In Review

04 December 2008 05:04 BST

Ferney by James Long

Published April 17th in paperback, £7.99, Sphere, originally published in 1998.

In a nutshell

Historical fiction charting a love affair that spans centuries

What's it all about?

Searching for a house to move to away from city life, Mike and Gally Martin come across a dilapidated cottage in Penselwood in Somerset. Gally feels strangely drawn to the house, despite Mike's protestations, but eventually wins him over. It is then that they meet 83 year-old Ferney, a man whose history is revealed to be deeply and powerfully entwined with Gally's.

Who's it by?

James Long is a former BBC correspondent. He is the author of both historical fiction and thrillers, including Hard News, Collateral Damage and Sixth Column.

As an example?

"Gally was a poem with a missing line, a symphony with a discordant phrase. Mike was fascinated by her quirky reactions to everyday events. He was starting to get used to her nightmares, or at least starting to recognise the violent, thrashing commotion that would burst around him two or three times every week. Harder by far was the creeping absence which would invade her life for a few days at a time, a slow tide swamping every normally carefree corner of her self. He wanted to help her weather these personal storms. He wanted the smiling Gally, but he knew full well that nothing they had said, no part of talking, had penetrated a single inch towards the hidden devils she faced."

What the others say…

"If a book ever deserved a second chance it's this one, an historical novel, a love story and a tale of time slippage, just the tale you need when you want to escape into a book and forget the world…all done with a master's touch, there's many a bookseller in this vein that can's hold a candle to Long's involving story." – Publishing News

"A story of love and self-discovery that resonates across the ages." - Nicholas Evans

Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster?

With the focus on old English history and the romps across the Somerset countryside, this has more likelihood of becoming a modern day Jane Austen remake than a Hollywood classic. Though a dramatic tale of love and death, having to watch a young woman falling for an octogenarian may be more than some viewers could stomach.

So is it any good?
Certainly a compelling read, Long is very obviously a writer of thrillers. He keeps the pace up, introducing new turns to keep the interest remaining, and ensures there are enough intriguing revelations and flashbacks to ensure a well-rounded novel. The novel is well researched, with Long conveying enough about the local history to be convincing in his description of historic events seen from a layman's view.

But at the centre of the novel, the character of Gally fails to elicit complete sympathy. She is a thin character – not the alluring presence who has stood the test of time she is made out to be. More irritating than convincing, it is difficult to completely be absorbed into her fate. Other characters in the village are straight out of an episode of a bad English comedy: the dotty Mrs Mallard, the abrasive chauvinistic builders, uptight Victoria Melhuish the jewellery specialist - though entertaining, they work to undermine the more serious overtones of the book. In addition, Long's use of history professor Mike as the factual narrator is a less than subtle tactic at keeping the reader informed.

Despite this, the novel is a definite page turner and will be enjoyed by fans of the genre – a rich tale of love, death and history.

6/10

Nova Maxwell

"Stayed up all night and cried at the end." - Jo Cooke