Named of the Dragon [Paperback]

Susanna Kearsley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

This romantic suspense novel revolves around a literary agent who is haunted by nightmares since the loss of her baby. On holiday in a small village, she befriends an eccentric young widow who fears for her son's safety and forms an unlikely alliance with a reclusive, brooding playwright. In the process, she's pulled into an ancient world of haunting legends, where she'll finally uncover the secrets of her dreams.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susanna Kearsley studied politics and international development at university, and has worked as a museum curator.  She is the author of The Shadowy Horses, The Splendour Falls, and Mariana, which won the prestigious Catherine Cookson Literary Prize.  She lives in Ontario.

Product Details

• Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425173453
• ISBN-13: 978-0425173459
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write modern gothic novels that blend historical adventure and modern-day suspense with romance and a touch of something spooky, so they don't fit neatly into any category, really...but they're fun to write!

I live on the north shore of Lake Ontario, east of Toronto, in Canada.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Romance for Anglophiles, March 16, 2002

By 

J. Greene (WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Named of the Dragon (Paperback)

Set in Wales, this modern gothic is long on atmosphere and short on plot. If you can swallow the angle--bad dreams clear up when vaguely Arthurian mystery is solved--you will enjoy a sweet love story and a likeable heroine. Setting it a Christmas is a tad too much, however, as you will see.

The author, who is Canadian, uses a vocabulary that may confuse a few Americans, but is pure nostalgia if you have ever lived in Great Britain. Well written---I will read more of the author's work.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, suspense-filled story set in Wales., July 10, 2000

By 

Brenda "MYSHELFDOTCOM" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Named of the Dragon (Paperback)

Lyn is a literary agent who has been haunted by the death of her baby for a long time. Lyn's friend Bridget writes children books. Bridget is tough, mad about men and loves to create scandals. She invites Lyn to spend Christmas in Wales with her and two other writers, James and Gareth. Bridget has her reasons for inviting Lyn along, but my impression is that a power much stronger than a best selling writer has something to do with her trip. Lyn feeling a trip would do her good accepts Bridget's offer. Once there she meets a neighbor who swears Lyn was sent to be a guardian and a writer who believes she is only there to convince him to sign with her company. Lyn finds herself pulled into a mystery that is beyond her control. Now her dreams are not just disturb by the haunting cries of her own lost baby, but by someone else's child as well. What do they want? Why does she keep seeing people in her dreams that do not exist?

Susanna Kearsley's writing impressed me greatly! The first page captured me immediately; once drawn in I couldn't let go. Although Named the Dragon is a contemporary novel, the historical aspects of Wales, its castles, its myths and its royalty, along with the quotes at the beginning of each chapter by Shakespeare, W.B. Yeats, and Lord Tennyson made the read that much more delightful for me as a historical buff.

Susanna Kearsley's writing has been compared to Barbara Michaels and Mary Stewart. I have to agree - it is that good.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good gothic read, October 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Named of the Dragon (Paperback)

Author Bridget Cooper persuades her literary agent Lyn Ravenshaw to join her on a Christmas vacation in Angle, Wales. Bridget looks forward to spending some time with a famous playwright, whose name she refuses to divulge to Lyn. She wants Lyn to occupy a boy friend, noted writer James Swift. Lyn looks forward to meeting James because she loved his last work "The Leaden Sky" that she thought deserved a Booker.

After they arrive in Angle, Lyn learns that Bridget plans to have a tryst with the renowned recluse Gareth Gwyn Morgan, whose play several years took the world by storm. Gareth rejects the spotlights of the London stage and has not published anything since he was heralded as the greatest. When Gareth and Lyn meet for the first time, no sparks fly. There is only a squabble that occurs whenever they're together. As they see each other, they begin to fall in love. However, neither one can handle a relationship filled with love because their respective hearts are overloaded with guilt from their pasts. Adding to their problems is the continual dream that Lyn suffers involving a mother and a child.

NAMED OF THE DRAGON is a very interesting contemporary romance that centers on protagonists predominantly belonging to the world of literature. The story line is character-driven, which works because the prime players are different in temperament yet add much to the mix. Though the subplot involving Merlin's Prophecy (Lyn's dream) seems distracting at times, it ultimately works its way into the main plot. Susanna Kearsley provides her audience with a complex relationship drama that shows her ability to showcase her cast.

Harriet Klausner