale. But for now, we are sucked back into London miry gloom:
“It was early afternoon but already the light was fading and darkness drawing in. A chill wind sneaked down alleyways and passages off the river. The houses were grimy, shiny and black-roofed with rain, mean and poor and ugly, and regularly interspersed with more, looming, sheds. The air was filled with the hooting of tugs and a plaintive siren, and there was the constant thump of boxes onto the wharves.”
And the ending, the denouement? Surely this must be terrifying, and possibly tragic, after all this suspense; these heightened feelings of paranoia?
The ending is in the form of an added postscript, after the young man of the gentleman’s club has read Sir James Monmouth’s story through. Is there a dramatic revelation? It is unclear, and remains a mystery: a mere impression. Perhaps this ambiguity is in keeping with the entire text, and it is unsettling. Yet it has to be said that it may feel slightly disappointing. If you are the sort of reader who needs a satisfying explanation to end a story — whether supernatural or not — this novel will not be for you.
But if you enjoy an exceptionally written piece of prose, with all the hallmarks of good supernatural 19th century fiction, where the menacing mood is paramount, you will very probably enjoy this. Prepare to settle down to explore sinister dark alleyways and corridors, a haunted library, spectres and apparitions, a crypt, creepy mansions on the Yorkshire moors — not to mention the unexplained “soft breathing”. You may find that from time to time you cast a glance over your shoulder ... just in case.
Here is the continuation of that extract from the novel:
“I went to a window, and saw that the library ran along the north end of the buildings framing the yard, at right angles to the chapel.
I turned away and began to walk softly between the bookcases, looking in awe to left and right, at the evidence of so much knowledge, so much learning, far beyond the level of school-age boys... It was as I approached the last few bays that I heard what at first I took to be the soft closing of the door at the far end of the room, but which went on, even and regular, like the breathing of someone asleep, a sighing that seemed to come out of the air above my head, as though the whole, great room were somehow a living thing, exhaling around me. I glanced up at the gallery. Someone was there, I was certain of it. The wood creaked. A footfall. I was as far from my way of escape as I could have been, trapped alone in this empty place with – whom? What?”
“But, after a time of silence and stillness, I summoned up enough strength and steadiness of nerve to walk slowly, step by step, around the gallery, glancing down now and then but seeing nothing, until I came to the last staircase, and by that descended to the ground again. As I returned to the corridor, closing the door of the library behind me, I caught sight of a light moving about irregularly on the opposite side, and, as I rounded the corner, I glimpsed a dark-coated figure walking slowly, and holding up a lantern – the porter, I supposed, on his rounds, and felt a wave of relief so great that it all but felled me and took my breath, and I was forced to lean against the wall for a few seconds, so giddy did I become.”
Are you intrigued by this extract from the middle of the book? Do you want to read more? Well then, read on ...
“I expected it to be locked, like the rest, but it swung open slowly to my touch, so that, involuntarily, I jumped back. The sensation of being watched was stronger and now my nerves were on edge and I cursed myself for a fool, not to have remained in my bed, where I would surely by now have been peacefully asleep. But my curiosity grew, for I was eager to examine the library, where I planned to be working for the next few days, and beginning to be fascinated by the grave, venerable beauty of this ancient place.”
Such carefully controlled mounting tension creates a feeling of an earlier time, perhaps the 19th century, when in most classic novels of English literature, fear was merely a suggestion in the mind. And it continues:
“I stepped inside, and stood, letting my eyes grow accustomed to the change of light. I found myself in a room that stretched far ahead of me into the gloom. But there was enough of the soft, snow-reflected light coming in through the tall windows for me to have a view of a gallery, that ran the whole way around, rising towards the vaulted and elaborately carved ceiling. I felt no fear, but rather a sense of awe, as if I had entered some church or chapel.
Oak bookcases were lined on either side of the central aisle, with desks set in the spaces between, and as I looked up I could see more book stacks that rose behind the gallery, up to which iron spiral staircases led at intervals.”
Not only the 19th century, then, but perhaps the academic and religious settings of M.R. James? But who is our narrator? And why is he so unsettled?
The themes of a ghostly presence and a haunted house, are commonplaces of atmospheric writing from the 19th century. A musty old house, an edgy young man as narrator, overly subject to nervous anxiety, and gradually succumbing to his paranoia as he chases shadows through an old university library. Where have we seen this before?
Ah yes, replace “university library” with “old mansion” and we have “The Woman in Black”, from the same author, just three years before in 1989. The short novel “The Woman in Black” was phenomenally successful, and a dramatisation of it continues to play to rave audiences worldwide. A recent film is popular too, and since then Susan Hill has established a tradition for herself of writing a ghost story every Christmas, much as M.R. James did. And as we continue, the writing could come straight from one of his own short stories:
“[I]went to the spiral staircase nearest to me, and began to climb, my steps echoing harshly in the stillness of the room.
The gallery was dark, high and narrow, with only a foot or two of passage between the bookstacks, and the wooden rail. I switched off my torch. The air up here was colder, but at the same time oddly dead, and close, as though the dust of years, the dust of books and learning and thought, was packed tightly, excluding any freshness.
The soft breathing came again, from a different place, in the darkness just ahead of me and I began to edge forwards, and then to stop, move and stop, but it was always just out of reach. I looked down into the great barrel of the room below. Every shadow seemed like a crouched, huddled figure, every corner concealed some dreadful shape. There was no one there. There was nothing ... I wanted to run but could not and knew that this was what was intended, that I should be terrified by nothing, by my own fears, by soft breathing, by the creak of a board, by the very atmosphere which threatened me.”
The Mist in the Mirror, the short novel from 1992 reviewed here, and from which these short extracts are taken, has the feel of classic ghost stories. The author, Susan Hill, aims to chill rather than horrify; to intrigue and mystify rather than scare. She is a supreme manipulator, lulling us into a false sense of security with cosy and comforting descriptions, such as:
“The lamps were lit, and a good fire crackled in the great stone fireplace. There was a discreet chink of china, the brightness of silver teapot and muffin cover, the comforting smell mingled of steaming hot water, toast and a little sweet tobacco”
evoking a sense of place as well as any author I know, before unleashing all the fears lurking inside her protagonist — and by now, her readers.
The Mist in the Mirror is a pastiche of writers such as Wilkie Collins, or even Charles Dickens. It employs a common Victorian literary device of a story within a story, involving a manuscript which is passed on by Sir James Monmouth, to a younger man at his gentlemen’s club. The novel begins with a preface to this manuscript, before Sir James Monmouth tells his own story.
We learn that Sir James Monmouth spent his childhood abroad, and as a young man travelled all over the globe, following in the footsteps of an earlier great pioneer, Conrad Vane. For the last twenty years Sir James Monmouth has become almost obsessed with both his quest, and Conrad Vane himself. Now he has returned to his family home in England, the remote Kittiscar Hall, which he cannot remember. He aims to research and trace Conrad Vane, having discovered that Conrad Vane’s life is inextricably entangled with his own.
Sir James Monmouth sets off for Kittiscar Hall on a cold and rainy winter night. There are definite echoes here of “The Woman in Black”, as a young man clutches a mysterious manuscript and travels through the foggy mizzle of the English countryside in winter, to an unfamiliar destination. Straightaway, at every turn, something seems to warn him away, and he begins to have intense feelings of being watched. And as he learns more about his hero’s past, he discovers that Kittiscar Hall is hiding a terrible secret.
