Product Description

Jo Clifford, a successful journalist, is all set to disprove hypnosis and past-life regression, until she submits to a simple hypnotic session and finds herself reliving the experiences of Matilda, Lady of Hay, the wife of a baron at the time of King John.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #222754 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 768 pages

Review
A cumbersome first novel about an English journalist who discovers she's led a past life as a 12th-century Welsh princess. Jo Clifford is a cynical, highly successful London journalist who has decided to do a series of articles on hypnosis - a practice she is sure she will debunk. Imagine her surprise, then, when she gets herself put under and discovers that she's lived before - as the beautiful Matilda, Lady of Hay, wife of the brutal Lord William de Braose. As Matilda, Jo watches de Braose's massacre of Welsh nationals (part of an English scheme to subjugate the country) in 1174. She comes back to the present screaming, but eventually decides to put herself under again (and again) to find out what happens to Matilda. In the meantime - and quite unbelievably - it turns out that the three 20th-century men who are in love with Jo also lived in the 12th century: photographer Tim Heacham is her gentle lover, Richard, Earl of Clare; while brothers Nick and Sam Franklyn are King John and gruff hubby de Braose, respectively. In the 12th-century material here, there's a serviceable historical in which Matilda - a highly independent woman for her day - bears children, has her affair with Richard, allows herself to be taken hostage to save her family, and finally crosses King John and is murdered by him (along with her young son) in 1212. But Erskine's attempt to play mix and match with the past and present is gimmicky and enormously unconvincing. In all: overlong and overwritten, and a waste of a more than adequate little historical. (Kirkus Reviews)

From the Publisher
Barbara Erskine's amazing first international bestseller
'Barbara Erskine can make us feel the cold, smell the filth, and experience some of the fear of the power of evil men... The author's storytelling talent is undeniable' The Times

Jo Clifford, successful journalist, is all set to debunk the idea of past-life regression in her next magazine series. But when she herself submits to a simple hypnotic session, she suddenly finds herself reliving the experiences of Matilda, Lady of Hay, the wife of a baron at the time of King John.

As she learns of Matilda's unhappy marriage, her love for the handsome Richard de Clare and the brutal threats of death at the hands of King John, it becomes clear that Jo's past and present are hopelessly entwined and that, eight hundred years on, a story of secret passion and unspeakable treachery is about to begin again...

'Fascinating, absorbing, original - and hypnotic' She

**Look for Barbara Erskine's new bestseller, ON THE EDGE OF DARKNESS, out in paperback.**

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

Customer Reviews

Eerily compelling and totally absorbing
This was the first Barbara Erskine book I ever read, and I totally enjoyed it, and have read it many times since. It is a very romantic and gripping story, and I found it compulsive reading. As the story unfolded, I became completely drawn into the book, and I found the characters totally believable, and the whole concept of two lives entwining throughout history totally captivated me. I found myself longing for the climax of the story, and yet not wanting it to end. A perfect book to read in front of the fire on a dark winters night!

Lady of Hay
I am honoured to say I have read every book Barbara has written and Lady of Hay is my favourite. I have read hundreds of books over the past 25 years and Barbara Erskine writes in a way no other author does. She keeps you intrigued and hooked from the very beginning and you find it impossible to put her books down because you just want to know what's going to happen next. I have never read any other author who can make you feel as if you're living inside the book as if you are part of the story - you see to become bewitched. I love her books and always recommend her to anybody and everybody who I meet that's interested in reading. I look forward to reading her new one, "Daughters of Fire".

going back in time
from the first page i was hooked. the first book from Barbara Erskine i have read and i was so intrigued i couldnt put it down for long. the fastest book i have ever read as a result of not being able to put it down.
brilliant. have read other books from her since and they all have me entranced from beginning to end. i look forward to reading her next book. Rx