Point Out Of Books Lady of Hay
| Title | : | Lady of Hay |
| Author | : | Barbara Erskine |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 600 pages |
| Published | : | March 13th 2001 by Welcome Rain Publishers (first published 1986) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Science Fiction. Time Travel. Romance. Fantasy. Historical Romance |
Barbara Erskine
Paperback | Pages: 600 pages Rating: 4.05 | 6681 Users | 528 Reviews
Commentary In Pursuance Of Books Lady of Hay
Where I got the book: bought retail. Full price. Seriously, sometimes I do that just for laughs. I read this book back in 1985 when it came out. I was 25. I cannot imagine this. I thought this book was AMAZING back then. I was hoping to recapture the moment... Sigh. You can never go back. Plot: beautiful, talented journalist Jo (STRIKE ONE) appears to have no other purpose than to be hypnotized back into a previous life. Because absolutely EVERYONE she meets can do this. Really? I could count the number of regression hypnotists I've met on one.... hair follicle. Minus one. But when it comes to Jo, NOOOOO everyone can wave a hand and send her back to the Middle Ages, where she's a beautiful, willowy (STRIKE TWO) Lady of Hay called variously Matilda, Matilde, Maud or Moll. If nobody else is around to hypnotize her, Jo self-hypnotizes, boom, back in time before you can reach for the Scotch. And they DO reach for the Scotch, oh yes they do, when they're not reaching for the coffee. In the contemporary parts of the novel intensely-blue-eyed (STRIKE THREE) ex-boyfriend Nick, sinister ex-boyfriend-brother-who-may-or-may-not-have-blue-eyes-but-who-cares? Sam, wimpy wannabe-boyfriend Tim and slightly-slutty-ex-boyfriend's-girlfriend Judy narrow their eyes a lot, drink much Scotch and much coffee, sleep with each other and gaze at each other with intensely blue eyes. (view spoiler)[Most of them are reincarnated, natch. Because it's PERFECTLY NORMAL to find reincarnated royalty/nobility who happen to have cassette tapes of the EXACT SAME flute music from the Middle Ages in London in 1985. (hide spoiler)] But thank heaven for the reincarnations, say I. The Middle Ages plot is the only plot in the novel, the contemporary parts being nothing but the aforesaid Scotch drinkings and eye narrowings, with a bit of driving around foggy damp Welsh hills and the occasional punch-up thrown in. The Middle Ages characters do all sorts of exciting activities, either on horseback or at swordpoint or, I was going to say in bed but the sex is pretty perfunctory, his eyes narrowed and next minute they were smoking a cigarette or drinking a post-coital Scotch kind of thing. Oh no, wait, I was in the Middle Ages so perhaps no Scotch. Damned if I know. This is the anniversary edition, so there's a sequel short story which is over-the-top silly with lots! of! exclamation! points! Interestingly, Erskine seems at times to refute the New Age beliefs which evidently gave rise to this idea that you could simply hypnotize yourself back into the past. Or fly, depending on which drugs you were taking. The 70s were awesome. You know, if you just stuck to the Middle Ages story you'd have a great tale of love, loss, dynastic power-mongering, rogue kings and towering castles. I only felt like screaming every time we landed back in the 1980s. Of course, if you remember the 1980s you'll sympathize with that. Verdict: a novel that is past its prime. A humungous hit in its day, but it doesn't travel well.Present Books As Lady of Hay
| Original Title: | Lady of Hay |
| ISBN: | 1566491606 (ISBN13: 9781566491600) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | John of England, Richard de Clare, Jo Clifford, Matilda of Hay, William de Braose, Tim Heacham, Pete Leveson, Carl Bennet, Ann Clements, Nick Franklyn, Sam Franklyn, Adam de Porter, Margaret de Lacy |
Rating Out Of Books Lady of Hay
Ratings: 4.05 From 6681 Users | 528 ReviewsComment On Out Of Books Lady of Hay
Such a waste of my time on this patronising, mysoginistic and nonsensical book. Dont botherI really struggled to read this. Like many others, I found the historical story, that of Matilda, much more interesting than the current-day events. But the current-day storyline is what really ruined it for me. All of the characters were completely unlikable and downright psychotic.Nike brutally rapes and repeatedly attacks Jo, but he claims to love her. Jo conveniently moves past all that and they end up happily ever after.Why was Sam completely off his rocker? No good explanation is ever
I really struggled to read this. Like many others, I found the historical story, that of Matilda, much more interesting than the current-day events. But the current-day storyline is what really ruined it for me. All of the characters were completely unlikable and downright psychotic.Nike brutally rapes and repeatedly attacks Jo, but he claims to love her. Jo conveniently moves past all that and they end up happily ever after.Why was Sam completely off his rocker? No good explanation is ever
I usually love historical fiction, and time travel books have always been favourites of mine.This book... I don't know if the subject matter is horrendously dated because it was written in the 80s, but it was one of the most hideously offensive, misogynistic books I've ever had the misfortune to read.The lead character (who's such a twit, I could scream) allows one of her love interests to beat, abuse, and rape her with zero consequences whatsoever, and she actually wants to be with him after
I have not rated a book this low in a long time and there is a good reason for this. Some of you may not agree, but as a reader I am entitled to my opinion.Basically, I just didn't connect with any of the characters or their situations. It was way too long, the constant present-past flashbacks gave me whiplash, and the brutality of the men was harsh and cold. The build-up led you believe more would happen, but ended with a disappointing flat finale!It took me 12-13 hours to read (thank you
Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine reminds me of a Michael Bolton song.Have you ever listened to one of his songs before? For those lucky ones that haven't been exposed to his over-wrought, to the point of ridiculous, screaming that passes for singing count yourself lucky!Here's a link to one of his 'hits' for those into aural torture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFood...If you can make it to near the end of this song that's where this outrage comes into its own."Lady of Hay" by Barbara Erskine
I found this to be a very hard book to put down, even though there were things i didn't like about it. I just had to keep reading to find out how it would all end. I had one big problem with it, however. It really bothered me that Prince John was supposedly in love with Matilda. Who needs love like that? That was more about wanting something he couldn't have, lust and ownership, than love. If he had loved her he would not have raped her, so brutally. There was no love in that, only rage. I had
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