What started as a simple attempt to write a biography of his boyhood hero, the famous adventurer Conrad Vane, becomes increasingly strange, with a great sense of foreboding. Monmouth has many chances to abandon his quest for knowledge, but always refuses. The compulsion to learn more ever urges him onward, much as it does the reader, whose spine tingles as they learn more about Conrad Vane’s dreadful and nefarious secret. Gradually Monmouth learns that his life is bound together with that of his hero, in a way nobody could ever have imagined.
A terrible curse has been passed down through the generations for hundreds of years. Concerned priests, elderly librarians, hysterical psychics — even total strangers counsel him with dire warnings:
“leave be,” “be wary,” “go back.”
“It is evil of which I speak, Monmouth, wickedness, things best left concealed, undisturbed. Whoever is touched by Vane suffers.”
Coupled with this sense of unease is the strange arrival of a pale and sad, ragged boy in dirty old-fashioned clothes. He is about twelve years old, and appears and disappears with regularity. But why is it that he appears whenever there is trouble, and then seems to vanish without a trace? Who is the old woman behind the curtain? And why is it that only he hears the chilling scream and the desperate sobbing?
Susan Hill is a born story-teller of considerable talent. She can take a trope such as a mysterious, malevolent curse, mix it with her carefully described turn of the century London, plus the evocative North Yorkshire moors, imbue it with a feeling of doom and torment — the draughty, musty library, the sinister and threatening church — and a dash of something else.
The tale is a masterpiece of suspense as the mystery is slowly revealed. Sinister happenings in both the present and the past conspire to show a man’s fate and drive him to his doom. Or do they?
All is impression, and hints. What is the mysterious mirror? Does it show the future, or or something else? Susan Hill’s superbly crafted work enthralls the reader with its atmosphere and description. She is a master of the understated, using spare language when that is all that is needed:
“Rain. London. The back end of the year.”
Immediately we are there, on the very first page of Sir James Monmouth’s story. Not one word is wasted. The text continues, shifting to India, as contrast:
“There had been only heat and dryness for month after month, followed abruptly by monsoon, when the sky gathered and then burst like a boil and sheets of rain deluged the earth, turning it to mud, roaring like a yellow river, hot, thunderous rain that made the air sweat and steam. Rain that beat down upon the world like a mad thing and then ceased, leaving only debris in its wake.”
And we momentarily gain glimpses of India, Africa, the Antipodes and the Far East — wherever Monmouth had explored during his travels — in this brief tale. But for now, we are sucked back into London miry gloom:
“It was early afternoon but already the light was fading and darkness drawing in. A chill wind sneaked down alleyways and passages off the river. The houses were grimy, shiny and black-roofed with rain, mean and poor and ugly, and regularly interspersed with more, looming, sheds. The air was filled with the hooting of tugs and a plaintive siren, and there was the constant thump of boxes onto the wharves.”
And the ending, the denouement? Surely this must be terrifying, and possibly tragic, after all this suspense; these heightened feelings of paranoia?
The ending is in the form of an added postscript, after the young man of the gentleman’s club has read Sir James Monmouth’s story through. Is there a dramatic revelation? It is unclear, and remains a mystery: a mere impression. Perhaps this ambiguity is in keeping with the entire text, and it is unsettling. Yet it has to be said that it may feel slightly disappointing. If you are the sort of reader who needs a satisfying explanation to end a story — whether supernatural or not — this novel will not be for you.
But if you enjoy an exceptionally written piece of prose, with all the hallmarks of good supernatural 19th century fiction, where the menacing mood is paramount, you will very probably enjoy this. Prepare to settle down to explore sinister dark alleyways and corridors, a haunted library, spectres and apparitions, a crypt, creepy mansions on the Yorkshire moors — not to mention the unexplained “soft breathing”. You may find that from time to time you cast a glance over your shoulder ... just in case.
Here is the continuation of that extract from the novel:
“I went to a window, and saw that the library ran along the north end of the buildings framing the yard, at right angles to the chapel.
I turned away and began to walk softly between the bookcases, looking in awe to left and right, at the evidence of so much knowledge, so much learning, far beyond the level of school-age boys... It was as I approached the last few bays that I heard what at first I took to be the soft closing of the door at the far end of the room, but which went on, even and regular, like the breathing of someone asleep, a sighing that seemed to come out of the air above my head, as though the whole, great room were somehow a living thing, exhaling around me. I glanced up at the gallery. Someone was there, I was certain of it. The wood creaked. A footfall. I was as far from my way of escape as I could have been, trapped alone in this empty place with – whom? What?”
“But, after a time of silence and stillness, I summoned up enough strength and steadiness of nerve to walk slowly, step by step, around the gallery, glancing down now and then but seeing nothing, until I came to the last staircase, and by that descended to the ground again. As I returned to the corridor, closing the door of the library behind me, I caught sight of a light moving about irregularly on the opposite side, and, as I rounded the corner, I glimpsed a dark-coated figure walking slowly, and holding up a lantern – the porter, I supposed, on his rounds, and felt a wave of relief so great that it all but felled me and took my breath, and I was forced to lean against the wall for a few seconds, so giddy did I become.”
April 17, 2020
2.5
After loving two of Susan Hill's other ghost stories- The Woman In Black and The Man in the Picture- THE MIST IN THE MIRROR was a little disappointing... though it does follow pretty much the same formula as the other two for the most part...
It starts in London on a dark and stormy night.
An older man with a story to tell
A younger man willing to listen
...and a supernatural presence.
Sir James Monmouth has been all around the world- orphaned at the age of five, he was raised by a guardian and as soon as he was old enough he went off to follow in the footsteps of his hero- the late Conrad Vane- an adventurer and travel writer. Monmouth would like to write about Vane’s history himself and also explore his own family background, but he becomes increasingly frustrated- while trying to learn about his own life- he comes to dead end after dead end, and when trying to learn about Vane's- all he gets are urgent warnings to stop his investigation.
MIST IN THE MIRROR started off strong for me- a spooky, gloomy, atmospheric tale...but eventually I grew tired of the main character and the journey- to get to what I found to be a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion.
After loving two of Susan Hill's other ghost stories- The Woman In Black and The Man in the Picture- THE MIST IN THE MIRROR was a little disappointing... though it does follow pretty much the same formula as the other two for the most part...
It starts in London on a dark and stormy night.
An older man with a story to tell
A younger man willing to listen
...and a supernatural presence.
Sir James Monmouth has been all around the world- orphaned at the age of five, he was raised by a guardian and as soon as he was old enough he went off to follow in the footsteps of his hero- the late Conrad Vane- an adventurer and travel writer. Monmouth would like to write about Vane’s history himself and also explore his own family background, but he becomes increasingly frustrated- while trying to learn about his own life- he comes to dead end after dead end, and when trying to learn about Vane's- all he gets are urgent warnings to stop his investigation.
MIST IN THE MIRROR started off strong for me- a spooky, gloomy, atmospheric tale...but eventually I grew tired of the main character and the journey- to get to what I found to be a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion.
November 10, 2012
What a bizarrely unsatisfying book. It has a nicely creepy atmosphere and gradually mounting suspense, but then it's all AND THEN I GOT REALLY REALLY SCARED AND NEVER WENT BACK THERE THE END.
January 7, 2013
I read The Woman in Black last year, and it was easily one of the scariest ghost stories I have ever experienced – it was beautifully, masterfully written, and it left me with chills. I often read in bed at night, and I rate scary stories on how keen I am to leave my room and walk down the dark corridor to the toilet before I go to sleep. After finishing The Woman in Black I wasn’t quite brave enough to leave the safety of my duvet despite the fact that I was absolutely bursting for a wee. I just knew that if I was to set foot outside my bedroom she would be there, waiting for me…
That’s the power of a good ghost story. It totally seeps out of the pages and becomes real in your own world. A good ghost story is like the Grudge – it’s a contagious haunting. Those ghosts totally know who you are and don’t leave you alone. It’s terrifying, but it’s exhilarating too. It’s why we read them. And I was so hoping that The Mist in the Mirror (which was a Christmas pressie from my Mum, thanks Mum!) would have the same bladder-splitting, spine-chilling effect on me.
