Customer Reviews

Bone House

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The "Bone House" is a haunting and compelling tale. I simply could not put this book down! Betsy Tobin does a wonderful job of evoking the lives of the inhabitants of a small and somewhat isolated 17th century Elizabethan village, bringing to life all the different denizens of the village: from the landed gentry that inhabit the Great House and all their servants, to the ordinary people in the village.

The novel centers around the mysterious figure of Dora, the village prostitute, who suddenly appeared in the village many years ago. No one knows much about Dora, where she came from or why she left her native country to settle in rural England; but such was her charm and vitality that she was almost immediately accepted by all the men and women alike in the village. And when she is found dead, at the bottom of a ravine, everyone is shocked and saddened by the loss. None more so than the unnamed narrator of the novel. Our narrator is the daughter of the village midwife, and has longed admired Dora for her courage and warmth, so that Dora's death hits her really hard. And when it comes to light that Dora died pregnant, our narrator begins an obsessive quest to discover who the father of the unborn child is, and to find out if she can uncover more about Dora's past. In the process, our narrator sees how much Dora touched and affected all those around her, herself included; and sees that that influence that does not seem to preclude death.

This novel is a absorbing read. The plot is a compelling one and is richly textured with most themes that one would expect from a historical novel that is set in the 17th century: birth and death, sexuality, superstition and witchcraft. However it is the way in which Tobin has pulled all these themes together that is a testimony to her masterly storytelling skills. I think that I can safely recommend the "Bone House" as one of the best historical novels I have read for quite a while.

I can't think of another book that I've read in less than a day. "Bone House", a classicly gothic book, is filled with atmosphere, mystery, and memorable characters. I simply couldn't put it down!

The tale is told in the voice of an unnamed lady's maid whose mother is the local midwife. They befriend Dora, a prostitute, who settles in their small village after emigrating from a country "across the waters." No one knows where she's from or her story, but the men enjoy her services and the women, oddly enough, her friendship. When Dora is found dead, apparently having slipped on ice covered rocks, our young narrator feels there is more to her death than an accident. When Dora's grave is robbed of her body, rumors of witchcraft begin to fly, with the narrator's mother, the midwife, as chief suspect.

Dora's half-wit son, Long Boy, cannot grasp that his mother is dead. Rumors of Dora sightings begin to spook the villagers. The lord of the local manor, Great House, requests that a portrait of the dead woman be painted. Dora's death seems to be beyond acceptance by anyone.

Secrets begin to unfold with the search for the body. The narrator must find out the truth about Dora's death and the theft of her body before her mother is convicted of witchcraft.

Throw in the characters of the dying grande dame of Great House, her evil but now deceased husband, their deformed son, and the portrait painter with secrets of his own and you have a smashing good read.

Tobin's prose flows comfortably. Characterization and dialogue both fit well with the setting. "Bone House" is Tobin's first novel and I will definitely read her second.

What really made the book for me were the characters, whose actions and motivations were deep and complex. Though this book is frequently referred to as a mystery, it's not a traditional mystery. Call it a "literary mystery." I enjoyed the way the events unfolded and how the death of Dora ended up revealing so much about the people in the village. Everyone says it takes place in the 17th century, but if so, it's before 1603, because Elizabeth is still queen. There's also a romance in case that matters to you.

Fourteen years ago, Dora crossed the Channel to settle in the English village. Dora lived by her own rules, but though a big lady, men wanted her and women befriended her because she was fair and honest. She made her living lying with males. About three years later, the narrator's mother, a midwife, helped Dora give birth to a boy whose father is not known.

Eleven years pass, the boy is big like his mother, but seems a bit slow perhaps because he looks like a man already. However, he reacts like the child he is when Dora dies from what appears to be an accident. The narrator, a maid, beings making inquiries into Dora's death when she learns that her role model of female independence was pregnant and predicted her own death.

BONE HOUSE is a superb look at a remote English seventeenth century village. The story line centers on the roles of townsfolk and the questioning of the prevalent paradigm. The characters as individuals are fully developed and provide a lucid look at the era, but seem off kilter in relation to one another. Still, Betsy Tobin provides a well-written powerful historical fiction that places a magnified look at a bygone era.

Harriet Klausner

A first novel set in rural 17th century England, "Bone House" centers around the death of a big, generous woman, Dora, a prostitute and a fearless outsider with one surviving child, a slow-minded boy.

The narrator, a young maid at the Great House, daughter of a silent, joyless midwife, was fascinated by Dora's large heart and easy morals and is shocked at how easily she died - in a fall from an icy cliff. Helping her mother care for Dora's son, she discovers two of Dora's secrets, one of which leads back to the manor where the mistress lives with her hunchbacked son.

"The Great House never fails to soothe me. I have always felt upon entering it that I could leave myself at the door, place it on a hook with the hats and scarves, and once inside I am lost behind the screens to other people's lives." As maid to the bedridden mistress, she has learned to read and her duties, while demanding, are not arduous. But her obsession with Dora's life and death and secrets, and the coming of an itinerant painter with a secret agenda of his own, distracts her from her tasks and awakens thoughts which challenge unquestioned assumptions about class, passion and self-worth.

Tobin grounds her story in an atmosphere of grinding hardship where the rooms are always cold, the work hard, the filth ubiquitous and death never far. "Bone House" is an Elizabethan term for the body and its appetites and vulnerabilities are central themes. Secrets and superstitions weave through the narrative, provoking accusations of witchcraft and murder, building to a climax as poignant as it is shocking. Elegantly but sparely written, atmospheric and enigmatic, Tobin's first novel is engrossing and suspenseful.

