The Exile of Sara Stevenson: A Historical Novel [Paperback]

Darci Hannah (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2010

In 1814, Sara Stevenson, the well-bred but high-spirited daughter of celebrated Scottish lighthouse designer Robert Stevenson, falls in love with a common sailor, Thomas Crichton. On the day of their clandestine elopement, Thomas mysteriously disappears, leaving Sara heartbroken, secretly pregnant, and at the mercy of her overbearing family. Refusing to relinquish her hopes that Thomas will someday return to her, Sara is banished to an eerie lighthouse on lonely and remote Cape Wrath. There she meets William Campbell, the reclusive yet dashing light-keeper who incites her ire—and interest. Soon Sara begins to accept her life on the cape and her growing attraction to William—until a mystifying package from an Oxford antiquarian arrives, giving intriguing clues to Thomas’s whereabouts. Through her correspondence with the antiquarian, Sara slowly uncovers the story of her beloved’s fate. But what she doesn’t immediately grasp is that these letters travel an even greater distance than she could have imagined—as the boundaries between time and space unravel to forge an incredible connection between a woman and a man many years apart.
 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The remote Cape Wrath lighthouse in 19th-century northwest Scotland provides a perfect setting for Hannah's debut, an underwhelming historical romance in which correspondence, ghosts, and true love travel through time. Headstrong 19 year-old Sara Stevenson, fictional daughter of real-life lighthouse designer Robert Stevenson, is exiled to the lighthouse after her love, Thomas Crichton, gets her pregnant. As she stubbornly awaits the return of her lost sailor love and the birth of his baby, literature lover Sara corresponds with an Oxford antiquarian and receives reluctant assistance from Willy Campbell, a taciturn light keeper haunted by the past. When Sara learns her parents have arranged to take her baby, she asks the Oxford antiquarian to come to her rescue, but unbeknownst to her, there's a very large obstacle in his path. The slight gothic trappings lack foreboding menace, and what could be a delicious love story fizzles into a poorly conceived exercise in spiritual uplift.
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From Booklist

This haunting, elegiac tale pays tribute to the power and endurance of love. After Sara Stevenson, daughter of renowned lighthouse designer Robert Stevenson, falls in love with sailor Thomas Chrichton, a man her family considers far beneath her station, the young lovers set plans in motion for a secret elopement. When Thomas fails to show up at the designated rendezvous point, a devastated Sara is left pregnant, alone, and yet curiously hopeful. Cast out by her righteous family, she is sent to live in a remote lighthouse on the windswept shores of Cape Wrath at the northernmost tip of Scotland. Making peace with her strange new life, she attracts the attention of the enigmatic lightkeeper and slowly begins to move forward. Both the narrative and the early-nineteenth-century setting are suffused with gloriously gothic elements as a ghostly mystery takes shape around the true circumstances of Thomas’ puzzling disappearance and dramatic reentry into Sara’s life. True romantics will suspend their disbelief and revel in the mystical passion of this timeless love story. --Margaret Flanagan

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345520548
• ISBN-13: 978-0345520548
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #618,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Darci Hannah, born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and a graduate of Indiana University, has skied, paddled, sailed and hiked a good chunk of North America while toting her favorite, dog-eared works of historical fiction along with her. As a self-proclaimed student of life who is "far from passing the test," Darci continued her self-education after college by indulging her passion for travel, history (Scottish history in particular), as well as her interest in those mysterious happenings, myths and tales that challenge the imagination. Shortly after graduation, Darci married her college sweetheart. It wasn't until after the birth of the couple's third son that she finally decided to combine her adventurous spirit with her life-long passions and put pen to paper. Many years and rejection slips later, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, was finally published in 2010 by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, followed by, The Angel of Blythe Hall, published in 2011.

It isn't surprising that Darci Hannah's works, combining her unique interests and storytelling ability, don't fit neatly into any one genre. While being firmly rooted in history, they are unwinding journeys of adventure, romance, mystery and suspense that deftly bring the reader to the edge of belief and beyond. Hannah's stories are filled with palpable emotion, richly drawn characters, evocative settings, visceral historical detail and intriguing, unpredictable plots. They speak to the romantic--to the adventurous soul looking to be whisked from the twenty-first century and transported to Scotland of the past. Whether to a forlorn lighthouse teetering on the edge of Cape Wrath, or to the tumultuous Borders in the reign of James IV, Darci Hannah's inspired historical tales will continue to linger in the imagination long after the last page is turned.