For a while, it did. It tells the story (well, the story within a story, as the book is told by a narrator reading Monmouth’s account of events) of Sir James Monmouth who, after spending almost all of his life abroad, returns to England. He intends to write an account of the explorer Conrad Vane, the man who inspired his travels, but the more he delves into Vane’s life the more dark secrets he uncovers about the man’s exploits – and the more he learns about his own forgotten childhood. The two are mysteriously intertwined.
There’s absolutely no doubt that Susan Hill is capable of spinning a fantastic tale. Her gothic style is brilliantly authentic. The world she describes is a world lost, but it feels so real. You’re right there in the heart of it. She is also a genius at creating atmosphere, permeating her words with a palpable sense of dread. There are moments of horror in this book, passages that literally leave you with a cold sweat. And it’s not always the obvious ones, either, the sightings of a ghostly, crying boy or the mist that swirls in the mirror. For some reason the passage in the book that chilled me the most was an apparently innocuous scene on a wooden bridge, and a flock of geese flying overhead. It was so real, so vivid, so imbued with atmosphere, that it gave me goosebumps (no pun intended).
It’s a great mystery, too. Conrad Vane is like a ghost himself in the sense that he dominates the story, and Monmouth’s life, even though he is long dead. The more Monmouth learns about him, the more imposing a figure he becomes. Hill really does keep us guessing about Vane, and about the explorer’s connection to the narrator’s own increasingly sinister childhood. It’s page-turning horror at its best.
Until suddenly you get to the end… And you realise that nothing has really been explained. Without wishing to give away any spoilers (which itself would be quite hard, considering how little is revealed), Monmouth’s investigations lead to a highly anticlimactic conclusion. It really does feel as if Hill had found her stride, built up towards a wonderful ending, then realised her favourite show was on the telly so finished with a couple of halfhearted explanations before rushing off to the sitting room. I finished the book and wondered if maybe I’d missed something, and it was only after checking other reviews that I realised I hadn’t. Who was the ghostly boy? Who was the spooky gypsy lady? What really did happen to Monmouth’s family? Nothing is truly answered. Worse still, the final scene in Monmouth’s story, which has the potential to be utterly terrifying, just peters out. It is so disappointing.
It’s maybe unfair to compare this to The Woman in Black, but it’s impossible not to. Whereas that book slowly charges up the atmosphere before releasing it in a brilliant, devastating ending, this one blows itself up then releases like a balloon, squeaking and whistling and farting itself to nothing. I finished it at about one in the morning last night, then happily got out of bed and went for a wee without the slightest trace of fear or anxiety. I didn’t even turn on the hall light. Such a shame!
That’s the power of a good ghost story. It totally seeps out of the pages and becomes real in your own world. A good ghost story is like the Grudge – it’s a contagious haunting. Those ghosts totally know who you are and don’t leave you alone. It’s terrifying, but it’s exhilarating too. It’s why we read them. And I was so hoping that The Mist in the Mirror (which was a Christmas pressie from my Mum, thanks Mum!) would have the same bladder-splitting, spine-chilling effect on me.
For a while, it did. It tells the story (well, the story within a story, as the book is told by a narrator reading Monmouth’s account of events) of Sir James Monmouth who, after spending almost all of his life abroad, returns to England. He intends to write an account of the explorer Conrad Vane, the man who inspired his travels, but the more he delves into Vane’s life the more dark secrets he uncovers about the man’s exploits – and the more he learns about his own forgotten childhood. The two are mysteriously intertwined.
There’s absolutely no doubt that Susan Hill is capable of spinning a fantastic tale. Her gothic style is brilliantly authentic. The world she describes is a world lost, but it feels so real. You’re right there in the heart of it. She is also a genius at creating atmosphere, permeating her words with a palpable sense of dread. There are moments of horror in this book, passages that literally leave you with a cold sweat. And it’s not always the obvious ones, either, the sightings of a ghostly, crying boy or the mist that swirls in the mirror. For some reason the passage in the book that chilled me the most was an apparently innocuous scene on a wooden bridge, and a flock of geese flying overhead. It was so real, so vivid, so imbued with atmosphere, that it gave me goosebumps (no pun intended).
It’s a great mystery, too. Conrad Vane is like a ghost himself in the sense that he dominates the story, and Monmouth’s life, even though he is long dead. The more Monmouth learns about him, the more imposing a figure he becomes. Hill really does keep us guessing about Vane, and about the explorer’s connection to the narrator’s own increasingly sinister childhood. It’s page-turning horror at its best.
Until suddenly you get to the end… And you realise that nothing has really been explained. Without wishing to give away any spoilers (which itself would be quite hard, considering how little is revealed), Monmouth’s investigations lead to a highly anticlimactic conclusion. It really does feel as if Hill had found her stride, built up towards a wonderful ending, then realised her favourite show was on the telly so finished with a couple of halfhearted explanations before rushing off to the sitting room. I finished the book and wondered if maybe I’d missed something, and it was only after checking other reviews that I realised I hadn’t. Who was the ghostly boy? Who was the spooky gypsy lady? What really did happen to Monmouth’s family? Nothing is truly answered. Worse still, the final scene in Monmouth’s story, which has the potential to be utterly terrifying, just peters out. It is so disappointing.
It’s maybe unfair to compare this to The Woman in Black, but it’s impossible not to. Whereas that book slowly charges up the atmosphere before releasing it in a brilliant, devastating ending, this one blows itself up then releases like a balloon, squeaking and whistling and farting itself to nothing. I finished it at about one in the morning last night, then happily got out of bed and went for a wee without the slightest trace of fear or anxiety. I didn’t even turn on the hall light. Such a shame!
July 2, 2013
I really enjoy Susan Hill's ghost stories, however, I did not enjoy this one. It is an extremely frustrating story because hardly any information is revealed, and it seems like the story is one big series of delays until the climax. The book is about James Monmouth, a man in his mid thirties who has spent all of his life overseas travelling after spending his boyhood in Africa. His travelling was inspired by his boyhood hero, Conrad Vane, in whose footsteps he was following. Now Monmouth, having no recollection of his parents or early years, has returned to England to find his roots. So far so good.
But the book then proceeds like this (warning: spoilers): After the story within a story frame, James lands in England, finds an inn, describes the scenery, and then has a spooky encounter with the ghost of a boy, a parrot, and an old lady. He then stays in a house, describes the scenery, and sees the boy ghost again. Then he decides to research Conrad Vane, and is warned by three different people, all of whom very vaguely allude to Vane being evil without ever saying what he did, and is warned of danger by a psychic lady on a train. He goes to a school, describes the scenery, sees some ghosts, and finds out a tiny bit of information about Vane. Then he stays at the psychic lady's house, describes the scenery, gets sick, gets vague hints about his childhood village, and sees the boy ghost. Finally, just when you feel that you will never, ever, find out a single thing about Monmouth's history, or Vane, he finally decides to go to go to the village (after some more stalling) to speak to his only living relative.
