Customer Reviews

Lady of Hay

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

What wonderful news to see a classsic book make a reappearance. Who can we thank for such insight? LADY OF HAY is classic past lives/reincarnation, certainly a step up from current time travel . This is where it all started influencing authors such as Jeanette Baker and Jude Deveraux. LADY OF HAY was a wonderful read when it first came out and is now a classic in its own right, sure to help a whole new generation of readers discover this exceptional author. The concept of writing two storylines in two seperate time periods with each effortlessly interwoven with the other is only possible because of the exceptional writing talent of Ms Erskine. If you are reader who devours all sorts of the paranormal historicals and historical romances this one should be an automatic buy, because this is where is all began. This is not time travel this is reincarnation and no one does it better than Barbara Erskine. Jody Allen, Charter member-RIO Reviewers International Organization

I read this book in 1986 on the advice of a friend and from that time onwards I seek out all of Ms. Erskine's books on a regular basis.

This particular book was real find if you want to become entranced with a modern day independent woman who was made to realize she had lived before many centuries ago in a time when women were sold off in marriages made of convenience for money, power, property. The parallels of the past life haunt the present life of the central character as she "sees" how the three men in her present life draw distinct parallels to the men in her past life. To say anymore would be unfair! READ IT, SAVOR IT, YOU WILL LOVE IT!!

Then follow up reading this book with the book that followed this one,Kingdom of Shadows, which takes place in Scotland.

Lady of Hay makes a promising start. Jo is a young journalist who researches past life regression for a magazine article. As research, she undergoes hypnosis and discovers that she is not only easily hypnotized (so easily that later in the book someone calls and hypnotizes her over the phone!) but in a previous life she was Matilda de Braose, a 12th century Welshwoman. How exciting, I said to myself. This could be very fun. Matilda is a real historical figure. I love historical fiction. I would enjoy the puzzle of matching past lives with present characters, and of course I hoped for romance. But alas...it was not to be.

The first half of the book was great. It keeps up a good pace and intriguing events unfold as Jo and her present life alternate with regressions to Matilda's existence. But by the second half of the book there is no new material and far too much repetition as well inexplicable violence against the main character that simply turned me off to her possible love interests. In the 1st half of the book we learn that 3 men love Jo in both the past and the present and we know who they were in their past lives. We also learn about the end of Matilda's life very early in the story. So where can the author take us from here?

I hoped that some of the modern day characters besides the 3 men would eventually be revealed to have some involvement in the past lives or a more important role in the present. However, they don't. I also expected that that the author might expand on history and offer an explanation for the legend of Matilda building Hay castle in one night. She doesn't. And I was disappointed with the mundane theory about rumors that Matilda was a witch. The explanation: she studied herb lore with her nurse Jeanne and rides horses swiftly, like a man. But perhaps most disappointing of all is the fact that Nick, the man she is in love with in the present was very cruel to her in her past life and not very nice to her in the present and there is no satisfactory explanation of why. Nor did it seem that his behavior was ever an obstacle to their relationship in the present. And what about Sam's behavior? The actions of 2 of Jo's lovers leaves me questioning how much if at all, they really care(d) for her. Richard was the one nice guy and I was hoping he would somehow turn out to be a hero, but when he turns out to be a junkie I think my hopes for a satisfying finale were extinguished.

Maybe the fact that 3 men are supposedly in love with the main character is the romantic attraction of this book. Or is it Jo's suffering that is intended to be attractive? Perhaps I was ultimately disappointed because of the promising start, but my advice is to skip this book.

It's an interesting idea - hypnotically regressed to a former life and forced to relive it - along with your friends - to make up for the mistakes made.

I quite enjoyed this book, but I have to say I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had not recently read Diana Gabaldon's superb 4 book set beginning with Outlander (Cross Stitch in Australia).
These similarly themed (albeit time travel rather than hypnosis) and far far superior novels dampened my enjoyment of the quite well written Barbara Erskine novel.

A comment on Lady of Hay - I found that each time Jo regressed, it took me a little while to work out "where" she was. Often there was a gap of a number of years between the year in one regression and another, even though the regressions occurred within a day or so of each other. I understand that Jo herself did not know "where" she would be until she went back there and 'relived' it, but I'm sure my enjoyment would have been greater if there was some guideline as to the date or year that she was in at the time. Perhaps this could have been done without Jo herself knowing, as a chapter heading or such.

I recommend this book - but read it before the Diana Gabaldon books - AND THEN READ THEM!!!

I bought this book some years ago and must have read it at least 8 times since then. It has also been around the world as everyone in the family has taken it on holiday - all read it within 2 days !! It's the story of Jo Clifford, an investigative journalist who is debunking all the modern myths including reincarnation only to find out when undergoing hypnosis that she has lived before. The story then switches between a love affair being carried out amidst the brutality of 12th Century Wales and the exasperating time Jo is having trying to get over a broken relationship whilst keeping up a successful career in the 20th Century. To add further spice to the story, there were three men who loved the 12th Century Matilda and each has been reincarnated in the 20th Century but who is the handsome Earl of Clare? and who is the arrogant King John?
The story becomes more and more enthralling as Jo discovers more and more about her past life through the regression sessions and the past and present become increasingly entwined until it seems that the tragic events of the past are destined to repeat themselves

This was a very interesting read. At first the story line and plot was slow- but when the action got going ,I could barely put the book down. The attention to geographic and historical detail was wonderful and I enjoyed the setting of the book,as it was so refreshingly written in an un-american flavor.
I take into consideration that this was her first book. Inspite of that- the sex scenes were unrealisticly written and dissapointing. I wish she had been more diverse with her descriptive repotoire.Finally I wish the main character Joe was more multi-dimensional. I got a sense that she was more at the mercey of outside forces rather than being able to take control of her own destiny:A strenth that I did sense from the character: Matilda.
For a first Novel it is a good book- and great read to get immersed in but don't take it too seriously..

