Lantern for the Dark (Eagle Large Print) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Jessica Stirling (Author)

Book Description

Series: Eagle Large Print | Publication Date: May 1993

Clare Kelso has been locked in the Tolbooth, accused of murdering her own infant son. Maverick lawyer Cameron Adams, summoned from Edinburgh to defend the guilty, soon comes to believe that the frail girl who refuses to defend herself could be a murderer's second victim. The key to the truth lies with Frederick Striker. Gambler, seducer, adventurer, he alone can save Clare from the gallows. If he wishes to ...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This absorbing historical romance combines a fine mystery and a revealing social portrait of 18th-century Scotland. Unmarried Clare Kelso awaits trial in Glasgow in 1787 for the death by poison of her 10-month-old son. The baby's father, Frederick Striker, has vanished. Orphaned and poor, Clare had been taken in by wealthy relatives to care for their three young children, and it was through her ambiguous position as servant and family member that she met the charming, roguish Striker, whose reputation as a womanizer only enhanced his appeal. But Striker has a darker side, a fact that his submissive sister and the judge at the trial know well, each for their own reasons. Rising defense attorney Cameron Adams listens to Clare's story about the circumstances of the baby's death with mounting perplexity, and after some keen detective work he is sure that Clare is lying to protect someone. The author of The Asking Price deploys fully realized characters against the background of a greedy and corrupt society operating under a thin veneeer of respectability. This richly detailed morality tale features a taut trial scene and a cache of surprising secrets that will keep readers totally involved.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In late 18th-century Glasgow, Clare Kelso stands trial for the murder of her baby son. Did she do it? The first chapter, a marvelous mood setter, does a fine job of laying out the plot and stimulating readers' curiosity about how Clare got to this point. Unfortunately, discovering whether she is guilty or innocent requires plowing through the puzzling labyrinth of her history, presented as a long flashback. A plethora of stereotypical and buffoonish villains obvious to everyone but Clare, women who think of nothing but how to get the villain in the sack, milquetoast and stupid would-be heroes, and a heroine who is so artless she borders on vacuous make up the unexciting cast of characters. Purchase only where Stirling ( The Welcome Light , St. Martin's, 1991) has a following.
- Bettie Spivey Cormier, Charlotte-Mecklenburg P.L., Charlotte, N.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Chivers North Amer (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792715977
• ISBN-13: 978-0792715979
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,911,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully depicts 18th century life., October 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lantern for the Dark (Audio Cassette)

it was wonderfully written about 18th century life ,and how people lived and worked and developed relationships. The characters are so real, and full of courage. Reading about life in the 18th century makes history come alive without opening a history book. Characters like Clare and Frederick are so sincere and represent everything true about the 18th century.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stirling is a Masterful Story Teller., April 13, 2006

By 

Reviews No More - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lantern for the Dark (Paperback)

If you like historical fiction without wooden characters, lots of beautiful detail, romance and suspense, by all means check out this book! Jessica Stirling hasn't only created a sympathetic and admirable heroine in the young Clare Kelso, but has created other characters just as intriguing and emotive inducing. Set in the late 1700s, Latern for the Dark is a novel that shows Scottland to be both a socially corrupt and also very independent country with as rich a history as Ireland or England.

Clare is in the employ of her cousin Andrew Purves's household as a maid after her mother's death, but because of her blood relation, her social status is elevated by the attentions of a calculating rogue named Frederick Straker, who has tons of enemies. Men are all charmed by her beauty and manners; the ladies, especially other household servants and Andrew's own wife Edwina, are jealous. Soon, though, everything goes wrong after Frederick and Clare become lovers. She is pregnant with his child, and he runs away, refusing to marry her because of his debts, only visiting her and the child when he's sure his enemies won't catch up to him. Then the unthinkable happens; Clare is accused of committing infanticide on her son, and only Frederick's sister Eunice, cousin Andrew, and a young lawyer named Cameron Adams are positive of her innocence.

If you want a great historical book with unexpected twists and turns, check this one out, because Stirling's plot starts out with a slow climb, and then the climax has more momentum than a Sixx Flags roller coaster. I guarantee a great, wild ride. There is no doubt that, when it comes to historical fiction, Jessica Stirling is truly beyond gifted at her craft.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A story that draws you in, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lantern for the Dark (Hardcover)

I almost gave up at about page 60 but I'm very glad I didn't. Once the story goes back in time to tell Clare's story it becomes hard to put down. Stirling pays attention to detail making each character stand out nicely - except for Striker who (perhaps purposely) is not as well fleshed out. The ending has a couple of neat twists, too.