Darci Hannah currently lives in Michigan with her husband and three teenaged sons. You can learn more about Darci and her books at www.DarciHannah.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars (3.5) A pleasant read, May 29, 2010

By 

Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Exile of Sara Stevenson: A Historical Novel (Paperback)

(What's this?)

Edinburgh, 1814. Sarah Stevenson is the pampered daughter of Robert Stevenson, builder of lighthouses. Whilst on a boat tour, Sara meets and falls in love with sailor Thomas Crichton. Since Sara's parents would never consider Thomas a suitable match for her, the two plan to elope - but Sara ends up waiting in vain as Thomas never shows. Did he truly love her or was he just using her? A pregnant and broken-hearted Sara is banished by her family to the remote lighthouse at Cape Wrath, along with her maid Kate - the one who betrayed her secret lover to her parents and because of that Sara and Kate's relationship is somewhat tense - let alone her up and down relationship with William Campbell the current keeper of the light.

Just when Sara believes she might let Thomas go and regain some balance in her life, a package arrives for Sarah that upsets her new-found peace. Who is Alexander Seawell and how did he come in possession of Sara's gift to her beloved Thomas? Will Alexander be able to solve the mystery of Thomas' disappearance? Which man is destined for Sara, William or Alexander? Or will she find her true-love Thomas once again?

Well, you know I'm not telling. While I did enjoy this, the author just took too long getting to the big tah-dah and things started to drag on a bit. Written in the first person narrative (not my favorite) resulted in a wee bit too much of Sara's constant snooping into other people's business and searching their rooms. Bah. I really didn't warm up much to Sara, instead of the vibrant, independent lass she should have been she came across a bit too whiny and, well, annoying. Big as a house pregnant and she's walking the moors at 3:00 AM? Standing at the edge of those big cliffs over the sea without wondering if she just might slip and fall?

I'll pass on standing on the edge, thank you very much. In the end, I found this to be a good book just not great. As noted, I didn't warm much to Sara, nor pick up on any real chemistry between her and Thomas either, nor any emotional investment in any of the characters. The northern Scotland setting was lovely, but I would like to see that developed more as well - see Mary Stewart's Wildfire at Midnight and how she set the mood on the Isle of Skye. This is a nice first outing for a new author, but to compare this to Dame Du Maurier? I think not. 3.5/5 stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Romance Novel with a Fantasy Twist..., July 2, 2010

By 

delicateflower152 (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Exile of Sara Stevenson: A Historical Novel (Paperback)

(What's this?)

Darci Hannah's "The Exile of Sara Stevenson," a period romance, is a very readable novel; one that can be enjoyed in almost any location. What separates "The Exile of Sara Stevenson" from other romance novels is twofold - the subtle incorporation, into the storyline, of contact across time's dimension; and, the minimal focus on heaving bosoms and throbbing loins. The book is a well-written romance, intelligently done, and tightly controlled. It has strong characterization, as well as mysterious goings-on, and enough emotional moments so as to draw the reader into the story.

While thoroughly enjoyable, "The Exile of Sara Stevenson" is not completely original in its theme. That theme, often used in romance novels, is of a beautiful, wealthy maiden who meets the handsome, but impoverished youth. In "The Exile of Sara Stevenson," the character-types are easily recognized as populating other romance-themed novels - Sara Stevenson, the willful, beautiful daughter of a privileged household; Thomas Crichton, the extraordinarily handsome, intelligent youth from a poor background; William Campbell, the haunted loner whose past must be overcome through the power of love; and Kate MacKinnon, Sara's companion and lady's maid. Young Hughie McKay, son of neighbors, supplies a touch of humor and just enough youthful bravado to balance the overall tone of the book.

While taking a sailing tour of the lighthouses designed by her father, Sara meets Thomas, a sailor on the ship which is transporting the Stevenson party. The two fall in love and spend stolen hours sharing their hopes and dreams, and learning about one another. Upon returning to land, Sara and Thomas succumb to passion. They plan to elope, but Thomas does not appear at the appointed time. Sara finds herself with child, and is banished, by her parents, from polite society. Placed in the care of her companion Kate and, under the watch of William Campbell, the lighthouse keeper who is a former physician and who has lost his wife and child during childbirth, Sara rises to the challenges she faces. She proves her mettle, learning to perform household tasks. She befriends a local family, the MacKay's. She begins to probe the depths of Campbell's emotional isolation, and eventually develops a romantic interest in him.