By now I was desperate for some kind of information. The book is less than 200 pages but feels much longer when you read it. When he gets there she is dead and has only left a cryptic note. I was so frustrated I gasped in exasperation. We finally get to the climax where something only vaguely creepy happens. A postscript actually reveals that the Vane and Monmouth families had an ancient rivalry, (the reason is never revealed) and that the Monmouth's are cursed. We never learn anything about James' parents or why they died. How Conrad Vane died, and where his powers came from. The Mist in the Mirror is such a disappointing and frustrating read. I can see why it is not held in such high esteem as Hill's The Woman in Black. I would recommend giving this book a miss.
But the book then proceeds like this (warning: spoilers): After the story within a story frame, James lands in England, finds an inn, describes the scenery, and then has a spooky encounter with the ghost of a boy, a parrot, and an old lady. He then stays in a house, describes the scenery, and sees the boy ghost again. Then he decides to research Conrad Vane, and is warned by three different people, all of whom very vaguely allude to Vane being evil without ever saying what he did, and is warned of danger by a psychic lady on a train. He goes to a school, describes the scenery, sees some ghosts, and finds out a tiny bit of information about Vane. Then he stays at the psychic lady's house, describes the scenery, gets sick, gets vague hints about his childhood village, and sees the boy ghost. Finally, just when you feel that you will never, ever, find out a single thing about Monmouth's history, or Vane, he finally decides to go to go to the village (after some more stalling) to speak to his only living relative.
By now I was desperate for some kind of information. The book is less than 200 pages but feels much longer when you read it. When he gets there she is dead and has only left a cryptic note. I was so frustrated I gasped in exasperation. We finally get to the climax where something only vaguely creepy happens. A postscript actually reveals that the Vane and Monmouth families had an ancient rivalry, (the reason is never revealed) and that the Monmouth's are cursed. We never learn anything about James' parents or why they died. How Conrad Vane died, and where his powers came from. The Mist in the Mirror is such a disappointing and frustrating read. I can see why it is not held in such high esteem as Hill's The Woman in Black. I would recommend giving this book a miss.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2019
The Mist in the Mirror had all the trappings of a great little horror novella, but unfortunately failed to deliver any of the anticipated chills and thrills, beyond the first handful of pages and before the concluding chapter.
Sir James spent his young life in Africa. Orphaned and largely alone in the world he began an obsessive exploration to discover the mysterious facets of renowned explorer, Conrad Vane’s, life. His search brought him home to England and there he is met with stonewalling, fear, and blatant disrespect when he makes the nature of his search known. It does, however, also bring him some of the answers he has been long looking for, along with many a strange occurrence and ghastly sighting.
I found this delivered too much story for the brief, under-200-pages length of it. It was an interesting enough narrative but it left little room to properly build any suspense or anticipation for proceeding events. Much of the focus was spent of Sir James’ discoveries and then any supernatural apparition felt more of an interlude to this, instead of the main focus as I had expected.
Hill expertly recounted Sir James’ feelings well. I could feel his mounting horror even if it did not translate into my own. This was also a consistently well-written tale and I enjoyed the conclusion, which came as a great surprise. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough to keep me engaged throughout, when I only wanted my next ghostly sighting to occur.
Sir James spent his young life in Africa. Orphaned and largely alone in the world he began an obsessive exploration to discover the mysterious facets of renowned explorer, Conrad Vane’s, life. His search brought him home to England and there he is met with stonewalling, fear, and blatant disrespect when he makes the nature of his search known. It does, however, also bring him some of the answers he has been long looking for, along with many a strange occurrence and ghastly sighting.
I found this delivered too much story for the brief, under-200-pages length of it. It was an interesting enough narrative but it left little room to properly build any suspense or anticipation for proceeding events. Much of the focus was spent of Sir James’ discoveries and then any supernatural apparition felt more of an interlude to this, instead of the main focus as I had expected.
Hill expertly recounted Sir James’ feelings well. I could feel his mounting horror even if it did not translate into my own. This was also a consistently well-written tale and I enjoyed the conclusion, which came as a great surprise. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough to keep me engaged throughout, when I only wanted my next ghostly sighting to occur.
March 6, 2014
Monday R4x
Conrad Vane is so evil, he probably thinks this story is bout him!
Conrad Vane is so evil, he probably thinks this story is bout him!
September 26, 2020
This book definitely became a bit more eerie about 60% of the way in but it was still nowhere near as chilling as The Woman in Black (also by Hill). Therefore I was left feeling a little disappointed, hence the 3 stars.
February 19, 2021
3.5 stars
Sir James Monmouth has spent many years travelling and now ventures to England. On arrival he feels like he is being watched by someone and as he continues on his travels he uncovers some dark secrets about his past.
I quite enjoyed this one but unfortunately it didn't stick the landing.
My main issues with the book were:
This is told as a story within a story and I'm not sure that was entirely necessary or that it completely worked.
It felt like some of the 'creepy' scenes were there just as an effort to try to be 'creepy' rather than to play any actual part in the story, which made them feel forced.
The threads of the story didn't come together very well and I didn't find the ending to be completely satisfying.
That said, there was still a lot of elements here that I liked. I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters. The overall mystery element and the various twists and turns the story took kept me intrigued. Most of all I loved the evocative and atmospheric nature of the story. If you're looking for a Victorian style supernatural tale then I would still recommend giving this one a try.
Sir James Monmouth has spent many years travelling and now ventures to England. On arrival he feels like he is being watched by someone and as he continues on his travels he uncovers some dark secrets about his past.
I quite enjoyed this one but unfortunately it didn't stick the landing.
My main issues with the book were:
This is told as a story within a story and I'm not sure that was entirely necessary or that it completely worked.
It felt like some of the 'creepy' scenes were there just as an effort to try to be 'creepy' rather than to play any actual part in the story, which made them feel forced.
The threads of the story didn't come together very well and I didn't find the ending to be completely satisfying.
That said, there was still a lot of elements here that I liked. I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters. The overall mystery element and the various twists and turns the story took kept me intrigued. Most of all I loved the evocative and atmospheric nature of the story. If you're looking for a Victorian style supernatural tale then I would still recommend giving this one a try.
May 12, 2016
This is the third Susan Hill ghost story I've read, following The Woman in Black and The Man in the Picture, and the formula is much the same as the other two; a young(ish) man talks to an older man in a sumptuous library next to a roaring fire (with a storm/fog/similar brewing outside), talk turns to ghostly matters, the older man relates a chilling story to the younger, the narrative then switches over to the older man's remembered story, etc. So far, so familiar, but after the disappointingly brief Man in the Picture, I was glad to see this story appeared to have more substance. It is indeed very involving and typically full of atmosphere, with a slew of almost Dickensian characters and a welcome dose of humour. There are mysteries upon mysteries as the plot works its magic, with nearly every chapter ending on a cliffhanger. I didn't want to put the book down and read the majority of it in one go. The ending is slightly anticlimactic, but the story as a whole creates such a vivid sense of time and place, and so many scenes brim with suspense, that it scarcely matters, really.
Having now read three of them, I'm very much aware that Hill's ghost stories follow a rather predictable formula, but - on balance - this is nevertheless my favourite so far. It helped that the Conrad Vane sub-plot reminded me of Harry Spalding in Dark Echo, although I was slightly disappointed there was no interaction between James Monmouth and any manifestation of this malevolent spirit. I read the majority of the book by actual candlelight (not the easiest thing in the world, I don't envy night readers pre-electricity) which definitely enhanced the atmosphere, and I found myself jumping at the smallest noise and feeling genuinely spooked - what more do you want from a ghost story?
