The Bell House: a sweeping novel of power and compassion from bestselling author Ruth Hamilton - Hardcover

Hamilton, Ruth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593053125 ISBN 13: 9780593053126

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2005

Synopsis

Madeleine Horrocks wanted nothing more than to be famous. Pretty and outspoken, she often alarmed her best friend Amy by expressing doubts - about parents, teachers and, most of all, religion, which according to their strict 1950s Catholic upbringing in Rivington Cross seemed certain, Amy thought, to send them both to Hell. What, after all, was wrong with being a Protestant, Madeleine would ask? Or a Jew? The good-looking boy they both noticed on their way to school was, it was rumoured, Jewish - his family having fled from Poland at the beginning of the war. Father Sheahan, the whiskey-soaked priest from the local church, had discovered that his secret past was catching up with him, and went in fear of his life. Amy, too, had a secret - a secret which caused her to visit the Bell House, an ancient charnel house outside the village. As they grow up, this place of death becomes a meeting place for the friends, who have to learn that differences in religion can cause unexpected heartache.

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Hamilton is the bestselling author of A Whisper to the Living, With Love From Ma Maguire, Nest of Sorrows, Billy London's Girls, Spinning Jenny, The September Starlings, A Crooked Mile, Paradise Lane, The Bells of Scotland Road, The Dream Sellers, The Corner House, Miss Honoria West, Mulligan's Yard, Saturday's Child, Matthew and Son and Chandler's Green. She has become one of the north-west of England's most popular writers. Ruth Hamilton was born in Bolton, which is the setting for many of her novels, and has spent most of her life in Lancashire. She now lives in Liverpool.

From the Inside Flap

Madeleine Horrocks wanted nothing more than to be famous. Pretty and outspoken, she often alarmed her best friend Amy by expressing doubts about parents, teachers and, most of all, religion, which according to their strict 1950s Catholic upbringing in Rivington Cross seemed certain, Amy thought, to send them both to Hell. What, after all, was wrong with being a Protestant? Madeleine would ask. Or a Jew? The good-looking boy they both noticed on their way to school was, it was rumoured, Jewish his family having fled from Holland at the beginning of the war.

Father Sheahan, the whiskey-soaked priest from the local church, had discovered that his secret past was catching up with him, and went in fear of his life. Amy, too, had a secret a secret that caused her to visit the Bell House, an ancient charnel house outside the village. As they grow up, this place of death becomes a meeting place for the friends, who have to learn that differences in religion can cause unexpected heartache.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593053125
• ISBN 13: 9780593053126
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 544