The Book of Spirits [Hardcover]

James Reese (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2005

In his first novel, the national bestselling The Book of Shadows,James Reese beguiled readers with a boldly imaginative, darkly erotic tale of awakening that introduced the captivating and deeply unusual Herculine. Now this extraordinary writer continues Herculine's incredible journey of self-discovery -- a search that will lead her into a world of shadows and perils, where she will taste the forbidden and find redemption.

September 1826. Taught to trust ... and to learn by a quartet of remarkable saviors, Herculine is bound for America, leaving behind a strange and violent past in France for an uncertain future in an exotic new land. Arriving in Virginia, Herculine is led by fate to Mother-of-Venus, a mysterious old slave woman who is blessed with gifts both terrifying and strange, and to a young poet named Edgar Poe who is haunted by evils of the past. Under the mystical guidance of Mammy Venus, Herculine soon calls upon her powerful legacy to rescue Celia, a beautiful, damaged slave. Landing in the coastal wilds of Florida, Celia stirs passions -- and dark, otherworldly powers -- within Herculine, propelling them into an erotic obsession that only the missing witch Sebastiana d'Azur can break.

Hope comes in a missive that will lure the desperate Herculine north, to the chaotic streets of New York and a strange, magical house in which the confused and eager witch is accepted by a band of like-minded sisters and introduced to exquisite carnal pleasures. Finally loosed from the shackles of shame and desire, Herculine heads south once again to find salvation and fulfill her destiny.

Set in a time of promise and peril, bondage and bloodshed, James Reese's lush, richly atmospheric, and beautifully told tale shatters the boundaries between the living and the dead, the magical and the ordinary, the imagined and the historical. A novel of the mind and the senses, The Book of Spirits is a mesmerizing and unforgettable work from an exceptional talent.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

French witch Herculine travels to America in this second book of historical horror from Reese, who here builds unevenly on The Book of Shadows. At sea, Herculine falls in love with Celia, the slave of a cruel and sexually-abusive master. Rescuing Celia requires the help of noted witch Mammy Venus, whose coterie includes a young Edgar Allan Poe. Herculine (who is both psychologically and physiologically androgynous and disguised as a man) and Celia flee to half-wild Florida. But then Herculine hears that her mentor, Sebastiani, has arrived in New York. When she returns there, all she finds are a few books waiting in a high-class whorehouse called Cyprian House, where the sexual possibilities of being an androgynous witch are explored at great length. Then it's back to Florida to rescue Celia, who is alone because Mammy Venus has been killed in Nat Turner's rebellion-except that Cecile has run off to be among the Seminole, who are about to go to war with the United States. The author's research in this compelling sequel seems to have been thorough, as the many varied settings and particulars of the time period are vividly portrayed, but Reese's constant jumping from one situation to another may try readers' patience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Reese's second gothic-style novel is an involving, richly detailed chronicle of witchcraft along the eastern U.S. in the early 1800s. Herculine, newly arrived in the U.S. after the adventures described in Reese's Book of Shadows (2002), is suddenly involved in righting the wrongs committed in a community of Virginia slaves. Encounters with the dead become major touch points for Herculine, drawing her deeper into her own supernatural power and giving her strengths she must constantly explore and hone. Reese's extensive research is apparent in his weaving of real historical characters into the story; most striking is his inclusion of the stories of Native American battles in Florida, where legends such as Chiefs Micanopy and Osceola come to life in stunning detail. No less vivid are the characters Reese creates himself: the strange and beautiful witches of the Cyprian House brothel in New York, the rotting and shrill ghost of Eliza Arnold Hopkins Poe (mother of Edgar Allan Poe), a witch named Sweet Marie who furiously guards the fountain of youth in a secret location in the Florida swampland, and Herculine, the protagonist half-man/half-woman witch whose story is so painstakingly told to the ages through his/her own Book of Shadows. Part historical fiction, part supernatural tale, this is difficult to put down and will surely delight fans of Reese's first novel as well as convert new readers to his fascinating style. Debi Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (August 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006056105X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060561055
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,887,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched, beautifully written, and darkly witty, September 22, 2005

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Spirits (Hardcover)

THE BOOK OF SPIRITS is the sequel to James Reese's THE BOOK OF SHADOWS, the first volume in the saga of Herculine, a child of Hermes and Aphrodite and a timid witch with a dual gender who is unaware of the strength of her powers.

