Fallam's Secret: A Novel [Hardcover]

Denise Giardina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003

A master storyteller delivers an historical novel with a twist-what will become of a modern American woman in Cromwell's England?

Returning home to West Virginia after her beloved Uncle John's death, Lydde finds that he has left her an odd legacy: a note with instructions that lead her to a remote mountain cave. When she falls into a crevasse, she finds she has followed her uncle farther than she thought-to Norchester, England, in 1657. Times are dark: the ruling Puritans have beheaded the king and prohibited song, dance, and even Christmas. Though she passes as a boy with her short hair and pants, local official Noah Fallam is still suspicious of her strange clothing and outspokenness. Luckily, she soon finds her uncle, and another man: the Raven, a bandit who provides for the poor through smuggling and robbery. The unlikely couple fall in love, and Lydde must decide where-and when-she belongs. This captivating story brings us close to Denise Giardina's signature concerns of faith and the way we treat the earth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Giardina (Storming Heaven) constructs an intriguing time-travel narrative steeped in the history of West Virginia. After her family died in a fire in 1948, two-year-old Lydde Falcone was taken in by her Uncle John and Aunt Lavinia and grew up with them in West Virginia. Now a middle-aged actress living in Norchester, England, Lydde returns to West Virginia to take care of her aunt after John's death. There, she learns that John, a physicist, believed he had discovered a hole in the time/space continuum. She follows his map to some caves near her aunt's house, pokes around and suddenly finds herself back in England-England of 1657, that is, where she finds her uncle alive and well. Passing as a man thanks to her outlandish clothes and forward manner, Lydde attracts the suspicion of Noah Fallam, a local Puritan official who upholds Oliver Cromwell's ban on music and art and turns out to be an ancestor of hers (his brother becomes one of the first Englishmen to come to Appalachia in 1671). She also falls for the Raven, a sort of Robin Hood who steals from rich Puritans to give to the poor. Lydde's rapid adjustment to her 17th-century surroundings is hard to swallow, as is her instant love for the Raven. Yet Giardina is an accomplished storyteller, and the narrative is rich in detail. The despoliation of West Virginia's mountains by mining companies, a familiar theme of Giardina's, adds complexity to the plot. While this book doesn't carry the literary weight of some of her previous work, it's a captivating read.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Lydde Falcone, an actress on the London stage, returns home to West Virginia when her beloved uncle dies. In his office she finds an odd key and directions about a door, a skeleton, and a cliff. She eventually follows the key's instructions and finds herself in seventeenth-century England during Cromwell's rule. Due to her strange clothes, short hair, and outspoken manner, she passes herself off as a boy. She is stunned when she enters a small village and finds her uncle alive. She also meets two other men--Noah Fallam, the local official enforcing the strict Puritan teachings and who is suspicious of Lydde's arrival, and a man she falls in love with known only as the Raven, a masked crusader who steals and smuggles to provide for the poor. Lydde must make a choice to go back to her previous life or risk everything for love. Giardina tells a good story, but there are some underlying themes, regarding faith, a women's place in society, and environmental responsibility, that are never fully developed. Carolyn Kubisz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393052060
• ISBN-13: 978-0393052060
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #494,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an awesome time travel romance!, February 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Fallam's Secret: A Novel (Hardcover)

Then I started reading this book, I was sceptical. Can this author really write a good time travel? Yes she can, this book is wonderful and it has the right combination of history, adventure, time travel and of course romance and the ending promises (hopefully!) that there might be another book!! This book goes directly to my keeper shelf! Thanks to the author for this terrific reading experience!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A hidden treasure!, April 14, 2008

By 

C. M. McDowell (Jacksonville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fallam's Secret: A Novel (Hardcover)

Wow! I didn't even mean to find this in our local bookstore. There was one copy in the way back and it had me interested by the cover. Its wonderfully written with action, adventure, and love. I love how you find out about the main characters life and how she became the way she is before she starts out on her adventure. It also shows that just because you are a 50+ woman, doesn't mean you forget about how powerful love can be. I thought it was slow at first but it really picked up. If you are in the mood for witty and action packed (at least 2/3 packed) book, this one is for you. My review might not be as great as the others here, but I really enjoyed this book, take a chance and i hope you do too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING THOUGHT, May 2, 2005

By 

Sandy Rhoad "Insatiable reader" (Branchville, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fallam's Secret: A Novel (Hardcover)

Yes - this book is like The Outlander series in the theory of "falling through stones" into another era - but the writing is different, the story line different - and both are imaginative and fun. Read The Outlander series first - and then read this with the idea of having a fun read. Yes - she left it open for a sequel when, at the end, the skeleton hides something other than the celtic cross - but isn't that what good books do - take you down more paths and leave story lines open? Take a chance and read this - even if you get it at the library. It is worth the time and you will be rewarded with wishing time travel were a possibility for yourself.