“There is much to enjoy in this sumptuous novel.”–Sunday Mirror “My name is Mary Seymour and I am the daughter of one queen and the niece of another.” Browsing an antiques shop in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait–identified as the doomed Tudor queen, Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better. The subject is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr, who was … Katherine Parr, who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 and presumed dead after going missing as a child. And Alison knows this because she, too, lived at Wolf Hall and knew Mary…more than four hundred years ago.
The painting of Mary is more than just a beautiful object for Alison–it holds the key to her past life, the unlocking of the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance and how Alison can get back to her own time. To when she and Mary were childhood enemies yet shared a pact that now, finally, must be fulfilled, no matter the cost.
Bestselling author of House of Shadows Nicola Cornick offers a provocative alternate history of rivals, secrets and danger, set in a time when a woman’s destiny was determined by the politics of men and luck of birth. A spellbinding tale for fans of Kate Morton, Philippa Gregory and Barbara Erskine.
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Wow, this book pulls you in from the first page. I love historical fiction with multiple time lines and a mystery to solve. Nicola Cornick is one of my favorite authors. Great characters and I felt immersed in the time period. Could not put this one down. Highly recommend and 5 stars.
Brilliant historical time slip (Tudor and present day) with a supernatural element.
This was the first book I’d read by this author but I literally couldn’t put it down once I’d started it. The characters stay with you after it’s finished. The historical aspects were really interesting and so descriptive. I was totally enthralled with the storyline past and present. This was just a beautiful book and I didn’t want to finish it
What really sold me on this story is that instead of a present day character traveling back to the past, we get a character from the past traveling to our present day. With this fascinating premise, we meet Alison Bannister who has been searching for a way to return to the 1550s and save her infant son Arthur ever since she emerged through a door to the present. The years passed but Alison has not given up on hope. When she finds an old portrait of her cousin Mary Seymour, she’s one step closer to figuring out how to return home. But at the same time, the portrait draws her back into the orbit of her ex-boyfriend Adam who believes the portrait is of Anne Boleyn. She can’t be fully honest with him about what she knows and she needs his help to investigate. The story spills out from there and it kept me absolutely enthralled. Gorgeous prose and impeccable plotting, backed up by excellent research. A thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read!
Last year, I read another novel by Nicola Cornick and found myself eager to try The Phantom Tree when I saw it listed on NetGalley. I was awarded the book about a month ago and scheduled it for this week. If you’ve never read something from Cornick, think of it as a combination of historical fiction, fantasy, romance and mystery. All four elements are usually incorporated into her style and provide a very intense and sometimes Gothic read. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from her.
This story takes place in two different time periods in the UK — the mid 16th century and modern times. In modern times, a ~30ish woman named Alison has re-connected with a former boyfriend who has announced a discovery that he’s found a portrait of Anne Boleyn, a rarity. Alison knows this is really a painting of Mary Seymour, the daughter of Queen Katherine Parr (Henry VIII’s last wife) and her second husband. But how does she know? And will she and Adam reunite or will the reasons they separated a decade ago still keep them apart? In the 16th century, Mary and her cousin are teenage girls dealing with the potential of forced marriages and interested lovers. One becomes pregnant. Another seems destined to be a witch. But then something odd happens, the girls are separated, and the child is lost seemingly forever. How are the stories connected? Who’s related to whom in the current day? It’s quite a fantastical story, but one I really adored.
My favorite aspects of Cornick’s novels are her writing style. Pages will describe a scene or a setting and you are immediately transported there. It’s lyrical and haunting at the same time. Occasionally it can be a lot to handle (I’m often a plot guy), but it’s breathtaking to just read a few paragraphs from time to time. You’ll know how writers live in their heads coming up with something so detailed they can’t help but want to share it with their readers.
I also really connect with the historical truths in the books. Mary Seymour was thought to have died quite young and disappeared, but some feel she actually survived. Cornick takes that notion and runs with it in this book, and while parts are fabricated, it’s woven in such an endearing way, you like the fictional components. It draws you in and gives you a fair balance of story and facts. That’s the kind of read I enjoy!
4.5 STARS FOR ME
I love reading time travel, historical fiction with a touch of mystery and some romance
Nicola Cornick has combined all of the above to tell the story of Mary Seymour and what did happen to her so many years ago.
This is my first book by this author and it wont be me last.
It was well written, good and not so good characters and you felt like you were right there in the room with them.
As noted, if you are a fan of Barbara Erskine you will love this book
So this was one that initially drew me in by being described as for fans of Barbara Erskine and I have to say I agree completely.
I myself have been a huge fan of that particular author for many years; in fact, she’s an auto-buy for me and “The Phantom Tree” I found was in a very similar vein, combining the past and present just so effortlessly.
What I loved about this the most was the rich factual history that was interwoven amongst the fiction.
It’s almost a history lesson within a story that’s been brought to vivid life before my very eyes. Managing to capture but also retain my initial attention just so effortlessly.
A timeslip story which manages to combine elements of history, Romance and suspense all parcelled up so nicely into one enticing little bundle.
