Why a Booktrail?
1800s: The lure of fame. The power of illusion. The danger of obsession
The Unforgetting
What you need to know before your trail
Sold by her father to a ‘Professor of Ghosts’, Lily Bell dreams of a career on the Victorian stage. But Erasmus Salt is promising his audience not mere theatre, but a glimpse of the spirit world. And Lily is to be his ghost.
Obsessed with perfection, Erasmus goes to extreme lengths to ensure his illusion is complete. When Lily finds her own obituary in the paper, and then her own headstone in the cemetery, she realises that she is trapped.
But Erasmus is haunted by more than one betrayal – and as the curtain falls, Lily’s fate is soon to become even darker…
Locations
Reset- England - Kent - Ramsgate
- A: Granville Theatre
- B: Ramsgate Tunnels
- C: Eastcliff Bandstand
- England - London
- D: Green Park
- E: The Strand
Travel Guide
Welcome to the theatre of ghosts….in Victorian London and Ramsgate.
The scene setting here is wonderfully gothic, dark and supernatural:
“The new Tivoli occupied one side of a small, cobbled square in the old town. The elegant columns at the front were chipped and splashed with birdlime, the great double doors padlocked. Salt led his sister and Lily down an alley by the side of the theatre, past an overturned rowing boat, to a stage door. Lily had long dreamed of entering a theatre through the stage door and on crossing the threshold she felt a frisson of excitement, as if she were a bride entering her hew home.”
Booktrailer Review
A novel to transport you to the depths of Victorian London…..
This is a great novel to read at this time of year in particular! Oh to be in Victorian England, or more accurately a ghost of Victorian England.
The setting is the London stage – where Lily Bell wants to be an actress. She dreams of this and nothing else so when her father sells her to someone and tells her she will be working in a theatre, she’s quite intrigued. Selling your daughter was common at the time which is shocking in itself but when you realise who her father is selling her to, it’s even worse!
Erasmus is a professor of ghosts and he wants Lily to become a ghost on his stage. This is method to the extreme – for Lily will have to become a ghost, hidden away, living under the stage and wearing a veil when out in public so no one can see her face….
The professor wants to create the ultimate illusion and Lily is his chosen one. However for Lily to take on this role and fool those who want to believe in the next life, she will have to give up her own….
The writing here is very good, with scene setting a plenty and lots of gloriousness gothic – ness.
There’s themes of female identity, identity in general, the position of women in society and of course death, ghosts and spiritualism. Those Victorians had some strong beliefs!There was also a very dark moment in the novel – which meant that the story went down a path I didn’t expect. It was dark but also very sad and I wished it had been different as it gave the novel an extra darkness I didn’t feel it needed. The ghost storyline and everything that that entailed was more than enough. It does tell more of Lily’s story though so although vital to the plot in many ways, I loved the ghostly side of things much more.
Doesn’t stop me recommending it though!
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Unforgetting
Destination/location: London, Ramsgate Author/guide: Rose Black Departure Time: 1800s
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