Sing Witch, Sing Death

by Roberta Gellis

Lady Pamela was the paid companion of the Countess St. Just, a difficult woman. But on the wild Cornish coast where violent storms raged, Pamela sensed great danger at the Tremaire estate. One danger was her attraction to St. Just, but almost as strong was her fear that someone in the secluded mansion was marked for death. Regency Gothic by Roberta Gellis (author of The Roselynde Chronicles); originally published by Bantam

Genres: Gothic, Historical, Romance, Historical Romance, Fiction, Regency, Gothic Romance

Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1983

About the author

Roberta Gellis has been one of the most successful writers of historical fiction of the last few decades, having published about 25 meticulously researched historical novels since 1964. She was married to her husband Charles for over 50 years and they lived together in Lafayette, Indiana with a lively Lakeland terrier called Taffy. She has one child called Mark.

Her page at the Internet Speculative Fiction DataBase

Reviews

[Ana Lopes Miura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this is the only Gothic in Roberta Gellis’ ouvre, which is a shame, because it’s much better than her more popular Madalene de le Batarde historical mystery series and her Roselynde historical romance series.

An excellent romantic suspense a la Victoria Holt, but with a more creepy atmosphere with the Cornish thunderstorms and the warring witch covens. Unlike some of Holt’s works, however, the pacing is excellent, the mystery is compelling (although it’s obvious who the baddies are) and will keep you reading until the end.

4.5

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5) The story is set in 1816 as Earl St. Just, lord of Tremaine returns to his family manor in Cornwall, with his pampered wife Hetty and her hired companion Lady Pamela in tow. The St. Just marriage, an arranged affair, is an unhappy one and St. Just finds himself falling in love with the dark and beautiful lady Pamela as they become wrapped up in unraveling the secrets of the local witch covens -- are these women truly harmless, or is there a more sinister plot involved?

All in all an entertaining albeit very short read - I honestly would have liked to see the whole thing fleshed out more than what I got in 200 pages. Lots of things that go bump in the night, wicked storms along the Cornwall coast stirred up by the witch's coven along with a few red herrings misleading the reader to who the real baddies are makes up for a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon -- although I would have loved to have seen what Du Maurier could have done with this one. 3.5/5 stars rounded up to four.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Pamela Hervey, of good linage but no fortune is the hired companion for Countess St. Just who has married into a name with her fortune. The Countess is no lady and has no notion of correct behaviour having grown up elsewhere. Now, I have to admit I am a bit unclear on where exactly Hetty and her fortune did come from. At one point 'West Indies" was mentioned, I am pretty sure. It was an 'Island' and it was hot and there was slavery, at one point the word Voodoo is used by Hetty which would suggest Haiti rather than the Indies, I admit to being confused.

However, this story takes place in Cornwell and the descriptions of the rugged unyielding terrain are excellent, as are the sketches of the local people. A major plot element is the existence of witches and Gellis walks a deliciously fine line between making the story very suspenseful -and at times malevolent- without ever weighing in strongly as to whether witchcraft is true or just true in the mind of the local people and the witches. Masterfully written, really.

As a long time devotee of Gellis' writing this was a very different pace to other of her novels I have read. It is much later set than the Roselynde chronicles, 1816 this means that Gellis is defining a different society and set on cultural mores to previous books of hers I have read. As with all her books however, there is a strong woman as a main character and a subtle social commentary on the mores under which she must live her life. This social perspicuity is what makes this author one of my historical fiction favorites, the way in which she can bring a different society to life.

Sing Witch Sing Death is a very flashy title, and the description on the back cover promises a bodice ripper. To a large extent, it is just that; Lady Pamela falls in love with her employer who is married to the woman Lady Pamela is a companion to, we, the readers, know that they will wind up together and we are pretty sure there will be a happy ending. Despite the genera this novel belongs to, as usual Gellis transcends the genera she writes within. This Historical romance has the romance coming way behind the history, character development, plot and locality. In short, it is a bodice ripper in which no bodices are ripped and the nearest thing to steamy sex is a remarkably chaste kiss toward the end.

-disclaimer; I do NOT own a copy with that remarkably flaky cover. Not sure I could have brought mysle fto buy that. Mine is much older, 1975, and has no ISBN to search for.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fun! Part gothic romance, part folk horror, this quickly paced novel wastes little time with needless back story. It is chock full of odd characters, witches, storms, pettiness, and longing. The MC is full of pluck, the love interest is ill tempered, and the villains are obvious. While I do somewhat miss the gaslighting that is typical of both genres, this is still super readable.

