Paula Brackston
Autore di The Witch's Daughter
Sull'Autore
Serie
Opere di Paula Brackston
Zimní čarodějnice 1 copia
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Altri nomi
- Brackston, P. J.
Davy, P. J. - Data di nascita
- 20th century
- Sesso
- female
- Nazionalità
- UK
- Luogo di nascita
- Dorset, England, UK
- Luogo di residenza
- Wales
London, England, UK - Istruzione
- Lancaster University
- Breve biografia
- Paula Brackston (aka P. J. Brackston, P. J. Davy, and Mabli Roberts) is the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter and other historical fantasy novels. She also writes the fantasy crime Brothers Grimm Mystery series under the pseudonym P. J. Brackston.
Prior to solidifying her career as a fiction writer, Brackston worked as a groom on a racing yard, a travel agent, a secretary, an English teacher, and a goat herd. She attended Lancaster University, where she received her M.A. in creative writing. Brackston is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Wales, Newport.
She was born in Dorset, England, and grew up in Wales, where she now lives with her partner and their two children. She has lived in Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, where The Winter Witch takes place, and spent six years in central London near Fitzroy Square, where The Midnight Witch is set in seventeenth-century England. Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, the main character of The Witch's Daughter, lived in Brackston's hometown of Dorset.
Brackston's debut novel, The Witch’s Daughter, was originally published in February 2009 under the title The Book of Shadows and was intended as the first book in the proposed Shadow Chronicles series, followed by The Winter Witch. However, each of the novels are standalones that explore witches and their experiences through different times and settings. The Witch’s Daughter spawned a sequel titled The Return of the Witch in 2016. In Lamp Black, Wolf Grey, Brackston introduces Merlin as one of the main characters in the story.
Utenti
Recensioni
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Hecate Cavendish series. I got this on ebook through Netgalley to review.
Thoughts: DNF. Got about 15% of the way through this one and just couldn't keep reading it. It is beautifully written, but soooo boring. I had been wanting to read a book by Brackston for some time. I had "The Winter Witch" and "The Silver Witch" on my list to read but kept putting off reading them. I was excited to see this come up for review on NetGalley and grabbed a copy of it after reading the synopsis...which sounded right up my alley. I don't know if this book is similar to the others Brackston has written when it comes to pacing, but if it is, then Brackston just isn't the author for me. I prefer a faster pace and more action in my novels.
At 15% of the way in, we had seen Hecate go to work at the library twice and watch some cows with her brother. The writing flows beautifully, but is very dense, and nothing happens! I keep finding myself coming up with anything to do rather than sitting down to read this...even folding the laundry seemed like a treat compared to struggling through this.
I do think Hecate has potential as a character. She has a lot of the characteristics that I love in a heroine; independent, smart, striving against convention. I have nothing against her as a character and think some of the other characters introduced were intriguing as well. However, the characters were just completely weighed down by the lack of story and the dense language surrounding them.
Maybe at some point, when I am in a more patient mood and want to read some beautiful meandering writing, I will pick this up again. I am giving it 3 stars because I feel like I didn't get far enough in to provide fully informed feedback. However, I do feel that I had strong enough feelings about this that I do need to review what I did read.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this was really slow but beautifully written. I think a lot of the characters had promise, but the story was so boring and moved so slowly that I dreaded sitting down to read this. Reading is a fun escape for me and a way to entertain myself in my downtime...so sticking with a novel like this when I am actively disliking it (and am not learning something from it) is just not a thing I have time to do. This also put me off of Brackston as an author; I am not sure if her other novels are this slow, but I probably won't be picking any of them up any time soon because I am just not a fan of this slow deliberate style.… (altro)
Thoughts: DNF. Got about 15% of the way through this one and just couldn't keep reading it. It is beautifully written, but soooo boring. I had been wanting to read a book by Brackston for some time. I had "The Winter Witch" and "The Silver Witch" on my list to read but kept putting off reading them. I was excited to see this come up for review on NetGalley and grabbed a copy of it after reading the synopsis...which sounded right up my alley. I don't know if this book is similar to the others Brackston has written when it comes to pacing, but if it is, then Brackston just isn't the author for me. I prefer a faster pace and more action in my novels.
At 15% of the way in, we had seen Hecate go to work at the library twice and watch some cows with her brother. The writing flows beautifully, but is very dense, and nothing happens! I keep finding myself coming up with anything to do rather than sitting down to read this...even folding the laundry seemed like a treat compared to struggling through this.
I do think Hecate has potential as a character. She has a lot of the characteristics that I love in a heroine; independent, smart, striving against convention. I have nothing against her as a character and think some of the other characters introduced were intriguing as well. However, the characters were just completely weighed down by the lack of story and the dense language surrounding them.
