A Skinful of Shadows

By Frances Hardinge

Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year 2017.

'A Skinful of Shadows confirms Hardinge's status as one of our finest storytellers. It's rare to find a book which is every bit as intelligent and stylish as it is riveting - I was enthralled' - Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent.

Frances Hardinge weaves a dark, otherworldly tale in A Skinful of Shadows, her first book since the Costa Award-winning The Lie Tree.

When a creature dies, its spirit can go looking for somewhere to hide.

Some people have space inside them, perfect for hiding.

Makepeace, a courageous girl with a mysterious past, defends herself nightly from the ghosts which try to possess her. Then a dreadful event causes her to drop her guard for a moment.

And now there's a ghost inside her.

The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, but it may be her only defence in a time of dark suspicion and fear. As the English Civil War erupts, Makepeace must decide which is worse: possession – or death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Sep 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781509835515

Frances Hardinge

Frances Hardinge spent a large part of her childhood in a huge old house that inspired her to write strange stories from an early age. She read English at Oxford University, then got a job at a software company. However, a few years later a persistent friend finally managed to bully Frances into sending a few chapters of Fly By Night, her first children's novel, to a publisher. Macmillan made her an immediate offer. The book went on to publish to huge critical acclaim and win the Branford Boase First Novel Award. She has since written many highly acclaimed children's novels including, Fly By Night's sequel, Twilight Robbery, as well as the Carnegie shortlisted Cuckoo Song and the Costa Book of the Year winner, The Lie Tree.

Reviews for A Skinful of Shadows

[schant-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another excellent adventure - creepy, unsettling, yet filled with down-to-earth details of life in the English Civil War.

[jlslipak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of a bear-hearted girl . . .Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide.Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding.Twelve-year-old Makepeace has learned to defend herself from the ghosts which try to possess her in the night, desperate for refuge, but one day a dreadful event causes her to drop her guard.And now there’s a spirit inside her.The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, and it may be her only defence when she is sent to live with her father’s rich and powerful ancestors. There is talk of civil war, and they need people like her to protect their dark and terrible family secret.But as she plans her escape and heads out into a country torn apart by war, Makepeace must decide which is worse: possession – or death.”MY THOUGHTS:I was sent this book in exchange for my honest review.Is it just me or should this book have actually been two separate stories? I loved the premise of this book and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. However, we seemed to move from a paranormal story to a historical fiction at times.The setting, is richly created and helps to focus on the Protagonist’s predicament. I love the idea of focusing on servitude and its importance to an Aristotle household. I also love how it helps show the Protagonist as a strong, necessary character to the story and the dynamics of the family she works for.The Protagonist is developed beautifully; pace is strong and pushes forward with lots of plot twists and turns; the author’s voice is unique and creative, the story flows perfectly.The author’s writing style had me from the beginning. I love the whole concept and will give the author the benefit of doubt since it ends abruptly and strangely. I love this author’s style and have read and will leave my review for “The Lie Tree” soon. She is the master of writing creepy without gore and I love this style of writing.I recommend this book to everyone and suggest you read “The Lie Tree” when you get a chance!

[soraki_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The powerful Felmotte family has a secret. A few members of the family in each generation have the ability to host the ghosts of their ancestors. In this way, the Felmotte ancestors can live on in the bodies of their descendents, while the descendent hosts gain the wisdom, knowledge, and talents of the ghosts. But placing too many ghosts into one body crushes the living soul, leaving the ghosts in possession of the body. However, the number of Felmotte ancestors greatly outnumber the living Felmottes who have inherited the family ability. Makepeace is a kitchen girl and an illegitimate daughter of the Felmotte family. When the current Lord Felmotte falls ill and lies close to death, she discovers the family's plan for her body and also the fact that her brother has already been possessed by seven or eight ancestors. Makepeace escapes Felmotte Castle and flees across the war-torn countryside as civil war rages between the king and Parliament.Makepeace needs to find a way to rescue her brother, evict the ghosts possessing his body, and bring down the Felmotte family before they capture her.

[bibliovermis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've yet to find a Frances Hardinge book I did not enjoy. She's really a masterful writer. This one was creepy, upsetting, thoughtful, and uplifting.

[sammusher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Deeply creepy and inventive. Hardinge is one of the most original authors writing genre fiction for young people.

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Makepeace is an illegitimate child in a Puritan village at the outbreak of the English Civil War—barely tolerated, as long as she’s quiet and helpful to her aunt’s children. She’s also subject to nightmares and forced to stay all night in graveyards, as her mother’s way of training her for strength against ghosts. When her mother dies in a riot, she’s sent to her father’s people, and discovers that ghosts are indeed very real, and her father’s family is, in the main, evil. It’s a great story, about the dangers of trusting and of not trusting, and about the contribution one clever girl can make, especially when no one thinks very much of her.

[shellypya · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In the 1640s during the English Civil War, the twelve-year-old illegitimate daughter of an aristocratic family shares their unique hereditary gift: the capacity to be possessed by ghosts.

[myopicbookworm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My third book from this author. I am beginning to worry that she will not be able to write enough of these amazing books to satisfy my reading requirements. Why not set a fantasy adventure during the English Civil War, involving an occult form of multiple personality, plus a helping of beast-transformation? Hardinge has the diligence to research a historical period, the imagination to perceive what it might have been like, and the verbal skill to convey it to the reader, while simultaneously coming up with a fantastic idea and spinning a gripping adventure story out of it. There are things here that I have seen before -- another resourceful young female protagonist, who has a talent for staying unobserved, and exploiting the self-interest of more knowledgeable or powerful adult figures -- but it still works. MB 07-09-2021