Having now read three of them, I'm very much aware that Hill's ghost stories follow a rather predictable formula, but - on balance - this is nevertheless my favourite so far. It helped that the Conrad Vane sub-plot reminded me of Harry Spalding in Dark Echo, although I was slightly disappointed there was no interaction between James Monmouth and any manifestation of this malevolent spirit. I read the majority of the book by actual candlelight (not the easiest thing in the world, I don't envy night readers pre-electricity) which definitely enhanced the atmosphere, and I found myself jumping at the smallest noise and feeling genuinely spooked - what more do you want from a ghost story?
September 13, 2016
With definite echoes of Dickens (particularly Great Expectations) and of course her own ‘Woman in Black’ this is nevertheless a compelling and satisfying read, with one or two unexpected surprises in the plot.
For anyone who is a fan of the genre it’s well written, plotted and definitely one not to miss.
Easy to dismiss as formulaic, although that seems a little unfair, unwarranted and perhaps lazy criticism – ghost stories are somewhat by definition formulaic aren't they?
Whilst not quite as strong as ‘Woman in Black’ this is still comes highly recommended for fans of the genre and especially of Susan Hill ghost stories.
For anyone who is a fan of the genre it’s well written, plotted and definitely one not to miss.
Easy to dismiss as formulaic, although that seems a little unfair, unwarranted and perhaps lazy criticism – ghost stories are somewhat by definition formulaic aren't they?
Whilst not quite as strong as ‘Woman in Black’ this is still comes highly recommended for fans of the genre and especially of Susan Hill ghost stories.
February 14, 2014
2.5 Hill's ghost stories are always more atmospheric than downright spooky,
so I was prepared for the slow pacing, the descriptive settings and the slow reveals. This one, however, never really worked for me or maybe it was that I never felt I really ever knew the main character of Sir James. Mysterious sighting of a small desperate boy, rumors and warnings against continuing his search a strange bookshelf with a mysterious owner should have made this a stellar read. As much as I liked some of the journey, alas at the end I felt I was still in the mist.
ARC from publisher.
so I was prepared for the slow pacing, the descriptive settings and the slow reveals. This one, however, never really worked for me or maybe it was that I never felt I really ever knew the main character of Sir James. Mysterious sighting of a small desperate boy, rumors and warnings against continuing his search a strange bookshelf with a mysterious owner should have made this a stellar read. As much as I liked some of the journey, alas at the end I felt I was still in the mist.
ARC from publisher.
December 27, 2017
So many questions, so few answers. Why did the parrot screech like that? Who was the gypsy woman in the dark room at Cross Keys Inn? Who was the man seen walking on the grounds of the school? Was there really a door behind the wall at Vane's school? What was the curse? What was the mystery behind the mirrors? Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book.
October 7, 2020
3.5 stars. A creepy, slow building tale.
I really enjoyed a lot of this - it certainly had it scary moments. Excellent characters as you’d expect from Hill.
The ending really let it down though - it felt rushed and incomplete. Such a shame for an otherwise great ghost story.
I really enjoyed a lot of this - it certainly had it scary moments. Excellent characters as you’d expect from Hill.
The ending really let it down though - it felt rushed and incomplete. Such a shame for an otherwise great ghost story.
March 18, 2022
Creeeeppppyyy
March 22, 2013
To be honest I struggle to think of a book that I found more boring than The Mist in the Mirror. There was just nothing here to interest me at all, the story dragged and for the most part nothing seemed to happen.
For a ghost story I found this very tame, and didn’t scare once. I struggle to think of one positive thing to say about this if I’m completely honest.
What makes all this worse is that I am a fan of this author and have loved previous books of hers. They are never fast paced but are more exciting than this was.
For a ghost story I found this very tame, and didn’t scare once. I struggle to think of one positive thing to say about this if I’m completely honest.
What makes all this worse is that I am a fan of this author and have loved previous books of hers. They are never fast paced but are more exciting than this was.
November 16, 2019
3.5*
This is an enjoyable slice of Victoriana which evokes the feel of classic ghost stories.
James Monmouth, orphaned at the age of 5, and raised by a guardian in Kenya, returns to England 35 years later after long exotic journeys in the East. His travels have been inspired by the feats of an enigmatic explorer named Conrad Vane. Monmouth hopes that once settled down in his native country, he can research the early life of Vane, which is surprisingly little-known. However, several people seem determined to put him off his quest with ominous warnings. And a wraithlike boy is of their same opinion as he keeps following Monmouth and haunting him with looks of abject misery.
I would not call this an exceptional novel. It does not bring anything particularly new to the genre, but on the other hand, it is this very familiarity of context and well-known tropes which give it its appeal. Susan Hill is a consummate writer of supernatural tales and is steeped in the tradition - as a result, the narrative style and the setting (whether dark, frosty London streets; club smoking rooms, country mansions or desolate moors) are authentic and atmospheric. I was less convinced about the ending and the cursory "explanation" given for the hauntings. After the steady build-up, the final few pages of Monmouth 's account felt rather anti-climactic.
All in all, however, this novel is a fun spooky read and I guess would be particularly apt as a ghost story for Christmas given that considerable sections are set during the festive season.
This is an enjoyable slice of Victoriana which evokes the feel of classic ghost stories.
James Monmouth, orphaned at the age of 5, and raised by a guardian in Kenya, returns to England 35 years later after long exotic journeys in the East. His travels have been inspired by the feats of an enigmatic explorer named Conrad Vane. Monmouth hopes that once settled down in his native country, he can research the early life of Vane, which is surprisingly little-known. However, several people seem determined to put him off his quest with ominous warnings. And a wraithlike boy is of their same opinion as he keeps following Monmouth and haunting him with looks of abject misery.
I would not call this an exceptional novel. It does not bring anything particularly new to the genre, but on the other hand, it is this very familiarity of context and well-known tropes which give it its appeal. Susan Hill is a consummate writer of supernatural tales and is steeped in the tradition - as a result, the narrative style and the setting (whether dark, frosty London streets; club smoking rooms, country mansions or desolate moors) are authentic and atmospheric. I was less convinced about the ending and the cursory "explanation" given for the hauntings. After the steady build-up, the final few pages of Monmouth 's account felt rather anti-climactic.
All in all, however, this novel is a fun spooky read and I guess would be particularly apt as a ghost story for Christmas given that considerable sections are set during the festive season.
February 14, 2015
I picked this book up at the same time as the Woman in Black - although I knew less about it I was about to pick the two up together and thought why not.
The book is set in similar time and similar surrounds as the Woman in black although certainly more well traveled (from London to the Moors) its still is able to create viivd images of locations and surroundings just as strongly as people and characters.
One thing I must praise about this book is the use of language - it uses antiquarian phrases I had to more than once stop and re-read and think over to realise their meaning. Rather than impede the story I felt it led even more authenticity to the story and give it a sense of being timeless (even though it was written in the 90s). I do love a dark late night ghost story and once the story was under way I enjoyed it as much as any M R James or Wilkie Collins.
The book is set in similar time and similar surrounds as the Woman in black although certainly more well traveled (from London to the Moors) its still is able to create viivd images of locations and surroundings just as strongly as people and characters.
One thing I must praise about this book is the use of language - it uses antiquarian phrases I had to more than once stop and re-read and think over to realise their meaning. Rather than impede the story I felt it led even more authenticity to the story and give it a sense of being timeless (even though it was written in the 90s). I do love a dark late night ghost story and once the story was under way I enjoyed it as much as any M R James or Wilkie Collins.
June 30, 2020
Another smooth read by Susan Hill. Scary, no, well written, yes.
March 20, 2014
I received this book for free as part of goodreads First Reads contest thingie
This is the first book I've read by Susan Hill, though I have 'Woman in Black' on my to-read list (and I enjoyed the movie). Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me.
