Historical fiction meets science fiction and the paranormal in this gripping tale set in the Lake District. Cynthia lives in a lakeside parish in Cumbria under the watchful eye of her brother, George, the local minister. None there suspect her blemished past, nor the sinful sexuality she struggles to suppress and the carnal longings it inspires. Yet what of the ghostly scar-faced boy who starts to appear to her, and what of the strange lights that manifest over Blaswater? What of Mr Sales – one of a group of astronomers come to study the lights – who disappears, presumed drowned, only to be found wandering naked days later with a fanciful tale of being ‘hopped’ into the sky and held within a peculiar brass-walled room? What of Eliza – respectable, married with children – who sets Cynthia’s heart so aflutter? What can any of these things mean for Cynthia, for her perception of herself and her place in the world?
Author
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information. Adam Roberts (born 1965) is an academic, critic and novelist. He also writes parodies under the pseudonyms of A.R.R.R. Roberts, A3R Roberts and Don Brine. He also blogs at The Valve, a group blog devoted to literature and cultural studies. He has a degree in English from the University of Aberdeen and a PhD from Cambridge University on Robert Browning and the Classics. He teaches English literature and creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Adam Roberts has been nominated twice for the Arthur C. Clarke Award: in 2001, for his debut novel, Salt, and in 2007, for Gradisil.
