The Room in the Attic: The TOP 5 bestselling novel from Louise Douglas

A fantastic storyline. I enjoyed every page and completed the book in 3 days A story full of love loss murder and greed and a bit of time travel Extremely well written I loved all the characters storyline was great. I highly recommend

This is a horror/mystery story about a haunting in an old building used in 1993 as an independent school, but which was an asylum in 1903. A young girl Harriet and her presumed mother are washed ashore in a small boat, severely injured but still alive. The young girl is looked after by an elderly nurse in the attic of the asylum, while the mother is looked after by expensive doctors in much more luxurious accommodation. But as time goes on, a new truth emerges about the relationship between Harriet and her presumed mother, and the links between the events of 1903 and those involving two schoolboys in 1993 start to intermesh and the boundaries blur. Without giving away any spoilers, there is a tragic ending to the main story - but then a twist involving time travel and rewriting history, which much though I love these concepts, I found rather a let down as I feel a novel like should somehow end tragically and not be rewritten. A good read, though.

A Room In The Attic I began reading this book with great expectations as Louise Douglas is one of my favourite authors. And this gripping schoolboy yarn with its surreal turn-of-the-century melodrama didn’t disappoint. Dickensian descriptions juxtaposition with contemporary conversations, it is a mysterious, gothic ghost story spanning time and settings. There is the asylum on Dartmoor converted to an austere boarding school - a bleak house which is ‘home’ to some lost souls. A needy little girl with memory loss and a misunderstood teenaged boy with big ears with 90 years separating their stories. I sense not the friendships of Tom Brown’s schooldays but more Nicholas Nickleby with some Brontë influences and a tabloid exposé thrown in as the characters through the century are linked. The creaking rocking chair, the feminist writer confined to a mad house by disapproving parents this is psychological whodunnit through the ages. It is descriptive, especially of physical appearances and of the cold comfort surroundings, as it interweaves the past and the present which is in first person narrative. And the ghostly guidance of a dead mother appears in italics. But there are some warm, lasting friendships made. As I neared the end of the 400-pages my anticipation was mounting, who would need rescuing, will goodness prevail, will it have a happy ending, the possibilities seem endless. It was impossible to second guess where it was going as each alternating past and present chapter revealed in bite size portions another piece of the jigsaw. It reminded me in parts of the French Lieutenant’s Woman - what was truth and what was just my imagination or rather that of the writer. Thoroughly enjoyable couldn’t put it down.

Since lockdown I haven’t managed to finish a single book, no idea why, just can’t get into anything. Until this book! I couldn’t put it down. A ghost story between two different times, 90 years apart. A mystery of a woman and child found half alive in a boat. They’re taken to an asylum on Dartmoor and nursed back to health but no one knows who they are or where they came from or how they ended up close to death in the boat. Nurse Everdeen who cares for the child tries to solve the mystery. In the future, 1993, a 14 year old boy called Lewis is sent to a boarding school, the same building that was once the asylum, and has some strange and scary ghostly experiences. He and his room mate Isak try and find out more about the history of the building. The story evolves to link the two separate times together and this makes for a very interesting and engaging read. The book is well written and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It is slightly contrived but I didn’t mind that, all the lose ends were tied up at the end, which I like, can’t stand being left wondering what happened to someone or what might have happened etc. So yes I would definitely recommend this book!

You can skip the first 100 pages and summarised them as a rocking chair guess where? Then picks up pace and it makes a good read but nothing that has not been written before with a twist. Well written and easy read. If you have read lots of books and you are doubting between two books, then read the other one first and then come back to this one if you have nothing else. In no way is a bad book, maybe 3 stars is a bit harsh but I was expecting more.

I like ghost stories that aren't too frightening. This is just right. Lots of creepiness but no outright horror. It is well written with chapters alternating between the past (1900s) when a young girl ends up in an asylum after being found at death's door and more recent events (1990s) where Lewis is sent to the same asylum but now it is an all boys boarding school. I read the book pretty much in one sitting, as the story just bowls you along. I'm still confused about one bit and a book club would be handy to hear what other readers thought. I'll just have to wait until someone I know reads the book. It didn't spoil the story just left me with questions. Hence the 4 rather than the 5 ☆. Definitely recommend. 👍

Really enjoyable read. It makes you think about life and things that can be changed but how and what makes the changes?

I had difficulty getting started on this book, but it slowly reeled me in to its web of intrigue. Fascinating story - what an incredible mind the writer has, to seamlessly weave together the past and present, changing the sad fate of one of its characters to a heroic one. Thank you, Louise Douglas

This story invites you to two spaces, one is an attic room in an asylum in 1903 in where a young girl who were retrieved from a wrecked boat and an elder woman who was ordered to take care of her are, another is a tiny room below the attic in a boarding school in 1993 in where two lost souls are. They hear creaks from the attic above after the school is covered with darkness and quietness, though nobody is in the attic. You read this story with mysterious feelings like you are in a rift between consciousness and subconsciousness. Although expressions this author made are not easy for readers whose first language is not English, it is worth reading with dictionary tapped frequently.

Das Buch ist eine Empfehlung wert. Ich konnte es kaum weglegen, weil es so spannend war.

Amazingly run the story between present and past, the he presented the story simply superb and created so much enthusiasm and eagerness until the story finished.

Not sure why everyone was disappointed by the ending. I thought it fit very well with the way the story was developed. It was, if anything, a bit too tidy - but that reminded me of Dickens ... and I like Dickens. The emotional lives of the various characters were very authentic, and I was entirely absorbed by the story. The suitably spooky setting was nevertheless entirely real. I will look for more by this author