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    Kingdom of Shadows
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    Kingdom of Shadows
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    Kingdom of Shadows
    Ebook1,004 pages14 hours

    Kingdom of Shadows

    By Barbara Erskine

    5/5

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    About this ebook

    Barbara Erskine's classic bestseller, the successor to Lady of Hay.

    In a childless and unhappy marriage, Clare Royland is rich and beautiful – but lonely. And fueling her feelings of isolation is a strange, growing fascination with an ancestress from the distant past. Troubled by haunting inexplicable dreams that terrify – but also powerfully compel – her, Clare is forced to look back through the centuries for answers.

    In 1306, Scotland is at war. Isobel, Countess of Buchan, faces fear and the prospect of untimely death as the fighting surrounds her. But passionate and headstrong, her trials escalate when she is persecuted for her part in crowning Robert the Bruce, her lover.

    Duncairn, Isobel's home and Clare's beloved heritage, becomes a battleground for passions that span the centuries. As husband Paul's recklessness threatens their security, Clare must fight to save Duncairn, and to save herself from the powers of Isobel…

    Readers LOVE Barbara Erskine:
    ‘Atmospheric’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘Enthralling’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘Spellbinding’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘Another fabulous read from the mistress of the genre’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘Immensely and deeply immersive fiction’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘I loved every minute’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘An exceptional writer of great books’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘You can rely on this author to keep you wanting more’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘A joy to read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    ‘Captivating and engrossing’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateJan 19, 2009
    ISBN9780007290673
    Author

    Barbara Erskine

    Barbara Erskine is the author of thirteen bestselling novels and three collections of short stories that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural. Lady of Hay, her first novel, has now sold over three million copies worldwide.

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    Reviews for Kingdom of Shadows

    5/5

    8 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book not least as I live in the area the book concentrates on and have many of the names featured in my own family so maybe its my own family history!!

      It switches between 14C Scotland and the wars between England and Scotland and contempory Scotland where an ancestor of Countess Isobel relives her life through dreams and meditations. Although fictionalised the account of ancient Scotland reads well and is very believable. The modern day Clare can be very annoying at times and comes across as a spoilt little rich girl but its hard not to get involved in her story and will her to suceed.

      I wasn't comfortable with her use of yoga and medication techniques to 'summon' Isobel but this story does show how dangerous they can be.
    • 5/5
      One of my favourite books ever, highly recommend. Very engaging.
    • 5/5
      Fabulous story, never a dull moment. Wonderfully written and steeped in Scottish/English history. Can’t wait to start the next Erskine book, she is an amazing author.
    • 5/5
      Another spectacular and gripping read from Barbara Eskine. Never paid to annoy Edward I and Isobel, Countess of Buchan certainly paid a very heavy price. How she survived her punishment I will never know. Good tension in both the current story and the story set in the early days of 14th Century.
    • 5/5
      My favourite of Barbara's books - it's just wonderful, a definite page turner!
    • 5/5
      Clare seems to have it all, money, land and a handsome husband. However, when Paul and Clare learn that they cannot have children, things seem to go awry. Through focused meditation, Clare begins reliving the past as Isobel, Countess of Buchan. The story alternates between the crumbling life of Paul and Clare and the war torn Scotland of the fourteenth century. As Paul makes one bad investment after another, he begins to pressure Clare to sell her inheritance, the ruined castle on the sea and the surrounding land of Duncairn. As he learns about her "trips into the past" he first involves the church and then plays upon her phobias to drive her further away from sanity.Well written, this was definitely a page turner. I first picked up the book because I was interested in Isobel, the woman who spent four years hanging in a cage for crowning Robert the Bruce King of Scotland. However, now I've found an increasing interest in Scottish history. Her suspenseful writing style keeps the reader engaged and interested and her characters are dynamic and interesting.
    • 4/5
      Kingdom of Shadows is a parallel tale of Clare Royland in the 1980's and Isobel Buchan in Scotland at the time of Robert The Bruce in the latter 13th and early 14th century. Clare is married to stock broker Paul Royland who gambled with insider trading and lost and needs to sell Clare's Scottish Castle Duncairn to raise desperately needed funds. Unhappy in her marriage, Clare turns to yoga and meditation and she begins to see visions of the past as Isobel Buchan of Scotland relives her past through Clare. The retelling of Isobel's life in Scotland, an unhappy marriage and her ultimate affair with Robert the Bruce and capture by Edward I and imprisonment in one of those infamous cages on the castle wall is interwoven with that of the present day Clare whose husband intrigues to have her proven insane so that he can lay claim to her property. Erskine does point out in her notes at the end of the book that Isobel, her crowning of Robert at Scone and capitivy are historical fact, but the affair with Robert is merely supposition by the author. I did find the story entertaining enough and it kept me reading, but this is definitely not one of Erskine's best -- that would be Child of the Phoenix or Hiding from the Light. While I enjoyed the story set in the 13/14C, I really didn't particularly care for Isobel, she was a little too self centered for me and as for Clare -- likeable enough but bordering on TSTL for putting up with that pompous pig of a husband and not seeing him for what he really was. If you're an Erskine fan and can get your hands on a copy somewhat cheaply go for it, but don't go out of your way either.