by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Genre: Gothic/YA
Rating: 4/5
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This is a 1958 gothic novel I found re-packaged in the 80's as "Magic Quest #16." I picked it up in a used book store because I liked the cover and it promised ghosts and romance. It has since been repackaged again as a YA book, and I am impressed to find it still in print.
From the first few pages I knew this was a classic Gothic novel. In present-day (1958) Peggy is orphaned and sent to live with an unknown relative in a big 18th century house in New York called Rest-and-be-thankful. (I thought I would die at the name of this house and is probably the best part of the whole book.)
Peggy meets the ghost of a long-lost relative and an English student studying the Revolutionary war. From there Peggy's story frames the tale of British soldier Peaceable Sherwood, told to her through the ghosts of her family, while she is ignored by her uncle and pursued by Pat, the aforementioned student.
It's a very simple tale, and very much full of common Gothic tropes, but it's enjoyable from beginning to end (partially because of the tropes). I'm very disappointed to discover that the author only wrote one other book and passed away years ago. I very much suggest picking up this little read (the version I have clocked in at 180 pages--I'm not sure if it was shortened for this series, as the current printing is 256 pages). It was fun, well-written, and if it's a little predictable, I didn't care one bit.
