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The Ghost Orchid: A Novel
 
 
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The Ghost Orchid: A Novel [Paperback]

Carol Goodman (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)

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Book Description

April 10, 2007
In her enthralling novels of literary suspense, Carol Goodman writes stories that resonate with emotion set in lush landscapes that entice the senses. Now, with The Ghost Orchid, a narrative that seamlessly weaves together the past and the present, Goodman creates her most lyrical and haunting work to date.

For more than one hundred years, creative souls have traveled to Upstate New York to work under the captivating spell of the Bosco estate. Cradled in silence, inspired by the rough beauty of overgrown gardens and crumbling statuary, these chosen few fashion masterworks–and have cemented Bosco’s reputation as a premier artists’ colony. This season, five talented artists-in-residence find themselves drawn to the history of Bosco, from the extensive network of fountains that were once its centerpiece but have long since run dry to the story of its enigmatic founder, Aurora Latham, and the series of tragic events that occurred more than a century ago.

Ellis Brooks, a first-time novelist, has come to Bosco to write a book based on Aurora and the infamous summer of 1893, when wealthy, powerful Milo Latham brought the notorious medium Corinth Blackwell to the estate to help his wife contact three of the couple’s children, lost the winter before in a diphtheria epidemic. But when a séance turned deadly, Corinth and her alleged accomplice, Tom Quinn, disappeared, taking with them the Lathams’ only surviving child.

The more time she spends at Bosco, the more Ellis becomes convinced that there is an even darker, more sinister end to the story. And she’s not alone: biographer Bethesda Graham uncovers stunning revelations about Milo and Corinth; landscape architect David Fox discovers a series of hidden tunnels underneath the gardens; poet Zalman Bronsky hears the long-dry fountain’s waters beckoning him; and novelist Nat Loomis feels something lingering just out of reach.

After a bizarre series of accidents befalls them, the group cannot deny the connections between the long ago and now, the living and the dead . . . as Ellis realizes that the tangled truth may ensnare them all in its cool embrace.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An isolated Victorian mansion in upstate New York is the backdrop for Goodman's latest literary mystery (after The Drowning Tree), which stars a debut novelist and her fellow residents at the artists' retreat Bosco. Ellis Brooks has been accepted to Bosco primarily because her first novel is to be a fictional account of the mansion's mysterious past; while there will be no deaths during her stay, there's spookiness aplenty, as well as several 1893 murders still begging resolution. Goodman's narrative alternates between Ellis's first-person present and 1893. Coincidentally—or not—two of Bosco's other guests are also working on projects related to the mansion. But they turn out to be little more than convenient accessories as Ellis, the daughter of a psychic (and possessor of certain powers of her own), unlocks clue after mystical clue to secrets long buried by the mansion's original owners. As great a player as any is the mansion itself and its creepy (and possibly haunted) gardens. Is this an updated Victorian drawing room mystery or a romance novel/crime fiction–cum–ghost story? Never mind. Enjoy the atmosphere. And enjoy the ride; its twists and turns mesmerize, even if they don't surprise.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Nestled deep in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains lies the Bosco estate, a nineteenth-century mansion that was once the home of lumber magnate Milo Latham and his wife, Aurora. A rambling property nearly buried under the ruins of once--opulent statuary gardens and mazes, Bosco now serves as an exclusive creative retreat, where artists and writers live and work under almost oppressive seclusion. Inspired by a timeworn pamphlet describing the scandalous events that took place there in 1893, first-time novelist Ellis Brooks comes to Bosco to write about the tragedies that befell the Latham family and the role Corinth Blackwell, a spiritual medium, played in the family's downfall. When Ellis uncovers the family's secrets, she and her fellow writers find themselves imperiled by the house's sinister history. Goodman's mastery of eerily atmospheric and richly intricate plots is nowhere more evident than in this deliciously menacing and harrowing tale of greed and avarice, where perception is reality, and where past and present collide with disastrous results. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 10, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345462149
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345462145
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #778,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Goodman graduated from Vassar College, where she majored in Latin. After teaching Latin for several years, she studied for an MFA in Fiction. Her writing has been published in a number of literary magazines. She currently teaches writing and works as a writer-in-residence. She lives in Long Island, USA.