Part of my issue was the writing. I find that writing which mimics older styles tend to be very hit or miss for me. Sometimes I find the language lush and inviting, and other times I find it to be a barrier to understanding. This book fell into the latter category. I kept finding myself wondering why we needed quite so many words to say so little...
Of course, part of that was the repetition. There's only so many times Monmouth can talk about how some landscape of England impressed him just as much as any of the farflung locations he spent his life visiting, or how he found England different, but comfortably so, from what he was used to, or how he found part of England vaguely familiar... so on and so forth.
He also falls in love with places quickly and easily, and seems to make easy friends, as well, in a weird way. I'm almost envious. Life would be simply marvelous, indeed, if he weren't being haunted.
As to the haunting - meh.
I did like the idea that the man, himself, was haunted more than a specific place. That was an interesting conceit to work with. But while a story like this relies on atmosphere and ambience, I never really felt it. Again, I think part of this is the writing, but more the old 'telling vs. showing' saw. We're told that he's going along, being all pleasantly in awe of his surroundings and the little flowers and whatnot - but then he gets a sense of dread, of being followed/watched, a sudden, dark pressure of terror.
But the problem is we're told. We don't experience it, because, written as a sort of diary, he tells us how he was feeling without giving that level of detail which makes it feel present.
As to the overall story - we, along with the protagonist, are left in the dark as to why things are happening. Unfortunately, we sort of end the story in the same predicament. We find out a bit of what *is* happening, but, alas, the why is left unresolved.
Which reminds me, I was ironically annoyed with our hero both for ignoring warnings and portents, despite his continuing experiences, and yet also annoyed when he finally heeds them. Not only did I not really get a sense of the terror of the story, I didn't get any kind of resolution or closure, either.
My overall impression of the story, really, is one of sleepiness. I couldn't get through more than 5-10 pages at a time without feeling drousy... I am fully willing to admit that this might not be the books fault, though. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood for it, though I was looking forward to it when I started.
I do still intend to read 'The Woman in Black'. While this story kind of fizzled for me, I do see some inkling, I think, of why that other story is so lauded... so I guess we'll see.
This is the first book I've read by Susan Hill, though I have 'Woman in Black' on my to-read list (and I enjoyed the movie). Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me.
Part of my issue was the writing. I find that writing which mimics older styles tend to be very hit or miss for me. Sometimes I find the language lush and inviting, and other times I find it to be a barrier to understanding. This book fell into the latter category. I kept finding myself wondering why we needed quite so many words to say so little...
Of course, part of that was the repetition. There's only so many times Monmouth can talk about how some landscape of England impressed him just as much as any of the farflung locations he spent his life visiting, or how he found England different, but comfortably so, from what he was used to, or how he found part of England vaguely familiar... so on and so forth.
He also falls in love with places quickly and easily, and seems to make easy friends, as well, in a weird way. I'm almost envious. Life would be simply marvelous, indeed, if he weren't being haunted.
As to the haunting - meh.
I did like the idea that the man, himself, was haunted more than a specific place. That was an interesting conceit to work with. But while a story like this relies on atmosphere and ambience, I never really felt it. Again, I think part of this is the writing, but more the old 'telling vs. showing' saw. We're told that he's going along, being all pleasantly in awe of his surroundings and the little flowers and whatnot - but then he gets a sense of dread, of being followed/watched, a sudden, dark pressure of terror.
But the problem is we're told. We don't experience it, because, written as a sort of diary, he tells us how he was feeling without giving that level of detail which makes it feel present.
As to the overall story - we, along with the protagonist, are left in the dark as to why things are happening. Unfortunately, we sort of end the story in the same predicament. We find out a bit of what *is* happening, but, alas, the why is left unresolved.
Which reminds me, I was ironically annoyed with our hero both for ignoring warnings and portents, despite his continuing experiences, and yet also annoyed when he finally heeds them. Not only did I not really get a sense of the terror of the story, I didn't get any kind of resolution or closure, either.
My overall impression of the story, really, is one of sleepiness. I couldn't get through more than 5-10 pages at a time without feeling drousy... I am fully willing to admit that this might not be the books fault, though. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood for it, though I was looking forward to it when I started.
I do still intend to read 'The Woman in Black'. While this story kind of fizzled for me, I do see some inkling, I think, of why that other story is so lauded... so I guess we'll see.
May 11, 2020
Eh, this book was alright I guess. I felt like there wasn't much that even happened tbh, so I ended up finding this very dull and uneventful you could say.
August 4, 2022
3,75 stars - English Ebook
A chilling, classically-inspired ghost story from Susan Hill, our reigning mistress of spine-tingling fiction.
For the last twenty years Sir James Monmouth has journeyed all over the globe in the footsteps of his hero, the great pioneering traveler Conrad Vane.
In an effort to learn more about Vane’s early life, and his own, Sir James sets off for the remote Kittiscar Hall on a cold and rainy winter night.
But he soon begins to feel as though something is warning him away at every turn; there are the intense feelings of being watched and the strange apparitions of a sad little boy.
And as he learns more about his hero’s past, he discovers that they are only the beginning, for Kittiscar Hall is hiding terrible secret that will bind their lives together in ways he could never have imagined.
It throws out every cliche in the British Ghost Story Handbook.Old houses,aristocratic families,exploration of the Empire,ghostly children, gentleman's clubs, and unspeakable evil figure prominently.
I loved it !I virtually inhaled it.In other words it's not very original but it's beautifully assembled.It doesn't really make a lot of sense and it's strictly for aficionados of the genre.
This is one of the best novels in the ghost story genre.From the same author are : Woman In Black and The Man In Picture.
If you like ghost stories you will like rhis book.
A chilling, classically-inspired ghost story from Susan Hill, our reigning mistress of spine-tingling fiction.
For the last twenty years Sir James Monmouth has journeyed all over the globe in the footsteps of his hero, the great pioneering traveler Conrad Vane.
In an effort to learn more about Vane’s early life, and his own, Sir James sets off for the remote Kittiscar Hall on a cold and rainy winter night.
But he soon begins to feel as though something is warning him away at every turn; there are the intense feelings of being watched and the strange apparitions of a sad little boy.
And as he learns more about his hero’s past, he discovers that they are only the beginning, for Kittiscar Hall is hiding terrible secret that will bind their lives together in ways he could never have imagined.
It throws out every cliche in the British Ghost Story Handbook.Old houses,aristocratic families,exploration of the Empire,ghostly children, gentleman's clubs, and unspeakable evil figure prominently.
I loved it !I virtually inhaled it.In other words it's not very original but it's beautifully assembled.It doesn't really make a lot of sense and it's strictly for aficionados of the genre.
This is one of the best novels in the ghost story genre.From the same author are : Woman In Black and The Man In Picture.
If you like ghost stories you will like rhis book.
September 11, 2018
I picked this up at the library because I enjoyed Susan Hill's, 'The Woman in Black' very much. However...
A young Englishman, James Monmouth, raised by a guardian who took him to Africa, India and Asia, finally returns home to England. He has no family that he knows of, and at first is really not interested in researching his family. He wants to spend time - now that he's older; omg he's forty! - researching a man named Conrad Vane. Vane, long dead, was known to be a great, world-wide traveler, but there's just something about all this that just doesn't bode well...
Well not for James, that is...esp. after multiple persons - a bookseller, a professor, a minister, a lady on a train - all tell James to 'lay off,' (in so many words), when it comes to the mysterious Mr. Vane. However, James is sort of addlepated when it comes to Vane and continuing his research, finds connections to his own past and family history and ultimately...
Well, it's a ghost story! Complete with a little boy who's haunting James - or is it his imagination? And lots of creepy buildings with doors that lock and unlock on their own, and secret rooms, and a lady who can sort of 'see' evil when it's lurking about.
