Distant Voices

by Barbara Erskine

In her second volume of short stories, which follows the hugely successful Encounters , Barbara Erskine has created a wide and vivid range of worlds and emotions, From love, romance, loneliness, grief, to betrayal, passion, adventure and compelling suspense. A biographer investigating a tragic death hears voices from the past drawing her towards the truth... A nineteenth-century parson's daughter is caught tip in the excitement and romance of a smuggling intrigue... A young boy from a deprived background finds his own haven in the wastelands of the inner city... A young woman, struggling to choose between love or her career, finds help from an unexpected source... Contemporary, historical, spooky, humorous, there are over thirty delightful stories, each one guaranteed to capture the reader's imagination, and all demonstrating Barbara Erskine's unique powers its a storyteller.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Short Stories, Romance, Historical

512 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 1997

About the author

An historian by training, Barbara Erskine is the author of six bestselling novels that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural, plus two collections of short stories. Her books have appeared in at least twenty different languages. She lives with her family in an ancient manor house near Colchester, and in a cottage near Hay-on-Wye.

Reviews

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the last of this author's works on my shelves and promised to be an easier read, being a collection of short stories. They span a couple of decades in her career, judging by the foreword, and one story in particular, 'To Adam a Son', first published in the 1970s, deserved consignment to oblivion in my opinion as it returned to the 'Lady of Hay' idea of a woman loving her rapist even though he leaves her pregnant and returns years later wanting a wife to look after the child he has been "lumbered" with by the woman he married straight afterwards.

The quality of the stories in this collection are very uneven. Some seem unfinished such as the title story which sets up a situation but doesn't really deliver anything other than the usual haunted house cliches. I thought the better stories were those which did not deal with relationships between women and men but instead were told from a child's viewpoint, such as the little girl who is scared of a vicious cat that is a suitcase by day and lives on top of her wardrobe, or dealt with a young person setting out in life, such as the girl who is about to go for a music "interview" for a position of organist at a church. Those stories brought up the book's rating for me, so that it balanced out at a 3-star rating.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually enjoy short stories but this collection changed my mind.

[Cathy Groome · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a great fan of Barbara Erskine, having read most of her longer novels and enjoyed them. When I saw this book of short stories on my daughter's bookshelf, I couldn't resist borrowing it. Having read the first few stories and not enjoyed them, I almost gave up on the book, which is not like me at all, so I continued on. After another two or three stories, I remained unimpressed, and decided not to finish the book. Again, very unusual for me. Maybe my expectations were too great. Barbara Erskine is a master at building suspense, and I can't usually put her books down once I've started them. This wasn't possible with these shorter stories, and for me, did not come anywhere near her usual standard.

[Becky Boylett · Rating 2 out of 5]

unfortunatly im not a big fan of short stories, i always feel i never get into them deep enough and just when i start to like them i somehow find them at an end. This was no different, there are a few stories i would have loved to be a full book but no such luck.

[Tim Love · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled.

Birdsong is common - variations on "somewhere near a gull cawed in the night" are common. And having an icicle as the perfect weapon isn't a new idea. "strange" appears often - as when a woman "felt a strange twist of longing deep inside her" after a man took his shirt off. Hearts work hard - thumping, sinking, leaping with happiness. One heroine thinks "my heart should have been singing". Men’s eyes are striking, and they say so much. They are most often light blue and piercing. I think "wearily" is the most used adverb, though there are many others to choose from. Consecutive sentences in one story end with "hopefully", "miserably", "angrily".

The main character in the 150 minute long "A family affair" is strikingly unconvincing, switching between gullibility and bravery whenever it suits the flimsy plot. The language doesn't help -"'I was not terrified,' I denied hotly. Smiling unrepentantly he bowed slightly".

However, in "Catherine's cat" (or it may be "Katherine's cat" - it was an audio book) there's interesting symbolism. A little girl thinks there's a big black cat on her wardrobe. In the night she hears her father looking for his wife. He's worried. He looks in Catherine's room. She sees dark hairs on his pale legs below his dressing gown. She hears her mother return and her parents talking. Her mother says that she's never loved Catherine, that the marriage has never been happy, that Catherine's always liked him more that her. He apologies for being boring. In the morning Catherine wonders if it was all a dream. There are black hairs on the bed where the cat has been. At school she cries in class. She tells the teacher about the cat. The teacher tried to be understanding. The school receives a call from hospital - her mother's been mauled in the house by a big cat. At home her father says he didn't realise that the night's conversation was being overheard. He tells Catherine that her mother said she didn't like Catherine only to make him angry - grown-ups play silly games like that. He gets the old suitcase down from the top of the wardrobe. It was his father's - empty except for a few tickets, with labels from exotic countries. He puts it in the loft. There's an identification of the cat with Catherine, and also (because of the hairs) with her father. The father, who promised to his wife that he'd try harder, stows his passed-down excitement in the loft - also repressing Catherine's feelings?