 

Customer Reviews

44 Reviews
5 star:
 (13)
4 star:
 (20)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (44 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Ms. Goodman, July 9, 2006
By 
Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
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Admittedly, Carol Goodman is not an author to whom I would naturally gravitate; however, life's encounters sometimes change things. I happened to be working with Ms. Goodman's brother the year her first novel came out. I had the opportunity to meet her and read her first novel. In the years since, I have continued to read her novels and, though I might not put them in the pantheon of greatness, I have always enjoyed them. Her latest novel, The Ghost Orchid, is no exception.

In fact, I would say that this novel is best she has written. Her skill with prose has certainly improved with each novel and her deft handling of two time periods which she weaves together to tell a single story is impressive. I would say that it was this technique that really drew me into her tale which would otherwise have held much less interest for me.

In this novel Ellis Brooks goes to a writers' retreat at an estate called Bosco in upstate New York. As she researches and writes her first novel based on the original owners of the estate, strange things begin to happen and she, as well as the other writers living at the estate, become caught up in the mystery of the summer of 1893. In the wake of the deaths of her children, Aurora Latham invites a medium, Corinth Blackwell, to conduct seances to help her contact her children. This leads to a series of tragic events whose twisted connections stretch all the way to the present day. It is a solid, albeit light, thriller with its suspense and surprises.

On the other hand, though Ms. Goodman has written her best here, she still remains mired in the same general set-ups that she has relied on for all her novels--a female writer/artist protagonist, a New York/New England setting, a touch of the supernatural, and water running through it all. (In this novel, a huge, complex fountain that dominates the estate as well as the Hudson River.) I admit that I am curious about what hold water has over Ms. Goodman but I am growing weary of her consistency. I want her to test herself with something more.

That being said, anyone who is a fan of Ms. Goodman should find this book to be excellent. Anyone who hasn't yet tried one of her novels would not be amiss to start with this one. In my estimation, she has reached the pinnacle of what her obsessions can offer in this novel.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Goodman's best so far !, August 22, 2006
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I have been a huge fan of Carol Goodman's books, ever since I inhaled "The Lake of Dead Languages". Her writing style, her storytelling ability and her sense of "place" when telling a story are unsurpassed.

Her newest book did not disappoint me. It was filled with intrigue, questions, and a deep connection to the upstate New York region she has so captured. The characters were multi-dimensional, and I felt as if I had gotten to each of them.

My only disappointment was not wanting the book to end ! It is an excellent read, and I am certain fans of her earlier works will find it engrossing.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Give us those ghosts every time!, August 27, 2006
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Good night! Ms. Goodman has a triumph here. A real good old-fashioned leave-the-bathroom-light-on all nighter of a ghost story. The author's vivid description fits the late-19th century setting and provides the atmosphere without distracting the reader. The two simultaneous plots, one running in 1893 and one in the present, intertwine perfectly. Fans of Jodi Picoult's Second Glance and Sarah Blake's Grange House and Beth Gutcheon's More than You Know are going to love this one. And the action keeps right on rolling. Carol Goodman must have had an out-of-body experience, because the ones that she describes Corinth Blackwell having are one hundred percent accurate. This is going to be one of my top books of the year. Ms. Goodman's husband, who wrote the poetry for the character of Zalman, did a great job as well. As a minor point, the cover is one of the most beautiful I've seen, I may look for the photo to purchase. If you liked The Lake of Dead Languages, you've seen nothing at all until you've seen this story!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ghost orchid, ilex grove, hellebore root, tamarack tree, hedge maze
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Milo Latham, Tom Quinn, Frank Campbell, Corinth Blackwell, Diana Tate, Aurora Latham, Miss Blackwell, Alice Latham, David Fox, Signore Lantini, Richard Scully, Range Rover, Nat Loomis, Lily Dale, Wanda White Cloud, Bethesda Graham, Zalman Bronsky, Garden Conservancy, Madame Blavatsky, Wanda Norris, Muse of Water, New York City, Native American, Green Man, Lyceum Theater
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