I bought and read this book when I was 13 and visited London. At 13 I adored it passionately. At much older than 13, I find it a bit laughable.

First, I agree with several reviewers who object to the "strong, independent" heroine being raped and abused, and finding her "happily ever after" with one (!!!) of her rapists. His excuse was that he was hypnotically regressed to King John at the time. Oh, well, of course.

The historical parts of the book are outstanding, detailed and well-researched, and they win 100% of the three stars that I give this book. Readers of Sharon Kay Penman's _Here Be Dragons_ will find this an excellent companion piece. In fact, if you love medieval Welsh history, I highly recommend getting this book and just flipping the pages whenever the modern characters appear.

The original cover art I have from my British edition reads, "Fascinating, absorbing, and original." The first two are subjective, but as many reviewers have pointed out, it is hardly original; Anya Seton's _Green Darkness_ and Mary Luke's _Nonesuch Lure_ played the same themes at least 20 years before _Lady of Hay_ was published. But it became even less original when Barbara Erksine began searching out abused women in British history and did the same thing over and over again, injecting historically inaccurate feminism along the way. _Lady of Hay_ is definitely the best of her efforts in the past-life regression genre.

It seems that the reviews for this book are all over the map. This is totally understandable to me, as I just finished the book and spent a while sorting my feelings about it out.

That said, I really like this book. I'll tell you why in a moment.

Jo Clifford is nineteen years old and volunteers to be a patient in a hypnosis experiment taking place at her college. While under hypnosis Jo becomes extremely agitated and then, her hands begin to bleed. The professor conducting the experiment is thrilled, he thinks Joanna is showing signs of stigmata, but his assistant Sam Franklyn, is scared. Then, Jo's hearts stops and she nearly dies. Sam manages to bring her back to life. This is the prolog.

Fast forward fifteen years. Jo has recently broken up with Nick, who is Sam's younger brother. She is a freelance journalist and is starting to write a series on nostalgia, one of the articles is about past lives and reincarnation. At this point she has no idea what happened to her all those years in the college experiment because the doctor conducting it gave her a post hypnotic suggestion so she wouldn't remember.

Nick does know, and try's to dissuade her from writing the article, but she is too mad at him for cheating on her to care. So she begins to write the article, and is hypnotized by a doctor she goes to interview.

Immediately Jo is flung back into the past. She is Matilda de Braose, women who is married to a twelve century marcher lord in Wales, but is love with the handsome Richard de Clare. And King (currently Prince) John of Robin Hood fame is in love with her.

As Jo continues her trips to the past via regression it becomes obvious that the three men in Matilda's life, her husband William, her lover Richard and her lord John are all involved in Jo's life as well. The men, Sam, Nick and Tim (a photographer Jo frequently works with) begin to act strangely.

This book was very exciting. The story line is going at a break neck speed until about page four hundred, when it slows down it bit. It does seem like some of it could be cut, but I couldn't tell you what parts.

My only gripes with this book are few. The scenes in the past can be a little boring, the evil man in Jo's life seemed to becomes very evil very fast, and I don't think you can really hypnotize someone over the phone. Also I was a little confused about the scenes where Jo thought she was Matilda talking to her husband but really she was being hypnotized, and something like the conversation she was having never really took place in Matilda's life. (You'll understand that if you read the book.)

Spolier alert!!

Also given everything that happened in the book the ending was a little un realistic. I mean, after having a man rape you in not one but two incarnations it seems like you'd have trouble trusting him again, much less loving him. But the destiny aspect of the book sort of makes it all seem ok (not that its ever acceptable to rape someone, it just sort of explains it) and hey, its fiction.

I give this book a very solid four point five stars and I would definitely try something else by this author.

If you love historical and contemporary fiction as I do, this is the book for you. This particular novel is two stories in one. One, is the story of Lady Mathilda of 12th century Wales. While the other story, parallel to that of Mathilda is about Jo Clifford, reporter. Note the definitive word: "parallel"; because Jo and Mathilda are one and the same person in different incarnations, along with the people with whom they interact in their respective lifetimes.

This book has all the elements of a good story... beautiful visuals of the 12 century Welsh landscape and castles, not to mention murder, suspense, mystery and romance. Another page-turner to be sure.

On the positive side, this was a page-turner. I did read the whole thing, because I wanted to find out what happened to poor Matilda. But please, the male and female roles are so stereotyped! I just wanted to slap the modern heroine for being so stupid as to let these men dominate her life. This is fine for summer beach reading when you have nothing better, but it absolutely is NOT the best book I've ever read.