A fair read, though, and I will read more by Ms. Hill.
Three stars.
A young Englishman, James Monmouth, raised by a guardian who took him to Africa, India and Asia, finally returns home to England. He has no family that he knows of, and at first is really not interested in researching his family. He wants to spend time - now that he's older; omg he's forty! - researching a man named Conrad Vane. Vane, long dead, was known to be a great, world-wide traveler, but there's just something about all this that just doesn't bode well...
Well not for James, that is...esp. after multiple persons - a bookseller, a professor, a minister, a lady on a train - all tell James to 'lay off,' (in so many words), when it comes to the mysterious Mr. Vane. However, James is sort of addlepated when it comes to Vane and continuing his research, finds connections to his own past and family history and ultimately...
Well, it's a ghost story! Complete with a little boy who's haunting James - or is it his imagination? And lots of creepy buildings with doors that lock and unlock on their own, and secret rooms, and a lady who can sort of 'see' evil when it's lurking about.
A fair read, though, and I will read more by Ms. Hill.
Three stars.
April 24, 2022
I finished reading the mist in the mirror... A friend of mine recommend it to me last year . I loved every minute of it .
Susan hill is an amazing writer. Fabulous books. The Good opening impressed me , Her narrative style is elegant . Terrifying characters thirll me . I advice it for those who like ghost stories .
Susan hill is an amazing writer. Fabulous books. The Good opening impressed me , Her narrative style is elegant . Terrifying characters thirll me . I advice it for those who like ghost stories .
April 3, 2023
Unfortunately, I found this book very flat. It's a very intriguing premise and having the story presented as the 'main character' reading James Montouth's letters is very well done. I love the idea of a character trying to reconnect with his ancestors, whilst also being haunted by them. However, the execution just wasn't very interesting. The first half was very engaging, but the second half was simply not interesting at all. Monmouth's journey starts off so well, but there are too many inconsequential characters and chunks of useless description. It makes Monmouth boring to follow, and makes me realise this book could probably do with some trimming down even though it's already relatively short.
Furthermore, the book is categorically a horror story, but isn't scary at all. Sure, The Woman in Black had me somewhat on edge, but this book has absolutely no fear factor. In fact, it's very lovely. Monmouth is served lots of delightful food; I even found myself laughing at the part when he stops at a pub to Kittiscar and enjoys some bread, cheese, local ale, and a newspaper. Sounds like heaven rather than horror if I'm honest.
I was torn between giving this book 2 or 3 stars. I will settle on 2, because even though it is pleasantly written and has some good bits, I just don't think there is enough about it to give it 3 stars.
Furthermore, the book is categorically a horror story, but isn't scary at all. Sure, The Woman in Black had me somewhat on edge, but this book has absolutely no fear factor. In fact, it's very lovely. Monmouth is served lots of delightful food; I even found myself laughing at the part when he stops at a pub to Kittiscar and enjoys some bread, cheese, local ale, and a newspaper. Sounds like heaven rather than horror if I'm honest.
I was torn between giving this book 2 or 3 stars. I will settle on 2, because even though it is pleasantly written and has some good bits, I just don't think there is enough about it to give it 3 stars.
October 18, 2016
My "spooky read" for October.
November 5, 2022
Our story is framed by our unnamed narrator who sits and talks with Sir James Monmouth for a while at their club and then gets involved in an after-dinner ghost story fest. After the men break up their after-dinner chat, the narrator is joined by Sir James on his walk home. Sir James tells him that he'd like our man to read an account he's written up "of certain--events." He doesn't just ask him...
...abruptly, his hand shot out and he clutched my arm. "I beg you," he said in a low, urgent voice, "read it."
When the man receives the package containing three black leather notebooks, he sits down, intending to just read for a bit before going to sleep. But the story grabs him and doesn't let go until the end.
I settled into my chair, turning off all the lights save for one shaded lamp beside me. I suppose that I intended to read for an hour at most, expecting drowsiness to overtake me again, but I became so engrossed in the story that unfolded before me that I rapidly forgot all thought of the time, or my present surroundings.
And for most of the book that's what happened to this reader. I settled down in bed with just the low glow of the bedside lamp and intended to just read until I got sleepy. And I finished the story before that ever happened...
The notebooks tells about Monmouth's early life--how his parents died when he was five and he was sent to his Guardian in Kenya. How he lived with this man until he was seventeen and during that time Monmouth became fascinated with the idea of travel and was particularly drawn to accounts of the great pioneering traveler Conrad Vane. After his Guardian's death and coming into his inheritance, he spent his time following Vane's footsteps all over the globe until an illness forced him to put adventuresome travel behind him. So, he made one last journey back to England, the land of his birth (as well as Vane's). His fascination with Vane doesn't end when his travels do. Now that he knows where the traveler had been, he wants find out where he comes from and starts looking into Vane's past.
His journey into the past isn't an easy one. Those who might be able to tell him something about Vane seem peculiarly reluctant to do so. Those who hold records of Vane's schooldays try to dissuade him from looking at them. But he feels even more compelled to do so when those he contacts tell him to leave it be.
"No one," he said, "wants to revive the memory or disturb the shade of Conrad Vane. No one will speak to you of him--no one who could possibly be of use to you. No one who knows.
The wall of silence is eerie. But even more so is the figure of a boy that begins appearing to Monmouth, a pale, sad young boy with anxious eyes. Also unnerving is the strange mirror he finds in the first inn he stays in. A mirror whose duplicate is found in the room given him when he visits Vane's old school. A mirror that mists over to reveal a face that's not his own. During his visit to the old school, he hears the sounds of a weeping child late at night--from behind a locked door that is not there in the full light of day. But Monmouth sticks to his task...and what he finds is more disturbing than the warnings implied.
So, Susan Hill can write a good ghostly mystery with a gothic feel. We're not told explicitly, but I get the idea that the events Sir James describes take place in the early 20th Century while what he finds out about Vane must have taken place in the mid- to late-Victorian period. The atmosphere is just right for a nice shivery, spooky story and I enjoyed what we learn from Sir James's point of view. I was completely sold for about three-fourths of the book or so. But (like my previous read) the break-down occurs in the conclusion. Now, I know that ghost stories may not have complete explanations, but I do expect there to be a bit of logic to how the ghosts operate within the narrative and some of this just doesn't make sense in a world where ghosts do appear (my quibbles are noted in a spoiler section below). Overall, a very absorbing read from the author of The Woman in Black (one of my favorites) with just the right mix of mystery and the supernatural--but a somewhat anticlimactic ending.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
...abruptly, his hand shot out and he clutched my arm. "I beg you," he said in a low, urgent voice, "read it."
When the man receives the package containing three black leather notebooks, he sits down, intending to just read for a bit before going to sleep. But the story grabs him and doesn't let go until the end.
I settled into my chair, turning off all the lights save for one shaded lamp beside me. I suppose that I intended to read for an hour at most, expecting drowsiness to overtake me again, but I became so engrossed in the story that unfolded before me that I rapidly forgot all thought of the time, or my present surroundings.
And for most of the book that's what happened to this reader. I settled down in bed with just the low glow of the bedside lamp and intended to just read until I got sleepy. And I finished the story before that ever happened...
The notebooks tells about Monmouth's early life--how his parents died when he was five and he was sent to his Guardian in Kenya. How he lived with this man until he was seventeen and during that time Monmouth became fascinated with the idea of travel and was particularly drawn to accounts of the great pioneering traveler Conrad Vane. After his Guardian's death and coming into his inheritance, he spent his time following Vane's footsteps all over the globe until an illness forced him to put adventuresome travel behind him. So, he made one last journey back to England, the land of his birth (as well as Vane's). His fascination with Vane doesn't end when his travels do. Now that he knows where the traveler had been, he wants find out where he comes from and starts looking into Vane's past.