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this set of short stories but sadly did not take notes as I read them, and now a month later, I am scratching to remember them all.

Hobo poet husbands, radical vicars running smuggling gangs, some intriguing ghost stories - all from analog days. I had not read any Erskine before, but will go looking for her now.

4 stars

So far this year, my library saved me A$724.31

[Carrie Hetherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Erskine is my favourite author, I have all her books and would highly recommend each and every one. You won't be able to put them down! There are characters from the past and present intertwined in a single story, grounded in historical fiction and they're always full of ghosts. Gripping.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so disgusted that Barbara Erskine has treated rape with such a blasé attitude in one of her stories that I stopped reading just over halfway through the book, and I'm choosing to put it in the paper recycling bin instead of giving it to charity. Huge thumbs down.

[The Night Owl's Nook · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I liked some of the stories featured in this, I hate to say that I didn't generally like this collection of short stories and I normally love Barbara Erskine' books. Some stories fell flat, others didn't make too much sense and others were just frustrating.

[Lenka Gonnella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miluji Barbaru Erskinovou. Její knihy jsou skvělé. Povídkové knihy si nekupuji, ale u Barbary jsem udělala vyjímku a můžu říct, že už ji neudělám. Tohle není můj šálek kávy. Je to milá kniha. Některé povídky jsou fajn, ale že bych z toho byla nějak nadšená, tak to jsem nebyla.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, enticing stories that were brimming over with romance. C0uld have been worse.

[Bess]

DNF

[Julie D'Arcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Sends a chill down your spine. I love Barbara Erskine's books. I really enjoy her writing style.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A jolly good selection of somewhat quirky very tally ho jolly short stories some quite intriguing and all very English. A delightful audiobook for short drives.

[Kerry Hillier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

[Stephanie Kerins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant reading

Nice to read short stories suitable for all. Four stars simply because
it is unusual. I am a fan of this author .

[Marianne Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed all these short and sometimes longer ones. All were different from different eras and genres. I was delighted with each one

[Sandra Bjarnason · Rating 5 out of 5]

10

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would've got 5 stars but for the 1970s short stories. The rough treatment by the male characters towards the female characters in the stories from that time, included a rape which left one character pregnant, yet still loving her abuser. It really riled me that this was the sort of thing females read in magazines at that time, and thought was acceptable behaviour in partners. No wonder domestic violence wasn't taken seriously by the police at that time!

Other than those older stories, the rest of the book is entertaining with a mix of genres including historical suspense at which Erskine excels.

[Leeanne Thwaite]

Some of the stories are a bit short for my liking just as you are getting in to them they finish. Nice easy reading. Watch the wall, My darling. was my favourite one of the longest stories in the book.

[Samantha Niette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I LOVE Barbara Erskine, and this is the first collection of her short stories that I've read. Her novels, I adore, but I really only enjoyed a few of her short stories. And I have her other two collections waiting to be read.

[Sharon Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love Barbara Erskine, I have read all her books, and am always waiting for her new book to be released.

I liked these short stories, but I am not really a fan of short stories, I prefer to get lost in a full book, for that reason, I only gave 3 stars.

[Paula Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kept thinking Life is too short to be wasting on a book that I am not that into. I felt the stories were rushed and a lot of them felt unfinished. Managed to read to the end but had to keep putting it down and reading another in between to give myself a break.

[Alys Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can you say, good book. Good narratives and well thought out characters and plot. Prefer the longer novels, but the collections of short stories are good to dip in and out of.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didnt finish it purely as this is the first book of short stories i have read and decided short stories are really not for me, i get frustrated because i want more once it ends , but as for Barbara Erskine she is still one of my favourite authors.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

[Sue Sammons]

Great for reading when short of time, some of the stories would have been great as full length novels.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent range of stories.

[Jenny Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

what makes you think I'm a fan always eagerly awaiting a new book and I'm not disappointed thanks

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 18. A collection of short stories, ok, some were excellent. I love her novels, she has a new one out this year. 📚🤓 #tsreadinglist2021 #tsrecommendations