SOLVED. Ghost story set in England - through dreams. [s]

[Divya]

A ghost story with a twist at the end. Read about 20 years ago. Genre - ghost / horror / thriller.

The main character moves into an old house in England (or maybe Ireland). He starts having dreams at night in which he sees events that happened many years in the past connected to the life of someone who lived in that house. There is an intrigue around that person (man). In his dreams, he can walk around in the past and be invisible. So he can eavesdrop on the events that happened in the past. However while dreaming he is actually also walking in the real (present) landscape. This can be dangerous - because he could be walking on a road with traffic and in his dream he would just be seeing the fields / landscape from the past.
He gets drawn into the intrigue around this man. He wants to figure out what happened to that man.

One of the intrigues was a wife trying to poison her husband with herbs.

The spooky and unexpected ending was a switch of characters. (not saying more to avoid spoilers ). At Gracie's suggestion I've put in some of the spoilers at the end.



Other things:
The whole story is written in the first person.
Paper book read about 20 years ago.
One of the characters may have been "Robert".


Anyone remember this story?


========================SPOILERS / ENDING ===========

In the dreams, the our main character was walking around in the past invisible to the people in that time. In a sense he was a ghost to the people of that time.
The man (from the past) who he was following was in danger throughout the story. He was trying to seeing what happened to him. However, right at the end the man from the past detects the main character and switches places with him. So the main character dies in the dream rather than the man from the past. The man from the past - is now living in the body of our character.

[GracieKat]

You might want to give the spoilers because sometimes they help in figuring out which book. We kind of expect them on here, lol.

When did you read it? Recently? High school? Was it new when you read it? Was it physical or e-book? Was it in the horror genre? Romance?

[Divya]

Gracie wrote: "You might want to give the spoiler..."
Read it about 20 years ago.
I've included the ending at your suggestion.
Genre: Ghost / Horror / Thriller.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

It almost sounds like The House on the Strand except that involved time travel rather than dreams. But there was the same issue of danger in terms of walking on the landscape in the past and in the present, in fact someone in the novel was hit by a train this way.

[Divya]

Hi Lobstergirl,
Thank you. It probably is the House on the Strand. I will borrow and read the book to confirm.

[Laina]

Hi there, I second the House on the Strand. Since it was so long ago that you read it I'm sure some of the details have faded. Happy reading!

[Divya]

Thank you Laina and Lobstergirl. It was indeed the House on the Strand.
Trying to figure out how to get this moved to "SOLVED"

[Laina]

So glad you found it! That's one of my favorite du Mauriers. :)