His journey into the past isn't an easy one. Those who might be able to tell him something about Vane seem peculiarly reluctant to do so. Those who hold records of Vane's schooldays try to dissuade him from looking at them. But he feels even more compelled to do so when those he contacts tell him to leave it be.
"No one," he said, "wants to revive the memory or disturb the shade of Conrad Vane. No one will speak to you of him--no one who could possibly be of use to you. No one who knows.
The wall of silence is eerie. But even more so is the figure of a boy that begins appearing to Monmouth, a pale, sad young boy with anxious eyes. Also unnerving is the strange mirror he finds in the first inn he stays in. A mirror whose duplicate is found in the room given him when he visits Vane's old school. A mirror that mists over to reveal a face that's not his own. During his visit to the old school, he hears the sounds of a weeping child late at night--from behind a locked door that is not there in the full light of day. But Monmouth sticks to his task...and what he finds is more disturbing than the warnings implied.
So, Susan Hill can write a good ghostly mystery with a gothic feel. We're not told explicitly, but I get the idea that the events Sir James describes take place in the early 20th Century while what he finds out about Vane must have taken place in the mid- to late-Victorian period. The atmosphere is just right for a nice shivery, spooky story and I enjoyed what we learn from Sir James's point of view. I was completely sold for about three-fourths of the book or so. But (like my previous read) the break-down occurs in the conclusion. Now, I know that ghost stories may not have complete explanations, but I do expect there to be a bit of logic to how the ghosts operate within the narrative and some of this just doesn't make sense in a world where ghosts do appear (my quibbles are noted in a spoiler section below). Overall, a very absorbing read from the author of The Woman in Black (one of my favorites) with just the right mix of mystery and the supernatural--but a somewhat anticlimactic ending.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
January 21, 2016
Rain, rain all day, all evening, all night, pouring autumn rain. Out in the country, over field and fen and moorland, sweet-smelling rain, borne on the wind. Rain in London, rolling along gutters, gurgling down drains. Street lamps blurred by rain. A policeman walking by in a cape, rain gleaming silver on its shoulders. Rain bouncing on roofs and pavements, soft rain falling secretly in woodland and on dark heath. Rain on London's river, and slanting among the sheds, wharves and quays. Rain on suburban gardens, dense with laurel and rhododendron. Rain from north to south and from east to west, as though it had never rained until now and now might never stop.
Rain on all the silent streets and squares, alleys and courts, gardens and churchyards and stone steps and nooks and crannies of the city.
Rain. London. The back end of the year.
Now, I have to tell you right up front, I am going to like a story that begins like that. That is a damn fine little spot of writing right there. I wish I could say that the rest of the story holds up to it. Unfortunately, the author couldn't quite stick the landing on this lovely tale. The writing remains strong, and she weaves the images of water and rising and falling beautifully through the whole work, but the story is too weak. My copy was 185 pages (regardless of what Goodreads thinks of this ISBN), and I really do think that if about 100 of those had been trimmed and the tropes tightened up, this would have been a perfect read.
Hauntings sometimes work if the threat is left vague, with the horrified reactions of the participants of the story allowing the reader to fill in the unspoken with assumptions worse than anything the writer would be able to successfully convey, but that doesn't work here. The story takes too long to build for too little pay-off; the whole first half of the book provides spooky details, but could easily have been sacrificed for the purposes of the story. Also, Hill seemed to have trouble picking a trope and sticking with it. There are ghosts, the mirror of the title, a curse, possible possession, but none of it gets enough time in the limelight to take full shape and carry the story. So, overall, a miss. But a very, very pretty miss. Also, this:
'I take it you've travelled, Mr. Monmouth?'
'Indeed.'
'I have not. I let others travel for me.' He gestured to the books.
Really, I have to love that.
***Review written 10/4/15. Original comments on finishing 10/2/15:
Beautiful writing with a gorgeous weaving of imagery and some genuinely chilling moments, but about 100 pages too long for what it is. Full review to come.
Rain on all the silent streets and squares, alleys and courts, gardens and churchyards and stone steps and nooks and crannies of the city.
Rain. London. The back end of the year.
Now, I have to tell you right up front, I am going to like a story that begins like that. That is a damn fine little spot of writing right there. I wish I could say that the rest of the story holds up to it. Unfortunately, the author couldn't quite stick the landing on this lovely tale. The writing remains strong, and she weaves the images of water and rising and falling beautifully through the whole work, but the story is too weak. My copy was 185 pages (regardless of what Goodreads thinks of this ISBN), and I really do think that if about 100 of those had been trimmed and the tropes tightened up, this would have been a perfect read.
Hauntings sometimes work if the threat is left vague, with the horrified reactions of the participants of the story allowing the reader to fill in the unspoken with assumptions worse than anything the writer would be able to successfully convey, but that doesn't work here. The story takes too long to build for too little pay-off; the whole first half of the book provides spooky details, but could easily have been sacrificed for the purposes of the story. Also, Hill seemed to have trouble picking a trope and sticking with it. There are ghosts, the mirror of the title, a curse, possible possession, but none of it gets enough time in the limelight to take full shape and carry the story. So, overall, a miss. But a very, very pretty miss. Also, this:
'I take it you've travelled, Mr. Monmouth?'
'Indeed.'
'I have not. I let others travel for me.' He gestured to the books.
Really, I have to love that.
***Review written 10/4/15. Original comments on finishing 10/2/15:
Beautiful writing with a gorgeous weaving of imagery and some genuinely chilling moments, but about 100 pages too long for what it is. Full review to come.
March 25, 2019
I’ve had this book for a while now, but for some reason I’d never got round to picking it up. I think part of the reason for that is that a few of my friends have independently met her in person and both said that she wasn’t very likeable. A pretty dumb reason for not picking it up, really.
That’s particularly true because it turned out to be excellent, and while there were some similarities to The Woman in Black (such as the time setting and the fact that it’s about a young man looking into the buried past), it didn’t feel as though she’d just had a go at duplicating a winning formula.
The focus on mirrors got to me in particular because I’ve always had a little bit of a fear of mirrors and reflections for some reason. When I was a kid and my mum went on holiday, I used to cover all of the mirrors in the house with bedsheets so that I didn’t get too creeped out while she was away.
All in all then, if you’re looking for a creepy little read that’ll give you some chills without taking too much of your time, this is a good place to look. I got my copy pretty cheap from a charity shop and so that made it a no-brainer, but it’s also worth the full RRP if you only buy new. It’s also made me want to read some more of Hill’s work. I’ll get there eventually, I just have so much other stuff on my list.
That’s particularly true because it turned out to be excellent, and while there were some similarities to The Woman in Black (such as the time setting and the fact that it’s about a young man looking into the buried past), it didn’t feel as though she’d just had a go at duplicating a winning formula.
The focus on mirrors got to me in particular because I’ve always had a little bit of a fear of mirrors and reflections for some reason. When I was a kid and my mum went on holiday, I used to cover all of the mirrors in the house with bedsheets so that I didn’t get too creeped out while she was away.
All in all then, if you’re looking for a creepy little read that’ll give you some chills without taking too much of your time, this is a good place to look. I got my copy pretty cheap from a charity shop and so that made it a no-brainer, but it’s also worth the full RRP if you only buy new. It’s also made me want to read some more of Hill’s work. I’ll get there eventually, I just have so much other stuff on my list.
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