Jane-Emily by Patricia Clapp was first published in 1969. I read it as a pre-teen and loved it so much that when I grew up, I bought a reflecting ball for my own garden. So far, I've only seen my own face staring out at me from it, but one can always hope.
The blurb from the back of the book: "Emily was a selfish, willful, hateful child who died before her thirteenth birthday. But that was a long time ago.
Jane is nine years old and an orphan when she and her young Aunt Louisa come to spend the summer at Jane's grandmother's house, a large, mysterious mansion in Massachusetts. Then one day Jane stares into a reflecting ball in the garden—and the face that looks back at her is not her own.
Many years earlier, a child [Emily] of rage and malevolence lived in this place. And she never left. Now Emily has dark plans for little Jane—a blood-chilling purpose that Louisa, just a girl herself, must battle with all her heart, soul, and spirit . . . or she will lose her innocent, helpless niece forever."
Patricia Clapp writes a hair-raising scary story that includes romance, a Gothic feel, and suspense. This book was out of print for a while, and I am glad to see it back in print even though the cover and the title have changed a bit. My old copy sold for 95 cents and looks like this:
The new edition looks like this: They added "and Witches Children" to the title. I'm not sure if anything inside has changed, but if you like scary stories, this one is worth reading.
Have you read Jane-Emily? Did you like it?
Never read the book but sounds perfect for Halloween, I now need to go find a copy. TFS!
ReplyDeleteBoth Barnes and Noble and Amazon carry it.
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