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The Quiet Earth
Winter 1994, and in the Wye Valley a story hidden for almost eight centuries has just been unearthed. For Nina, an ecologist working alongside local archaeologists, the discovery of a baby’s grave dating from the thirteenth century is of far more interest than just academic. Nina is mourning the loss of her own baby – a fact that seems not to have gone un-noticed by the spirits disturbed by the dig. And she is not alone in feeling an unusual affinity with the dig site: her boss Mark also senses strange presences there. Nina is drawn to Mark, but she is unsure of their relationship, and unable to communicate her feelings. Mark, meanwhile, is not a man given to clear expressions of affection and he too is mourning – mourning the failure of his engagement. As Mark and Nina continue to work on the Wye Valley site, their developing relationship has uncanny echoes of the past. The baby buried in the Wye Valley is the child of Gawyn, a headstrong Crusader knight who once travelled from France to Wales with a sacred secret; a secret that has lain dormant for hundreds of years. Until now...
The baby’s mother, his wife Roese, followed a hugely challenging and at times death-defying path to find her home in the quiet Wye Valley. As Nina and Mark delve ever deeper into the past, they find out more of Gawyn's story, his travels across Europe and – perhaps most important of all – his encounter with a group of religious believers who held to their beliefs despite being mercilessly persecuted by the Crusaders. With their own story developing and sometimes mirroring that of Roese and Gawyn, will Nina and Mark find a spiritual home? Only time will tell…
The baby’s mother, his wife Roese, followed a hugely challenging and at times death-defying path to find her home in the quiet Wye Valley. As Nina and Mark delve ever deeper into the past, they find out more of Gawyn's story, his travels across Europe and – perhaps most important of all – his encounter with a group of religious believers who held to their beliefs despite being mercilessly persecuted by the Crusaders. With their own story developing and sometimes mirroring that of Roese and Gawyn, will Nina and Mark find a spiritual home? Only time will tell…
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
17 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Harris
7 books27 followersAlso writes as Alys Clare.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 19, 2017
This novel started off well, I thought, being similar to Barbara Erskine's books, but I felt it went downhill. The storyline is good, but quite honestly I struggled and almost gave up half way through. I found I was looking at how much further there was to go to get to the end. At 80% in I did eventually more or less throw in the towel and speed read as fast as possible to the end - so you could say I still had a bit of curiosity left.
If I had bought it as a 'hard' copy I wouldn't be keeping it to read again. As it is I'm grouping it on my kindle in the 'oh dear' category.
I will say, though, it's not the worst book in this genre that has come my way and of course others will enjoy it. But it's not for me.
If I had bought it as a 'hard' copy I wouldn't be keeping it to read again. As it is I'm grouping it on my kindle in the 'oh dear' category.
I will say, though, it's not the worst book in this genre that has come my way and of course others will enjoy it. But it's not for me.
November 8, 2025
I was thinking that Nina was a descendent of the knight but then find out that as the baby he is guarding was his only child he was just trying to pass on some cathar knowledge. Was not aware there had been cathars in England so will have to do some research on this but did love the ghostly presence causing them to rebury everyone where they came from and with their grave goods, the pilgrimage to the cathar cities was interesting and I wonder how many crusaders who were supposed to be men of honour were sickened by what happened. I dont imagine too many of them were actually there from religious fervour. It would be interesting to know if there actually were people that changed sides due to the attrocities.
February 10, 2019
I have mixed feelings about this book . I love dual timeline stories and I really enjoyed the part of this that was set in the 13th century . Here I felt the characters were well developed and I liked them . However the episodes set in 1994 I didn't enjoy nearly as much . Here the characters felt stilted and I didn't take to them . Nina , irritated me , she felt childish and immature . The two parts of this book felt as if they were written by two different people , one part poor and the other really good . I still think that it's worth a read . I really liked the 13th century episodes so for that reason I have to give it a 3.5 * rating .
January 19, 2022
Ich hab die deutsche Übersetzung Der Heilige Stein gelesen und fand es sehr unterhaltsam, interessant und lehrreich. Es hat mir besser gefallen als erwartet.
January 21, 2016
I really enjoyed this book once I got into it and found I couldn't then put it down. It is set over two time periods. In 1994, Nina is an ecologist who has a bit of a soft spot for her boss, Mark. They are invited to an archaeological dig in the Wye Valley at what they believe to be an ancient monastery, but everything starts to go wrong once the remains of a baby are dug up from one of the graves.
In the year 1209 the story follows several characters. Roese is pulled from the river bank by Aiden, who lives at the retreat. She is dressed as a man and is believed to be dead and taken to the chapel where prayers are said for her before a burial takes place. Roese has lost her memory and doesn't know how she got there, but bit by bit her previous life starts to come back to her. Following these events, Aiden is confused in his role at the retreat and questions whether it is the life for him to follow and prefers to be out in the open as a sheep herd.
Gawyn is a brave knight who goes on crusade to France but events don't turn out as expected. Injured in battle he struggles to regain his strength until he realises his purpose. But his journey back home comes with dangers of its own as he is tasked with carrying a dangerous secret, one that could cost him his life if discovered.
All in all, I could best describe this as the book that keeps on giving. The authors knowledge of the thirteenth century are mesmerising, the details of the setting, the clothes and food, and the way of life just draw you further and further into the story. And then there was the addition of the haunting presence at the archaeological dig and the things that take place in the laboratory while the bodies were being examined; it sent a shiver down my spine.