Maybe at some point, when I am in a more patient mood and want to read some beautiful meandering writing, I will pick this up again. I am giving it 3 stars because I feel like I didn't get far enough in to provide fully informed feedback. However, I do feel that I had strong enough feelings about this that I do need to review what I did read.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this was really slow but beautifully written. I think a lot of the characters had promise, but the story was so boring and moved so slowly that I dreaded sitting down to read this. Reading is a fun escape for me and a way to entertain myself in my downtime...so sticking with a novel like this when I am actively disliking it (and am not learning something from it) is just not a thing I have time to do. This also put me off of Brackston as an author; I am not sure if her other novels are this slow, but I probably won't be picking any of them up any time soon because I am just not a fan of this slow deliberate style.… (altro)
The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston. Following Xanthe and her mother Flora as they start a new life from scratch, Xanthe discovers a new facet to her peculiar talent of being able to discern information of previous owners of the antiques they sell. Normally, this is only in flashes and feelings, but this chatelaine is providing much more and there is a dire mystery that only she can solve. Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read, but for my own tastes, I felt that the pacing was too slow. I will most likely read the next novel in the series. 3.5/5 stars.… (altro)
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
(Available in Print: 1/18/2011; Thomas Dunne Books; ISBN 978-0312621681; 320 pages.)
(Available as Digital)
This edition-Audio: COPYRIGHT: 12/18/2012; PUBLISHER: MacMillan Audio; DURATION: 13:22:22; PARTS: 12; Unabridged; FILE SIZE: 385232 KB
Feature Film or tv: No. At least, not yet.
SERIES: I don't think it was intended to be one with this first book, but became one. At any rate, this is Witch's Daughter Book 1.
Major characters: (I was listening rather than reading, so may not have spelled names correctly)
Elizabeth Hawksmith - Protagonist
Ann Hawksmith - Elizabeth's mother
John Hawksmith - Elizabeth's father
Margaret Hawksmith - Elizabeth's sister
Thomas - Elizabeth's brother
Tegan - A young girl in the village (2007)
Gideon Masters - Antagonist
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
When I picked up a book from the series of “The Little Shop of Found Things”, I noticed that the author had written this book before she wrote any of those, so I put it on hold. So far, I prefer the “Little Shop” series because this one dwells for a good long while on a somber set of circumstances and attitudes. There is also a lot of text devoted to the antagonist, and as I have mentioned before, I don’t need to hear that much about just how evil a character is. There are many similar elements between this book and that series—characters are similar, but that’s not a complaint.
I think this is out of the author’s control, but whereas I really love the packaging (book covers) of the “Little Shop” series books, I don’t care for the cover of this one. I get that I’m seeing a dress here and boots, but I think it’s the lighting and/or the full-front angle of the boots that show no depth that gives the impression of deformity and I can’t tell if that’s the intent, or why it would be.
I see now that there is a sequel to this, so yeah, I will have to read that in hopes that it will prove a bit happier.
AUTHOR:
Paula Brackston. According to Amazon, “Paula Brackston lives in the historic city of Hereford on the Welsh border. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, and has been a Visiting Lecturer for the University of Wales, Newport. Before becoming a writer, Paula tried her hand at various career paths, with mixed success. These included working as a groom on a racing yard, a travel agent, a secretary, an English teacher, a script reader, and a goat herd. Everyone involved (particularly the goats) is very relieved that she has now found a job she is actually able to do properly.
In 2007 Paula was shortlisted in the Creme de la Crime search for new writers. In 2010 her book 'Nutters' (writing as PJ Davy) was shortlisted for the Mind Book Award. The following year she was selected by the BBC under their New Welsh Writers scheme. 'The Witch's Daughter' became a New York Times bestseller. Her books are translated into five languages and sold around the world.”
NARRATOR:
Marisa Calin. According to Wikipedia, “Marisa Calin is an American-born English actress, writer and producer.”
GENRE:
Fantasy; Historical Fiction
LOCATIONS:
Matravers, Wales; Bathcombe, Wessex
TIME FRAME:
Contemporary 2007; 17th Century
SUBJECTS:
England; Witches; Witchcraft; Warlocks
DEDICATION:
"For Simon, who knows what it took”
SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1: “Bathcombe, Wessex, 1628”
“Bess ran. The clear night sky and fat moon gave ample illumination for her flight. She feared the dawn, for with it would come the discovery of her absence, and then the hunt would begin. The fetters still fastened around her legs rattled against her anklebones with every stride, a single broken link on each all that remained of her chains. Metal rubbed through young skin until a thin slick of blood trailed in her wake. Her bare feet slapped through the shallow mud, retracing a route that was so familiar as to be imprinted in her mind, clearly mapped, allowing no false turns as she fled beyond the village boundary and ran toward the woodland. Still the short journey felt longer than it ever had, the trees seeming to recede before her, recoiling from her boiling panic, never coming nearer however hard she ran.”
