Why a Booktrail?
1962: A woman goes to work in the Duchon mansion in deepest Louisiana.
This Cursed House
What you need to know before your trail
The Duchon family has always been a little different. Light-skinned enough to pass as white, they’ve always felt superior to their black peers, ensconced in their palatial but decrepit New Orleans mansion.
Meanwhile in Chicago, Jemma Barker is desperate to escape another winter in the freezing cold – and the spirits she has always been able to see.
When Jemma receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family, she can’t say yes soon enough.
But it’s not long before Jemma realises she’s been lured south under false pretences. The Duchon family are trapped in their home by a curse – and they have reason to believe Jemma is the one who can break it.
And what’s more, it turns out Jemma didn’t manage to leave her ghosts behind in Chicago. And the spirits that haunt the Duchon mansion have a message for her.
As she tries to understand how to break the curse, Jemma unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the Duchons and their damning past. Secrets that stretch back beyond the grave. Secrets that tie her to the family’s fate if she fails . . .
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
The Deep South
Somewhere in the heart of Louisiana there is a plantation house called Duchon. This is fictional of course but there are several real plantation houses along the river in Louisiana where you can visit to get a real flavour of this book. Sadly, the setting and time are those where racism and slavery were still rife in the USA and so the plantation houses and owners are a symbol of all that is wrong. The world is brilliantly evoked and the locations are vibrant and clear. Beautiful in some ways if in reality, they weren’t so ugly.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: This Cursed House
Destination/location: Louisiana, New Orleans Author/guide: Del Sandeen Departure Time: 1962
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