However, this is the point at which "The Exile of Sara Stevenson" incorporates an added dimension. Without giving away the twist, I can tell you that Sara does hear from Thomas again, through an antiquarian, who has come into possession of the chronometer Sara gave Thomas. In the final pages of the novel, Sara comes to accept that Thomas is dead; she marries William Campbell with whom, during her exile, she has fallen in love.

"The Exile of Sara Stevenson" is a fine selection for your vacation reading. It moves quickly through the story and maintains the reader's interest without resorting to maudlin sentimentality. The ending resolves any questions the reader might have with respect to the characters and provides a satisfying finale to the story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attention Lighthouse lovers, July 27, 2010

By 

Silver's Reviews "Silver's Reviews" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exile of Sara Stevenson: A Historical Novel (Paperback)

MAY BE SOME SPOILERS......

Love, mystery, secrets, betrayal, ghosts, letters, smugglers, Scottish history and life in the 1800's.....Sara Stevenson was a privileged Scottish lass who wasn't one to conform to the norms of Scottish rules for young ladies.

Her father was a famous lighthouse engineer and had Sara accompany him on a boat trip when she was 18 years old. While on the voyage, she fell in love with one of the sailors who of course was not of her social rank. Her father suspects this love affair and is completely against their relationship since he has another wealthy man in mind for Sara.

Sara gets herself pregnant by this sailor, and her father banishes her to Cape Wrath which is a remote place on the northwesterly point of Great Britain north of Edinburgh, Scotland. Cape Wrath had terrible weather no matter what season it was and is a place that had no luxuries Sara was used to. Sara, along with her maid, Katie, and the maid's husband, Robbie, endure the life at Cape Wrath. Sara has to cook and clean which is something she never had to do. Sara yearns daily for Thomas, her lost lover. She hasn't seen him since they planned a never-to-be elopement.

Sara, Katie, Robbie, and Mr. Campbell, the lighthouse keeper, are four of only a few inhabitants living there. A few cottages are also on Cape Wrath. Sara and her maid venture out one day during an awful snowstorm to find their neighbors because Sara is feeling so lonely and isolated. They take off on horseback and do meet a woman that they befriend and who will trade cooking lessons for learning how to read and write.

The woman they visited (Mrs. MacKay), her husband, and their two children appear at the lighthouse one day and Sara finds out some things about Mr. Campbell during a heated argument with Mr. MacKay. Apparently Mr. Campbell and Mr. McKay had some sort of mariner disagreement last fall and Mr. Campbell "lured" him and his family to the lighthouse to try to make amends.

Meanwhile Sara and Mr. Campbell develop some sort of trust relationship, and Mr. Campbell knows he has the responsibility to keep Sara safe and take care of her during her pregnancy. One morning a package and a letter arrive at the dock from a man named Mr. Seawell, and this brings more mystery about Thomas and why he never showed up the day they were going to run away. Afterall, Thomas said he loved her and would move heaven and earth to be with her. Sara writes back to Mr. Seawell questioning about Thomas and the watch that was in the package....the very watch that Sara had given Thomas and had inscripted a lover's message on the back. Sara asks Mr. Seawell to shed some light about Thomas and if he is alive. They began a correspondence that tells of Mr. Seawell's life and Thomas's life.

After all the tension about the package and letter and also a letter to Katie from Sara's mother, Sara takes off from the lighthouse and goes to Mary MacKay and her family because she is disgusted about what she finds out her family had written to Katie and something about Mr. Campbell. Sara stays for a week, and Mr. Campbell is fuming about this visit since he is to be taking care of Sara according to Sara's father who had made these arrangements before Sara's original arrival.

Another letter was in post at the jetty when Sara returns from the visit, and she begins to become suspicious about who is really sending her these letters. The letters, Sara, Thomas, and Mr. Seawell make the ending confusing, unbelievable, but unforgettable....terrific writer.

You will enjoy the book, and I want to end my review with this quote that is from Page 56, but rings true until the end of the book: "But all too soon it came back to me, and once again I found it hard to sleep at night knowing he was out there....somewhere."