[Nightwitch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overwrought Gothic romance; one star because it's really just not that great. Gellis has written much better (usually set in the middle ages) and this book has enough sexism and creepiness that there weren't a lot of redeeming factors to it for me. The hero is married; the heroine is his wife's companion; the wife is obnoxious and awful, but at one point the hero, who is already in love with the heroine, tells the heroine that if she leaves him he will murder his wife so frankly I have a lot more sympathy for the wife than I was supposed to, and feel the heroine should probably have started running long and far.

[Angie Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady Pamela , is living with St Just and his wife Hetty, in Cornwall, happy with he life, but getting fed up by the minute of the winging Hetty, a spoilt nasty woman,who only cares about herself and making the lives of her staff hell,
What Hetty has not bargained for , is the Coven of Witches, who live in the village, and after making nasty remarks, strange things start to happen in the home,
Set in 1816, Sing Witch Sing Death, is a lovely Gothic story, of Witchcraft, murder revenge and love,

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gothic romantic suspense, set during the Regency era in Cornwall. When Lady Pamela takes the position of companion to Hetty, Countess of St. Just, she enters a very unhappy household. Hetty and her husband, Vyvyan, hate each other, but can't escape their unwanted marriage. Pamela finds herself drawn to Vyvyan, but must conceal her feelings, while Vyvyan's cousin George flirts with Hetty. Storms and witchcraft beset the household, culminating dramatically on Midsummer's Eve. Very atmospheric, quick-paced, and hard to put down.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witches, covens, and a baby. Not my usual read.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roberta Gellis took a detour in the late 1970s from her successful medieval romances to hop on the Gothic bandwagon with this tale set in Regency Cornwall. "Sing Witch, Sing Death" is a lot of fun. Lady Pamela has been hired as a companion to help turn the unmannered and filthy rich Caribbean wife of a Cornish baronet into a society lady. Of course this brings up thoughts of "Jane Eyre" and, of course, like that novel, the hero, Vyvyan St. Just is moody and bad-tempered. Despite herself, Pamela finds herself falling in love with him, even as she learns that all is not well, either within the arranged marriage or within the neighborhood. Long-standing covens of hereditary witches are plotting something sinister for Midsummer's Night, and Pamela finds herself being drawn into it. Gellis has an enormous amount of fun with her characters and the reader will, too, from St. Just's cousin George, the very model of a would-be dandy who speaks in pure Georgette Heyer-derived slang to Pamela herself: tall, sturdy, strong and obviously a better choice to be lady of the manor...if only the actual lady was not in the way. The element of warring covens adds a nice moody touch.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like a lot of Robert Gellis' work but this one fell short hence the 3 stars. It begins beautifully, and for RG it is on the shorter side. But the overall moral arch is awkward with a almost foregone conclusion. Ultimately it felt like there were too many characters that weren't in their core, good people. To write this review, though I had to re-read a bit, and then I got sucked in. But prepare for a feeling of lack of growth or Ms. Gellis relies on the mystery, but I needed to care just a bit more about the main characters.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I read this book! The gothic atmosphere was fantastic! I was completely captivated and by the time I was at the (literal and figurative) cliff hanger I didn’t want to stop until the grand resolution.

The characters are perfect for the setting and show wonderful contrast. Lady Pamela makes such a good heroine it gave me chills to hear her facing the contrast shifting landscape. She lacks the missish behavior of the typical heroine and that is what I love about her—it makes her struggle sincere and her ever increasing turmoil relatable. I was frightened wire along with her.

[Kim]

I found the writing style dry and detached.

[melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

The concept here is interesting, but this could have been longer. Also casual fatphobic descriptions of a secondary character like please I know it was the 70s but come on.

Hetty can be seen as a kind of a delicate, petulant wife right up until she starts talking about treating tenets like the enslaved people she owned in the West Indies. The only mention of St. Just participating in this system, aside from marrying a wealthy woman who enslaved people, is that he treated slaves “like people”. Kind of a typical redirect of this era of writing, but definitely something to keep an eye on as a critique.

[Kim Rendfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like story that focuses on relationships but is not a bodice ripper, this is a story for you. Vividly set in Cornwall, it is a romance in the truest sense of the word, with a tale that focuses on the growing love between hero and heroine in an impossible situation. The heat level is mild but readers get plenty of tension.

[Hafiza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reprint now available as ebook.
I love the Gothcs from the 1970's But this one was flat.
The characters were one dimensional.
I did not feel the romance between Pamela and the hero.
If you are in the mood for a good Gothic romance, reach for a Victoria Holt.

[Rebecca]

Definitely not her best. Her books are almost always much, much better!