We join Herculine in the year 1826 on a long ocean crossing from France to Virginia. Aboard the ship, Herculine becomes entranced by violet-eyed Celia, a young slave possessed of an astounding beauty. After a grueling voyage, during which Herculine keeps a steady eye on Celia and her master, the ship docks in Richmond. There, Herculine is led to a damaged old seeress, Mother-of-Venus. She tells Herculine what the future holds, a future entwined with that of Celia's. Recognizing Herculine as a witch of some peculiar uniqueness, Mammy Venus prepares her for the difficult task of freeing Celia. Aiding in the plot for flight is none other than Edgar Poe, his sister Rosalie, and his mother Eliza Poe, all of whom figure prominently into the story.

Poe's mother makes an appearance as the ghost she is by 1826, recounting her part in the horrific Richmond Theater fire, in which it is said that over 70 people died. James Reese has taken the events of this tragic night and imagined a whole new set of circumstances for the fire's origin, one involving mischievous spirits. Old Mammy Venus was there that long-ago night with her owners, for she was also a slave, whole and healthy. By the end of that dreadful day, she was clinging to life by a thread, severely burned and disfigured from her heroic attempts to save trapped and disoriented victims. Mammy's past, so full of agony and cruelty, has made her adamant that Celia must be wrenched away from her abusive master, and Herculine is the one who must do it.

Herculine succeeds, but finds herself tempted to abuse Celia similarly, for she grievously has been smitten since first she laid eyes on her. Driven by this obsession, Herculine casts a love spell over her, bewitching her completely, but soon shrinks in self-disgust. Horrified at what she has done, she flees to Manhattan to seek the counsel of a host of witches at a place called Cyprian House. During her quite extended stay there, dressing in female attire, Herculine learns the ways of the House, entertaining herself --- and her colorful housemates --- in a cornucopia of sexual experiments and delights.

Once Herculine has been given an answer to her dilemma --- how to unbewitch Celia --- she begins her return trip home. Finding that Celia has fled their house back in Florida, Herculine embarks on a search that takes her into Indian country, where she beseeches everyone she meets to give her word of Celia's whereabouts. Her journey becomes a penance of sorts, during which her desire to set things right begins to outweigh her love for Celia. As she traces Celia's trail, she is warned about Sweet Marie, an inaptly named and very nasty witch of impressive power. Nonetheless, she seeks Sweet Marie's aid in finding Celia. Herculine may have regretted that once she was in her grasp, for Sweet Marie has a mean streak to end all mean streaks.

THE BOOK OF SPIRITS is exceptionally well researched. One gets the feeling that Reese wanted to recount history in a new and different way, so he used witches and spirits as his medium. It flows with prose so beautiful that it borders on poetry. But, beware, it is not for the faint of heart. Fans of Anne Rice will relish this newcomer with his talent for the Gothic tale, spun with his darkly witty and bizarre imagination.

--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait!, August 19, 2005

By 

August Daybreak - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Spirits (Hardcover)

I have waited many months for this book - the sequel to The Book of Shadows, which I loved. I have to say the wait was worth it. The Book of Spirits continues to tell the story of Herculine, this time in America in the early 1800's. Lots of history here, plenty of "other-worldliness", and a story that kept me turning the pages. Anne Rice, who is quoted on the front of the book, is right. It is wonderful to have James Reese exploring and transcending the gothic genre.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A journey of the senses., August 27, 2005

By 

Sean Harpswell "dublin1" (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Spirits (Hardcover)

Fans of the tales of Herculine can finally rejoice that we have her back in our midst! Mr. Reese has triumphed with the sequel to his dark and lovely "Shadows." "Spirits" is an extraordinary plunge into the further adventures of the witch Herculine, who has now made it Stateside. One can almost feel the humidity in Mr. Reese's descriptive prose -- the sentences are pure poetry and his characters are so vividly drawn that we just dive in.