Bone House is an amazing debut by author Betsy Tobin. It's so exciting to find a new writer whose novels you can cherish. This story brings to life the seventeenth century in England like few other books I've read. I really felt like I caught a glimmer of what life was like then. And I also was caught up in the thrill of the mystery and the playing out of the sophisticated romance in the book. All in all it's a fabulous read.

I love the premise of Bone House. I mean, COME ON! From the description, doesn't it sound complex and interesting? Well, unfortunately I have very little to say about it. I hate it when I read something that leaves me so completely ambivalent that I'm not even sure how I feel about the book.

The writing was beautiful, painting a hauntingly accurate picture of Gothic England. On the other hand, the descriptions were a bit much for me at times - rape, persecution of so-called witches, incest, mutilation - Bone House was interesting, but the some of the chilling details were just plain sickening.

After plodding through, determined to finish the book, I was completely disappointed by the ending. As I sit writing this, days later, I am still left unsatisfied by the author's choices. I did not care for the element of romance Tobin attempted to add to the story. It felt disjointed and just confused things for me.

Despite the fact that I didn't care for the story, I cannot bad-mouth the writing - Tobin is wonderfully original and artistic. The narrative flows effortlessly, and the prose is imaginative and picturesque. Betsy Tobin has created a marvelously dark, Gothic atmosphere in Bone House. Although I can't say it's a book that I'll recommend to friends, Bone House is a well-written and absorbing Gothic mystery. The writing is exceptional enough that I might give Tobin another chance. Her novel Ice Land looks interesting...

This is not the usual mystery story. The heroine, a waiting lady in the "Big House" in a small rural village, is not a sleuth nor particularly proactive in trying to solve the mystery of the suspicious death of the town's prostitute. But she does ask the right questions and works things out on her own. This serves her well when the prostitute's body is taken from her grave and later found with her almost born fetus cut from her. The heroine's mother, an unmarried midwife and healer, is accused of the deed and of witchcraft stemming from beliefs linking midwifery to consorting with the devil. It is not the first time the village has tried an older defenseless women for witchcraft and, to test her guilt, ducked her repeatedly in the village pond until she finally succumbed.

The story's strength lies in the minute descriptions of the work of rural women as well as details about period dress and makeup. It is also a story about the almost mystical attraction both women and men had to the larger than life, story telling, mother earth figure which the prostitute came to represent. She was "welcoming to all," and "men were drawn to her for pleasure; women for friendship." Social hierarchy also is shown between the master and servants of the "The Great House" (the manor), and between the servants themselves. What works less well is the mostly first person present tense voice of the heroine, who is never given a name. Her language and sophisticated, indeed literary, thoughts seem beyond the scope of a young, semi-literate woman of limited experience.

This is the author's first book. No historical background.

Bone House is a great read...and a great debut for this author.
I was surprised that it did not receive more accolades and better promotion. I disagree with the reviewer who stated the historical content was askew---bearing in mind that this is a novel, not a text. I think that review gives an unfair impression of the book overall. It is incorrect to state that in the 17th century, the classes never intermingled-or married. There has never been evidence to prove that this is an ummitigated fact, it is merely what we assume. If gothic, historical fiction appeals to you-read it. I would even guess that you too, will look forward to Betsy Tobin's next book.

Village life is quiet and uneventful in 17th Century England, the people godly and hardworking, far removed from the temptations of a large city. Dora is the local prostitute, larger than life in stature, personality and reputation, come from "across the sea". Everything changes when Dora's lifeless body is found at the bottom of a ravine, apparently an accident. When it becomes known that Dora was pregnant, suspicions are awakened.

Dora has a son, Long Boy, now left to fend for himself, with only a neighboring midwife to care for his needs. An oversized eleven-year-old with the mind of a child and the body of a man, Long Boy is distraught, but no one is able to comfort him.

The daughter of the midwife is a maid who works in the Great House as a servant. She enjoyed Dora, was fascinated by her strength, her common sense and her bravery in living alone, supporting herself and the boy. This young maid can't shake the feeling that there is more behind the prostitute's death than is immediately apparent.

Unfortunately, this small Elizabethan village is a place haunted by religious paranoia and a pervasive fear of "Satan". Their lives are constrained by strict moral convention, even more vulnerable to the fears that run rampant through their superstitious minds. Suspicious of witches, the villagers are determined to blame the death on someone.

Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, the girl listens carefully to gossip in the Great House, while performing duties for her master, Edward, whose body is twisted by birth defects. Daily, she cares for Edward's aging mother, who is frequently ill, perhaps even dying. The mistress hires a painter to do her portrait, in spite of her illness, hoping the deformed Edward will agree to sit for one as well. Edward makes a different request of the painter: recreate Dora's face, using the maid as a guide for the likeness. The maid has no time to indulge in romantic fantasies, although she is attracted to the portrait painter. But even the painter has a strange tale to tell, in the end, and a connection to Dora. Through the emotional trauma, it never occurs to the young woman that anyone would offer her comfort.

Presented with the damning testimony of neighbors, the midwife is accused of Dora's death. The maid doggedly pursues each clue and when evidence points to her own family history, secrets her mother has kept for nineteen years, the girl summons considerable fortitude, ready to face the ugly truth and force others to listen.

In a century riddled with superstition, this novel echoes with the ignorance so common to rural villages. Isolation breeds suspicion; women are vulnerable to accusations by others, often prompted by jealousy. In such a place and time, the maid might toil her years away as a servant in the Great House, her future preordained by circumstance. Masters control their servants, with the power to offer them days of drudgery or small comforts. Dora is an anomaly in this village, a woman who is tolerated because of her good spirit and inner strength: "She did not choose fate, but created it." Luan Gaines/2003.