“The Phantom Tree,” tells the story of the very real historical character of Mary Seymour and her distant cousin Alison.
Rivals, as well as unlikely allies these two young girls, mature together under the roof of the real-life Wolf Hall of 1557.
Due to circumstances forced upon both girls there paths separate following such different directions, one to a whole new home as a companion and poor relation, the other escaping through a doorway to the future.
Promises made but unable to deliver this story starts to unfold both then and now its repercussions managing to echo down through the coming centuries affecting all around.
Past and present combining so splendidly together at its very heart this is a tale of love. loss and redemption one I really can’t recommend enough.
I really didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I actually did, this is one book that certainly snuck up on me catching me completely unawares.
Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of “The Phantom Tree” of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm.
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This book should not work. You have people slipping out in and out of time as easily as opening a door, with none of the shock or jangling discord one might experience upon arriving in an alien world. Others speak telepathically and have visions. There are enough sighing heroines, wicked relatives, and star-crossed lovers to star in a fairy tale musical. Add to that shocking murders, bitter rivalries, some magic and general skullduggery and this book should come across as patently ridiculous.
It doesn’t. It is absolutely captivating, and believable. Alison Bannestre (Bannister) leaves Mary Seymour behind to leap into the future, charging Mary with the task of finding her illegitmate son. As Alison tries to discover the clues Mary leaves her, and make a place for her son, Mary tries to discover where he went and leave word for Alison to find in the future. Both women grow up, fall in love, and struggle with the challenges of their time. And both have unexpected ends to their stories.
Told in the dual voices of Mary and Alison, the story moves back and forth between the 1500s and the present day as Mary tries to cope with the burden of being a penniless woman, dependent on distant cousins of dubious charity and Alison creates a life as a modern business woman. After meeting as children and instantly disliking each other, the two form an undeniable bond of love and family across the centuries. Each are determined to find out what happened to the other, as well as the fate of Alison’s son, and in the process they both fall in love. They both find what they are looking for, but not in the ways one might expect.
There are so many layers to this story. It is more than an historical “What if” concerning the very real historical person, Mary Seymour. It is a scathing condemnation of the treatment of women during the Tudor period. It is a portrait of feminine strength when dealing with difficult men and the very few choices allowed women half a Millenia ago, and the way those choices can make women cruel or kind. It is a love story, a mystery, a genre-defying story with touches of magic and metaphysics. It is utterly charming, and will delight readers of historical fiction and romance alike.
Well done, Ms. Cornick. I haven’t been this delighted by story in quite some time. I hope other readers will add this to their list of wanted books. It is worth moving to the top of the queue!
One has to entertain time travel to enjoy this book. It was a wonderful blending of old and new.
It was an emotional roller-coaster, I would highly recommend The Phantom Tree to book fans looking for a good time travel novel that balances mystery, romance and drama. Note that the story started out slow but about 90-100pages into it I found myself devouring the pages.
A time-slip Tudor mystery with healthy dashes of romance kept me turning the pages. Really enjoyed this one!
3.5 Stars
This is the first book that I have read by Cornick, but it certainly will not be my last! I am really torn on my rating for The Phantom Tree because, on one hand, I really enjoyed the story. But on the other hand, there were a few things that just kept bothering me throughout the entire story.
Let’s start with the not so positive, shall we?
First off, I have no issue with time travel books. I am willing to suspend belief and thoroughly enjoy the story. I have read a few other time travel centric books and the fantasy element is a non-issue.
Where Phantom Tree fell flat for me was that there wasn’t any explanation of HOW Alison was able to time travel. We are told she traveled to and from the present a few times, but then gets stuck in the future. But how was she able to time travel? Where is the secret door? The magic cupboard? I mean, why not The Phantom Tree? It’s right there for the taking. No matter how much I was enjoying the story, this kept niggling in my brain and I kept thinking “when are we going to find out how this happened?”
Additionally, as I mentioned, we are told that she time traveled a few times before getting stuck. I really kept hoping that in the “past” storyline, we would have seen how Alison discovered she could time travel and how many times she did it before she got stuck in the future. It was all very glossed over and she was in the past one minute and then boom, she is in the future. Even her departure from the past was all very vague, and to me, this is a huge plot point. If you are telling a time travel story, how it happens is a huge part story.
Eventually, in the very end of the book, we do find out how she did it. But it was too little too late. And even then, it really wasn’t explained very well.
Now, if you have made it this far in my review, you might be thinking that I hated this book, and you could not be more wrong. I actually really, really enjoyed this book! I really liked Cornick’s writing style and the actual plot was a really well told story. I was hooked from the beginning. I will admit, that I enjoyed the “past” storyline much more than the “present”, but the story was woven together very nicely.
With all of this being said, I think I am going to settle on 3.5 stars. The story was interesting and I enjoyed it, but there were too many loose ends for me give this a higher rating. I would highly recommend this books to historical fiction lovers and fantasy fiction lovers alike.
Thank you to Harlequin – Graydon House Books for my copy of this book via NetGalley