I love these kinds of stories and will be buying other works from this author. Thank you to NetGalley, and the publishers, for the advance reader copy.
In the year 1209 the story follows several characters. Roese is pulled from the river bank by Aiden, who lives at the retreat. She is dressed as a man and is believed to be dead and taken to the chapel where prayers are said for her before a burial takes place. Roese has lost her memory and doesn't know how she got there, but bit by bit her previous life starts to come back to her. Following these events, Aiden is confused in his role at the retreat and questions whether it is the life for him to follow and prefers to be out in the open as a sheep herd.
Gawyn is a brave knight who goes on crusade to France but events don't turn out as expected. Injured in battle he struggles to regain his strength until he realises his purpose. But his journey back home comes with dangers of its own as he is tasked with carrying a dangerous secret, one that could cost him his life if discovered.
All in all, I could best describe this as the book that keeps on giving. The authors knowledge of the thirteenth century are mesmerising, the details of the setting, the clothes and food, and the way of life just draw you further and further into the story. And then there was the addition of the haunting presence at the archaeological dig and the things that take place in the laboratory while the bodies were being examined; it sent a shiver down my spine.
I love these kinds of stories and will be buying other works from this author. Thank you to NetGalley, and the publishers, for the advance reader copy.
May 23, 2016
I lost touch with this author when this excellent set of historical fiction went out of print. So, I was delighted to find that her books have been reissued in digital form and are accessible once more. Revisiting The Quiet Earth was a real treat, as not only did I devour it the first time around in the 1990s, but also I reread it just as avidly this time around.
Set in the Wye Valley in 1994, Nina is an ecologist working with archaeologists on a site which is about eight centuries old but Nina has some hidden secrets and when her life becomes intertwined with that of Roese and Mark in the thirteenth century you quickly realise that the past is about to encroach on the future.
I loved this story, it's atmospheric and edgy with a delicious creepiness which infuses the page with a real sense of history. The modern day elements, and yes, I realise that 1994 is no longer classed as modern, sits comfortably alongside the historical. For all that it was written twenty two years ago, it does feel, in places, remarkably contemporary, and could still have been written today.
Elizabeth Harris writes dual time narratives very competently and can blend past and present like no other author I know, so that reading her books is like stepping into a superior time travelling machine. Such is the power of her storytelling that you have to occasionally look up from reading to make sure that you are still in the here and now.
I am really thrilled to find that most of Elizabeth Harris's back catalogue is being converted to digital by Endeavour Press, I can't wait to catch up with some old friends.
Set in the Wye Valley in 1994, Nina is an ecologist working with archaeologists on a site which is about eight centuries old but Nina has some hidden secrets and when her life becomes intertwined with that of Roese and Mark in the thirteenth century you quickly realise that the past is about to encroach on the future.
I loved this story, it's atmospheric and edgy with a delicious creepiness which infuses the page with a real sense of history. The modern day elements, and yes, I realise that 1994 is no longer classed as modern, sits comfortably alongside the historical. For all that it was written twenty two years ago, it does feel, in places, remarkably contemporary, and could still have been written today.
Elizabeth Harris writes dual time narratives very competently and can blend past and present like no other author I know, so that reading her books is like stepping into a superior time travelling machine. Such is the power of her storytelling that you have to occasionally look up from reading to make sure that you are still in the here and now.
I am really thrilled to find that most of Elizabeth Harris's back catalogue is being converted to digital by Endeavour Press, I can't wait to catch up with some old friends.
August 12, 2016
This book is set in two time periods, both now in the past, although the 1990s was contemporary when it was written. That "contemporary" period seemed oddly dated to me, a world before the internet and smart phones and widespread computers in small organisations and homes. It took me a while to warm to the protagonists there; the 13th Century characters seemed more real. Still I enjoyed the book and wanted to find out what happened to them all. I can't help wondered whether Kate Mosse read this before she wrote Labyrinth. I'm off to re-read that to see what I think about the similarities.
August 22, 2020
This was an interesting take on the Cathars, although only fiction it was well enough written to hold the attention and historically correct enough to be interesting. I like this period of history and it was a bit of fun because of the ghostly presence of the knight!
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April 15, 2013I haven't read it yet I wanted to find it here
January 12, 2016
A supernatural mystery set in a lovely part of U K.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour Publishing via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour Publishing via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
May 21, 2016
Very enjoyable had to read and read on beautiful descriptions extremely realistic characters a true joy from start to finish would recommend to all B Erskin lovers
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April 7, 2016AMAZING THAT GOOD I'VE DOWNLOADED ANOTHER ON OF ELIZABETH HARRIS'S BOOK STRAIGHT AWAY AFTER I HAD FINISHED THIS
FIVE STARS FROM ME
FIVE STARS FROM ME
March 31, 2017
The quiet earth
Such an amazing book I'm without words to express how amazing it was. I couldn't put it down and read it so so quickly. It's lead me to do a lot of research on the Cathars especially who I had never even heard of before! So amazingly thought of and constructed. No complaints, everything was perfect
Such an amazing book I'm without words to express how amazing it was. I couldn't put it down and read it so so quickly. It's lead me to do a lot of research on the Cathars especially who I had never even heard of before! So amazingly thought of and constructed. No complaints, everything was perfect
April 23, 2017
Interesting historical setting
I couldn't put this down. Interesting historical setting and story that moved on well. I liked the writing style too.
I couldn't put this down. Interesting historical setting and story that moved on well. I liked the writing style too.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews