The Stuff of Dreams

by Eileen Ramsay

Fourteen years ago there was a fire, a scandal. A famous actor died; his lover, a famous actress, was arrested...

Now Abbots House hotel has been rebuilt, and is now home for a mysterious woman who hides her face and talks to no one. Rumours fly through the Scottish seaside village. Kate Buchanan can't leave her tragic past behind - I nor can she remember what actually happened that fateful night. Now, though, snatches of her memory start to return - and an epic love story spanning two decades returns to haunt the woman who survived. While recollections of her past return, she must face her demons if …

384 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

Eileen Ainsworth was born on 16 December 1940 in the South-West of Scotland, where she brought up. She wrote since she was seven, but she decided become a teacher. After graduating she went to teach in the USA for a year - and stayed 18 years. She married Ian Ramsay, a Scottish mathematics scientist working on the first moon shots. They had two chidren. They returned to their native Scotland.

Her writing for children and adults has won several awards, including the Constable and Pitlochry trophies from the Scottish Association of Writers and the Romantic Novelists' Association's Elizabeth Goudge Award. In 2004 she was short listed for the Romantic Novel of the Year award.

Eileen is an honorary member of the Angus Writers Circle, was vice-president of the Scottish Association of Writers, a member of the Society of Authors and was on the committee of the Scottish branch for about six years and for four was the Secretary, and she was elected the twenty-seventh Chairman (2015-2017) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Sandysbookaday (on indefinite hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fourteen years ago there was a fire. A famous actor died and his lover, a famous actress, was arrested.
Now Abbot's house has been rebuilt and a mysterious woman who hides her face and talks to almost no-one, has come to live there.
Kate Buchanan cannot leave her tragic past behind - but nor can she remember what actually happened that night years before. In the peace of the Scottish seaside village, though, snatches of her memory start to come back - and an epic love story returns to haunt the woman who survived.
I almost gave up on this book after the first chapter. I didn't, but I almost wish I had.
I understand that some repetition is only to be expected in a tale where the main character has lost all memory of what happened on that fateful night, but after a while it all gets a little wearing.
She argues incessantly with herself, is self-centred and largely thoughtless.
Having said that there are moments of redemption in the book. Maggie and Stacies family are absolutely delightful, and Stacie is a typical teenager, eager but not quite in control.
I found the ending incredibly saccharine and finished the book feeling more than slightly let down.
I don't think I will be rushing off to read more by this author.

[Vicki Basham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fourteen years ago there was a fire, a scandal. A famous actor died; his lover, a famous actress, was arrested...

Now Abbots House hotel has been rebuilt, and is now home for a mysterious woman who hides her face and talks to no one. Rumours fly through the Scottish seaside village. Kate Buchanan can't leave her tragic past behind - I nor can she remember what actually happened that fateful night. Now, though, snatches of her memory start to return - and an epic love story spanning two decades returns to haunt the woman who survived. While recollections of her past return, she must face her demons if …

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried with this book but only got to page 40 in the hope that it would get better. The characters were unrelatable, the plot was random and the writing seemed to be all over the place. Didn't have the endurance to continue ...

[susana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nota Geral: 2.3/5
Escrita: 4
Cenário: 2
Originalidade: 3.5
Personagens: 2
Suspense: 2
Humor: 2.5
Romance: 1.5
Capa: 4
Aditivo: 1.5
Previsível: 1.5

[Rowlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very slow start to this story and I almost gave up but glad I saw it through to the end. Once the storyline got going it was quite good. Not one of her better tales though.

[Sarah Odgers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of loss, love, remembrance and forgiveness. Hard to get into but once you do it’s a ‘can’t put it down’ kind of read. Loved it so much in the end.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the combination of the two main characters Kate and Stacie! Such a lovely and chill read.

[Yang Shu-yuan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Katherine braucht viele Sternschnuppen, damit ihre Wünsche in Erfüllung gehen: Denn seit Abbots House, ihr idyllisches Anwesen an der schottischen Küste, in Flammen aufging und ihr Geliebter Bryn zu Tode kam, ist das Leben der Schauspielerin zerstört. Nach vielen einsamen Jahren kehrt Katherine nach Abbots House zurück, ein Haus voller Erinnerungstücke an ein Leben mit dem wunderbaren Bryn. Bryn, der sie auch dann noch liebte, als er einer anderen das Jawort gab. Katherine will dort ihr Gedächtnis wiederfinden, das sie in der Brandnacht verloren hat. Denn sie weiß: Nur wenn es ihr gelingt, ihre Vergangenheit und damit ihre Liebe zu Bryn dem Vergessen zu entreißen, wird sie erneut Glück empfinden können. Doch die Bewohner des Dorfes machen es Katherine nicht leicht. Böse Gerüchte über sie und jene verhängnisvolle Nacht machen die Runde, und nur wenige Menschen treten ihr so vorurteilslos entgegen wie die frisch verliebte Stacie, die selbst zum Theater will. Katherine fühlt sich sofort angenommen von der jungen Frau, deren kühne Lebensträume sie an die eigenen erinnern. Und damit beginnt eine ungewöhnliche Freundschaft, die für beide Frauen unvorhersehbare Folgen hat ...
Mit dieser anrührenden Geschichte einer unsterblichen Liebe und einer tiefen Freundschaft hat Eileen Ramsay ihren Lesern erneut ein Buch geschenkt, das auch am helllichten Tag Sternstunden bereithält. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels

[Britt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me forever! But only because i started reading other books at the same time. However this book is good! really good! It's SO well written and it's different from the stuff i normally read so i enjoyed it a lot. I liked the fact it has so many stories in one book and even though the ending was predictable it was my favourite part.

[Rosslyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up at a charity shop and it was a great read. Not sure if I would like her other stuff as she's billed as a romantic novelist! Not my cup of tea!

[P.D.R. Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather a cliche, the plot a little mundane and predictable but the novel is well written and the characters are more than 2D. A pleasant restful read. A good 'flu book.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok, bit boring