The Asylum: A Novel

John Harwood

May 2013 · Sold by HMH

About this ebook

In this “deliciously spooky” Victorian Gothic, a woman’s past could be the death of her—if she can remember it (The New York Times Book Review).
 
Confused and disoriented, Georgina Ferrars awakens in a small room in Tregannon House, a remote asylum in England, with no memory of the past few weeks. The doctor, Maynard Straker, tells her that she admitted herself under the name Lucy Ashton, then suffered a seizure. When she insists he has mistaken her for someone else, Dr. Straker sends a telegram to her uncle. The reply is chilling: Georgina Ferrars is safe at home with him in London.
 
Suddenly her voluntary confinement becomes involuntary. Who is the woman in her uncle’s house? Which woman is the imposter? From a cliffside cottage on the Isle of Wight to the secret passages of the asylum, the perilous quest for answers draws Georgina only deeper into a web of hidden family ties on which her survival, and her sanity, depend.
 
“Redolent with a sense of foreboding . . . A splendid read!” —Historical Novel Society, Editors’ Choice
 
“Readers are guaranteed a thoroughly diverting time in Harwood’s not-to-be-trusted hands.” —The Independent
 
“Harwood, master of creeping Victorian horror, does it again. . . . Twisted in every sense of the word.” —Booklist

Ratings and reviews

The narrative winds and twists through the mind of the main character taking the reader on a psychological roller coaster of thoughts and events, both imagined and real. In the end, the plot does not disappoint. A satisfying read.

great read, a real page Turner

About the author

John Harwood is the author of two previous novels of Victorian Gothic suspense. Aside from fiction, his published work includes biography, poetry, political journalism, and literary history. His acclaimed first novel, The Ghost Writer, won the International Horror Guild's First Novel Award. He lives in Hobart, Australia.