Customer Reviews

Gad's Hall

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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i purchased this book at a secondhand bookstore just by cover alone. it intrigued me. as i started reading time passed and chores didn't get done. this book is an enjoyable mystery about a woman who fights for her family's fear in the house. not going to tell the story in 15 to 20 paragraphs as some readers do and spoil the reading of the story. this is one of the good old books that you tell people about without loaning it out for fear of not getting it back. no sex, no swear words, no cussing, fighting, killing just to sell the book. just a darn good read to take along anywhere. just don't leave it in the doc's office for you will not get it back. not a harlaquin trashy book.
the story: an invalid husband and wife move to this old tudor house with their three children. events happen to bring fearful feelings to them. the wife finds out about a previous woman who lived in the tudor house and her tragic events over a century ago. the tention builds as she finds out clues to ease and solve the tragic event to bring peace to the house.

I first read this when I was 20, and now I am 49 and I still re-read it every year. As with most Norah Lofts stories, there are multiple layers of place and charachter. This is a story under a story so to speak- Gad's Hall is purchased by a couple in dire straits with three children who are desperate for a new place to live, and Gad's suits their needs perfectly-or so it seems. Gad's was owned by the same family for many, many years until the recent past, when the present owner finds he must give it up.
Once established, the principle charachter Jill finds herself experiencing strange feelings about parts of her new property, particularly the empty locked room upstairs. No one knows why the room is empty and locked. Finally, her young daughter leaves Gad's because she simply cannot live there-she is terrified by something she cannot explain.
Which leads us to the haunting of Gad's-a new story set about 100 years earlier on the same property. The Thorley family is still residing at Gad's as they have generation upon generation. Isabel Thorley is raising her 4 daughters and 1 son by herself after the untimely demise of her husband. Isabel is a unique person for the age, running Gad's farms and herds by herself and her life is difficult. Her 4 daughters are all unique in their own way, and each grows up to have a very different life than the one expected. Because one daughter dabbles with the occult, life is irrevocably changed at Gad's, even though few of the inhabitants really know what has happened. This secret is carried up to modern day when finally the pervasive evil has been detected.
Miss Loft's personalities are so well defined, and the aura of the inhabitants of Gad are so resounding one is sorry when the story finishes. So much attention to detail is furnished and yet the story is so compact. Sorry to see it end.

If you like me like spooky stories this is a great one. I enjoy reading this one about October every year. Norah Lofts has also written other books about hauntings and other supernatural phenomena. Most of her books are set in Suffolk but not all.

I read the combined edition with both stories in one volume;
Gad's Hall and The Haunting of Gad's Hall.

This is the first novel (or novels) by Norah Lofts I've read and honestly I found it (them) somewhat disappointing. I thought that I was sure to find something spooky between the covers given the title. But sadly this story just didn't do much for me in the spooky department.

The story is about two families. There is a contemporary story and an historical one, both center around an old Tudor home in England. The contemporary family moves into the old house and the daughter and the grandmother are afraid of something there. The reader is taken back in time to learn what happened in the house that caused the evil feeling to linger.

I thought the story was rambling, the details somewhat tedious and the historical portion of the story lacking in period details. I thought Lofts gave endless details about the lives of these characters but at the same time they didn't feel fully developed to me. The story drags and there is plenty of filler that could have been trimmed out. The haunting portion was very predictable and basically uninteresting.

I wish Lofts had focused more on the events in the life of the youngest daughter in the family in the past as well as the relationship the contemporary mother had with the owner of the house. Those two stories were the most interesting to me and also seemed to be the most neglected.

I did like some of this but overall I was disappointed and didn't feel satisfied when I turned the last page.

Norah Lofts GAD'S HALL and THE HAUNTING OF GAD'S HALL is an early paranormal written before the term was applied to a genre of stories.
The two stories are companions and should be read in order of appearance. A family moves into an old country home that has been kept in pristine condition, but there is something in the attic that is not of this world.
Two woman from different centuries fight and struggle to keep their families together and secure. Their customs and cultures are different, but their purpose is the same.
Great reading for the midnight hours.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

I had purchased this book many years ago as a teenager, my sister and I both loved this book and took turns reading and re-reading it. I lost the book, and decided to look to see if it was available on Amazon. It was! I purchased two books, one for my sister and one for me. They were in super condition. Truly a great buy!!

Ordered for wife she loved it . Fast Shipping and in perfect condition excellent seller Gad's Hall and The Haunting... (Hardcover) by Norah Lofts

I read this book when it was first published some years ago; lent it to a friend and it never came back so bought this copy and am very glad I did, Due to the nature of the plot (set in 2 to 3 generations), it can be reread many times,The copy I bought here is in great condition, Thanks!

This is a wonderful book. A bit hard to find, but if you get a chance, I definately recommend it. There is nothing blatantly scary about it (which makes it odd that it's listed under Horror . .. ), but it definately leaves you with an eerie feeling that will keep you thinking about the book for days. Another book to check out by the same author is Bless This House. An equally chilling novel.