The Cottage on Winter Moss
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Ages: 16-18, 18+
Burned-out author Dee needs fresh inspiration. Impetuously, she abandons London and her good-for-nothing boyfriend to go wherever her literary quest takes her. Journey’s end is a remote village on the shores of a wild estuary, overshadowed by a ruined pele tower. She rents Winter Cottage and waits for a story to emerge.
The bleak beauty of the whispering dunes, the jacquard of colour and texture of the marsh and a romantic tree in a secluded glade—The Trysting Tree—all seduce Dee. Nevertheless, the secretive behaviour of a handsome neighbour, lights across the marsh, a spurious squire and a bizarre, moonlit encounter all suggest there is something odd afoot.
Local gossip and crumbling graveyard inscriptions give Dee the opening she needs. She begins to weave hints about the tragic history of a local family, feuding brothers and a fatal fire into a sweeping historical saga. Her characters clamour for a voice as the tale spools effortlessly onto the page—demanding to be told. Dee feels more like its instrument than its instigator.
As she becomes enmeshed in the local community, Dee is startled to find her fiction unnervingly confirmed by fact, her history still resonating in the present-day.
Is she being guided by echoes of the past?
Reviews
In The Cottage on Winter Moss by Allie Cresswell, the reader’s attention is caught from the very first paragraph and is held until the last line in the book. The descriptions of the surrounding area somewhere in Cumbria are so skillfully interwoven into the lives of the main characters. The image on the cover of the book sets the scene for this tale. What a beautiful and enticing written book! Although on the long side, once the reader starts, they will not be able to put it down until the very last page is read and the final twist in the tale is revealed. This is the type of book that would make a lovely talking point in a book club, but it also will make the reader remember someone who had a similar life, experience, and family. I found this to be an exciting read and could not wait to get back to it after I had done my work for the day. It is well worth a second read. Thank you, Allie, for taking me into a world far, far away and giving me the courage to take life by the horns and get on with it. An excellent book.
