'A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors.' Harriet Evans

The rambling house called Thornyhold is like something out of a fairy tale. Left to Gilly Ramsey by the cousin whose occasional visits brightened her childhood, the cottage, set deep in a wild wood, has come just in time to save her from a bleak future. With its reputation for magic and its resident black cat, Thornyhold offers Gilly more than just a new home. It offers her a chance to start over.

The old house, with it tufts of rosy houseleek and the spreading gilt of the lichens, was beautiful. Even the prisoning hedges were beautiful, protective with their rusty thorns, their bastions of holly and juniper, and at the corners, like towers, their thick columns of yews.

Reissued with a fresh cover look comes this love story delicate in its perceptions of a young woman falling in love, delightful in its portrayal of the countryside, and skilled in its creation of a world of magic. Mary Stewart's storytelling is as spell-binding as ever.

About the Author
Mary Stewart was one of the 20th century's bestselling and best-loved novelists. She was born in Sunderland, County Durham in 1916, but lived for most of her life in Scotland, a source of much inspiration for her writing. Her first novel, Madam, Will You Talk? was published in 1955 and marked the beginning of a long and acclaimed writing career. In 1971 she was awarded the International PEN Association's Frederick Niven Prize for The Crystal Cave, and in 1974 the Scottish Arts Council Award for one of her children's books, Ludo and the Star Horse. She was married to the Scottish geologist Frederick Stewart, and died in 2014.

Reviews
In this 1940s rural scene you glimpse the shadow behind all things bright and beautiful. * Daily Mail *
Anyone who enjoys a gentle, modern love story will find a cracker in THORNYHOLD * Woman's World *
Skeins of sentences are woven into a tale of sweet magic, witchcraft and suspense . . . which will perpetuate Mrs Stewart's bestsellerdom and confirm her status as a literary phenomenon * Scotland on Sunday *
She set the bench mark for pace, suspense and romance - with a great dollop of escapism as the icing * Elizabeth Buchan *
A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors. * Harriet Evans *



Book Information
ISBN 9781444715057
Author Mary Stewart
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Hodder Paperback
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 229g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 130mm * 19mm