RATING:
4 stars.
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
3-30-2022 to 4-5-2022
… (altro)
(Available in Print: 1/18/2011; Thomas Dunne Books; ISBN 978-0312621681; 320 pages.)
(Available as Digital)
This edition-Audio: COPYRIGHT: 12/18/2012; PUBLISHER: MacMillan Audio; DURATION: 13:22:22; PARTS: 12; Unabridged; FILE SIZE: 385232 KB
Feature Film or tv: No. At least, not yet.
SERIES: I don't think it was intended to be one with this first book, but became one. At any rate, this is Witch's Daughter Book 1.
Major characters: (I was listening rather than reading, so may not have spelled names correctly)
Elizabeth Hawksmith - Protagonist
Ann Hawksmith - Elizabeth's mother
John Hawksmith - Elizabeth's father
Margaret Hawksmith - Elizabeth's sister
Thomas - Elizabeth's brother
Tegan - A young girl in the village (2007)
Gideon Masters - Antagonist
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
When I picked up a book from the series of “The Little Shop of Found Things”, I noticed that the author had written this book before she wrote any of those, so I put it on hold. So far, I prefer the “Little Shop” series because this one dwells for a good long while on a somber set of circumstances and attitudes. There is also a lot of text devoted to the antagonist, and as I have mentioned before, I don’t need to hear that much about just how evil a character is. There are many similar elements between this book and that series—characters are similar, but that’s not a complaint.
I think this is out of the author’s control, but whereas I really love the packaging (book covers) of the “Little Shop” series books, I don’t care for the cover of this one. I get that I’m seeing a dress here and boots, but I think it’s the lighting and/or the full-front angle of the boots that show no depth that gives the impression of deformity and I can’t tell if that’s the intent, or why it would be.
I see now that there is a sequel to this, so yeah, I will have to read that in hopes that it will prove a bit happier.
AUTHOR:
Paula Brackston. According to Amazon, “Paula Brackston lives in the historic city of Hereford on the Welsh border. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, and has been a Visiting Lecturer for the University of Wales, Newport. Before becoming a writer, Paula tried her hand at various career paths, with mixed success. These included working as a groom on a racing yard, a travel agent, a secretary, an English teacher, a script reader, and a goat herd. Everyone involved (particularly the goats) is very relieved that she has now found a job she is actually able to do properly.
In 2007 Paula was shortlisted in the Creme de la Crime search for new writers. In 2010 her book 'Nutters' (writing as PJ Davy) was shortlisted for the Mind Book Award. The following year she was selected by the BBC under their New Welsh Writers scheme. 'The Witch's Daughter' became a New York Times bestseller. Her books are translated into five languages and sold around the world.”
NARRATOR:
Marisa Calin. According to Wikipedia, “Marisa Calin is an American-born English actress, writer and producer.”
GENRE:
Fantasy; Historical Fiction
LOCATIONS:
Matravers, Wales; Bathcombe, Wessex
TIME FRAME:
Contemporary 2007; 17th Century
SUBJECTS:
England; Witches; Witchcraft; Warlocks
DEDICATION:
"For Simon, who knows what it took”
SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1: “Bathcombe, Wessex, 1628”
“Bess ran. The clear night sky and fat moon gave ample illumination for her flight. She feared the dawn, for with it would come the discovery of her absence, and then the hunt would begin. The fetters still fastened around her legs rattled against her anklebones with every stride, a single broken link on each all that remained of her chains. Metal rubbed through young skin until a thin slick of blood trailed in her wake. Her bare feet slapped through the shallow mud, retracing a route that was so familiar as to be imprinted in her mind, clearly mapped, allowing no false turns as she fled beyond the village boundary and ran toward the woodland. Still the short journey felt longer than it ever had, the trees seeming to recede before her, recoiling from her boiling panic, never coming nearer however hard she ran.”
RATING:
4 stars.
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
3-30-2022 to 4-5-2022
… (altro)
Liste
Premi e riconoscimenti
Potrebbero anche piacerti
Autori correlati
Statistiche
- Opere
- 27
- Utenti
- 4,521
- Popolarità
- #5,549
- Voto
- 3.5
- Recensioni
- 312
- ISBN
- 147
- Lingue
- 3
- Preferito da
- 4
Xanthe and her mother acquire an antique shop in Marlborough, a peculiar place ideal for starting anew. Xanthe possesses an extraordinary gift; she can hear objects "speak" to her, learning their histories and calming restless spirits. The property they purchased harbors its own ghost, which Xanthe soon discovers. This spirit endangers her mother, compelling Xanthe to act in order to protect her.