Houses of Stone - Softcover

Michaels, Barbara

3.78

2,077 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425143066 ISBN 13: 9780425143063

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S., 1994

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When young professor of English Karen Holloway happens on a privately printed volume of verse dating from the early nineteenth century, it's all in a day's work. But when a battered manuscript bearing the same mysterious attribution, "Ismene, " turns up, Karen realizes that it is an important discovery that could be the making of her academic career. Karen immerses herself in a headlong search for the true identity of the unknown author, tracking the provenance of the manuscript to Virginia's historic Tidewater region. She is not alone in her quest; academic rivals shadow her steps, trying to gain possession of the valuable manuscript, and the locals are more inquisitive about her activities than seems natural. Fortunately, Karen has the help of her eccentric and able mentor, Peggy, whose historical expertise proves to be invaluable. And, as she painstakingly deciphers the crabbed, charred pages, she begins to wonder whether she has the assistance of Ismene herself. Is the tale of Gothic horror that Ismene tells not a novel but a memoir, the very possession of which may jeopardize Karen's life? Ismene's legacy calls out from the past, from an eerie world fraught with terrifying impressions of fire and ice that will not die until the painful truths that inhabit houses of stone are revealed.

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From the Back Cover:

When young English professor Karen Holloway happens upon a battered manuscript bearing the name 'Ismene, ' she realizes that this could be an important discovery. Immersing herself in a headlong search for the true identity of the unknown author, Karen soon realizes that she's not alone in her quest as rivals shadow her steps. Fortunately, she has the help of her eccentric but able mentor, Peggy, whose historical expertise proves invaluable. Large print

About the Author:

Elizabeth Peters (writing as Barbara Michaels) was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Peters was named Grandmaster at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986, Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar(R) Awards in 1998, and given The Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic in 2003. She lives in an historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

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