Sleeper’s Castle
Written by Barbara Erskine
Narrated by Charlotte Strevens
4/5
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About this audiobook
Two women, centuries apart. One endless nightmare tearing Wales apart – and only they can stop it.
Sunday Times bestselling author Barbara Erskine returns to Hay in the year that marks the 30th anniversary of her sensational debut bestseller, Lady of Hay.
Hay-On-Wye, 1400 – War is brewing in the Welsh borders, Catrin is on the brink of womanhood and falling in love for the first time. Her father is a soothsayer, playing a dangerous game playing on the mixed loyalties and furious rivalries between welsh princes and English lords. For two hundred years, the Welsh people have lain under the English yoke, dreaming of independence. And finally it looks as though the charismatic Owain Glyndwr may be the man legend talks of. In the walls of Sleeper’s Castle, Catrin finds herself caught in the middle of a doomed war as she is called upon to foretell Wales’s destiny… And what she sees, is blood and war coming closer…
Readers LOVE Barbara Erskine:
‘Atmospheric’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Enthralling’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Spellbinding’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Another fabulous read from the mistress of the genre’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Immensely and deeply immersive fiction’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I loved every minute’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘An exceptional writer of great books’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘You can rely on this author to keep you wanting more’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A joy to read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Captivating and engrossing’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Barbara Erskine
Barbara Erskine is the author of thirteen bestselling novels and three collections of short stories that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural. Lady of Hay, her first novel, has now sold over three million copies worldwide.
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Reviews for Sleeper’s Castle
37 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A must listen or read for those who enjoy history and the supernatural.
Well researched as always. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved it especially the way it went from one time to another.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I don't really read this genre of writing but this was a gift from a friend, so thought I'd give it a go.Very much of the chick-lit stable, with a nod to Tom's Midnight Garden, this is the tale of bereaved Miranda ("Andy"), who in the wake of her partner's death accepts the offer of a friend's Welsh manor house while she recovers. Here she rediscovers her artistic career, and enjoys the instant friendship of an unusual bunch of locals- a dashing gardener/psychologist, a Druid/herbalist...and her old Dad, a specialist in the paranormal.Useful, considering her partner's psychopathic pantomime-villain ex is after her.Meanwhile, Andy is experiencing increasingly vivid dreams that take her back to the era of Owen Glendower: crabby bard Dafydd dwelt here with his spirited daughter Catrin and the dashing Edmund, as the friction between England and Wales starts to heat up... Well, it does inform about this period in history. In literary terms it was pretty dire, with entirely 2D characters. The 'strong women' (Andy and Catrin) are a childish, petulant pair who evoke little sympathy. They indicate their contrariness by much stomping, retorting and glaring- sometimes quite unreasonably. You lose all patience with them. The deranged ex is so 100% evil, without one redeeming feature, that she's almost comic. We suspect from the moment we meet Bryn, that he may become Much More to Andy- bound to happen when they so dislike each other at the start... In character terms, I found Bryn and Meryn kind of melded into one - a general desire to put themselves out at all costs to help Andy. Meanwhile our 21st century cast are determinedly aspirational- if they meet a friend in a shop, you can bet she'll be clutching a 'pack of organic pasta'. Look, it is what it is and I get some enjoy this kind of writing. It's readable- I made it through to the end- but is more like a children's book than one for adults. I think I'd have liked it when I was about 14...
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I can't tell you how much I loved this book. Barbara is back at her finest and it was totally compelling. I haven't been overly enthusiastic about her last couple of novels but this one is beyond exceptional.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I received the Sleeper's Castle from Goodreads first reads giveaway, thank you!The cover! How i love the cover with its beautifully painted flowers, castle seen through the mist..sooo pretty!The story is thrilling, swallowed me in the book in one go. I am sorry for being not able to start the book right away it reached me. Its interesting historical fiction, and I repeat fiction, with a twist and keeping reader at the edge whats, whats gonna happen next. Some sort of mystery and time travel bound between centuries and place. I do like how Barbara fixed the story's ending, the climax of the stress was so high, in the both of dimensions, even tragic at the times. So the main character Andy, short from Miranda is about to flew from her beloved's ex, leaving her house and everything she has treasured, heading to grief over her partner's death and so to say help a friend by "watch over a house" while she is away for a year. A year of finding herself and learning to live again..supposed to...soon after she was settled in her dreams start to become very weird and she often longs around her previous house, missing her partner and finding some comfort in her memories...until it becomes more weird and freaks her out...she actually visits places..and Andy is only witnessing the situation until she starts to take the part of them..and more creepier the situation can be when she notices some movement in the house as well. Meanwhile apart from her vivid dreams she is about to become friends with locals and the gardener the home's owner has employed ever since..people who are there for her, those who know how to keep around with more spiritual stuff as well who can she trust.One you will find very clear, the main character is very stubborn and she thinks she got the control over her life and the situation..
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barbara Erskine is the queen of the time slip novel and this is proper time slip as the characters in the 1400s and the 2000s literally slip between the past and the future.Andy (Miranda is her name but she goes by the abbreviation) is mourning the loss of her partner of ten years, Graham. They lived in Kew but Graham's wife, Rhona, who he never divorced, is determined that Andy will not receive anything from Graham's estate. By chance, Andy is offered the chance to stay, rent-free, at Sleeper's Castle, in the mountains of Wales, close to Hay. When she arrives there she quickly realises that she can see into the life of Catrin, who lived there in the early 1400s with her father. Wales is about to enter into turmoil and war and Catrin is caught up in the middle of it all.This is a big book, being over 500 pages, and it's a slow-burner so it took me a little while to get into it but once I did I was always eager to pick it up and read more about these two women's lives. The modern day segments were easier for me to get into than the historical ones, but that's because I generally prefer contemporary reads. The historical ones soon came together for me though and I found myself fascinated by the story of Wales and England at war.There is lots of rich detail in this book, and I didn't find it hard to imagine the remote Sleeper's Castle in both time periods. Barbara Erskine is an excellent writer, skilled at setting the scene and drawing the reader in. This is a very atmospheric and interesting story.