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hayleysbooks13's review against another edition
4.0
‘Then she said, ‘How much of a woman’s life, do you think, is spent being buried alive?’ She looked up at the bars laid over her window.’
The Crow Garden was intriguing from the outset, with lots of twists and turns and beautifully described scenery. In large chunks of the book, you have no idea what’s real, which makes the ending all the more interesting. Some plot lines can be guessed throughout, but there are so many parts to the story, there is a surprise in there for everyone.
I loved the association with Victorian-era asylums. I’m currently also reading a psychology book, The Madness of Prince Hamlet, and the two books crossed over sometimes, even though the psychology book is non-fiction, unlike The Crow Garden which is a historical fiction. Some of the ‘cures’ in The Crow Garden are what ‘hysteric’ people had to actually go through; including mesmerism, cold water therapy and phrenology. The real history throughout the book, made it all the more interesting for me.
The book is laced with diary entries and case notes for the patients, which I really enjoyed. It is really well written and I definitely recommend if you want a different, slightly confusing, historical drama.
4/5
‘And I saw the Crow Garden, each of it’s mounds hiding some poor unfortunate, each with a black crow perched at its head: a murder of crows.’
The Crow Garden was intriguing from the outset, with lots of twists and turns and beautifully described scenery. In large chunks of the book, you have no idea what’s real, which makes the ending all the more interesting. Some plot lines can be guessed throughout, but there are so many parts to the story, there is a surprise in there for everyone.
I loved the association with Victorian-era asylums. I’m currently also reading a psychology book, The Madness of Prince Hamlet, and the two books crossed over sometimes, even though the psychology book is non-fiction, unlike The Crow Garden which is a historical fiction. Some of the ‘cures’ in The Crow Garden are what ‘hysteric’ people had to actually go through; including mesmerism, cold water therapy and phrenology. The real history throughout the book, made it all the more interesting for me.
The book is laced with diary entries and case notes for the patients, which I really enjoyed. It is really well written and I definitely recommend if you want a different, slightly confusing, historical drama.
4/5
‘And I saw the Crow Garden, each of it’s mounds hiding some poor unfortunate, each with a black crow perched at its head: a murder of crows.’
outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
1.0
Nathaniel Kerner arrives to take up a position as an alienist - doctor to the unfortunate at Crakethorne Asylum. He soon becomes entranced by a patient, Mrs Victoria Adelina Harleston, who is at the asylum because she tried to run away from her husband. When Mrs Harleston then accuses her husband of a terrible crime, Kerner knows he has to help her.
I'm still not sure what I just read. For the first half of the book it was shaping up to be an interesting gothic historical fiction with some supernatural elements, but it all went pear-shaped. The main character spent most of his time mooning around after Mrs Harleston, & interesting aspects, such as the murder Mrs Harleston accused her husband of, ultimately went nowhere, & led to the strangest conclusion I have ever read. It is a shame as it could have been so good.
I'm still not sure what I just read. For the first half of the book it was shaping up to be an interesting gothic historical fiction with some supernatural elements, but it all went pear-shaped. The main character spent most of his time mooning around after Mrs Harleston, & interesting aspects, such as the murder Mrs Harleston accused her husband of, ultimately went nowhere, & led to the strangest conclusion I have ever read. It is a shame as it could have been so good.
cjade177's review
1.0
I like the atmosphere and the artful language used in this book, but it was very heavy going and didn't seem to go anywhere by the end. Looked more promising than I found it to be, unfortunately.
jventer's review
3.0
A slow descent into gothic madness. The reader never really trusta what's real and what's not.
joecam79's review against another edition
4.0
4.5*
Following the folklore-soaked mystery “[b:The Hidden People|30052003|The Hidden People|Alison Littlewood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461876563s/30052003.jpg|50461044]”, Alison Littlewood returns to the Victorian era with her latest book, “The Crow Garden”. The novel’s narrator is Nathaniel Kerner, a young “alienist” or “mad-doctor”, who has found a placing as under-physician at Crakethorne Manor, a remote asylum in desolate, rural Yorkshire. The son of a doctor, Kerner has his demons to exorcise – he still feels guilty about having, when still a boy, indirectly encouraged his father’s suicide. This gives him the incentive to prove himself as a “progressive” physician, a proponent of a more humane approach to the treatment of psychological problems. The asylum director, Doctor Chettle, is not too keen about Kerner’s methods, preferring his own phrenological theories and experiments with electric shock treatments. Yet, he gives Kerner a free hand with their latest patient, the “hysterical” Mrs Victoria Harleston, who has been admitted at the behest of her husband. Harleston claims that she is haunted by the ghost of her husband’s son, and that she has the gift of conversing with the dead. After initial sessions with the patient leave little effect, Kerner invites a “mesmerist” in the hope of curing Harleston. The session, however, has unexpected consequences, leaving Kerner in doubt as to whether Harleston is really mad or whether there might be some truth in her allegations and imaginings.
The novel shifts between the mists of Yorkshire and the thick, industrial fog of London; between the oppressive ambience of the mental asylum and the creepy goings-on of the City’s “spiritualist” circles. These settings are well researched and, apart from building a chilling atmosphere, they also give us an authentic snapshot of 19th Century life. The Victorian era however does not merely provide a backdrop to the plot. On the contrary, I felt that the novel is itself a tribute to the popular novels of the time, particularly those of a Gothic, supernatural bent. The narrative voice and dialogue are perfectly pitched – they could have come out of Dickens or, better still, Wilkie Collins. There are also plenty of Gothic tropes – ghostly manifestations, noctural perambulations in grimy streets, madness, obsession and (with more than a nod to “[b:The Woman in White|5890|The Woman in White|Wilkie Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1295661017s/5890.jpg|1303710]”) the wife placed in an asylum against her will. And as with the best supernatural fiction, there is that constant niggling doubt as to whether the allegedly otherworldly manifestations are all a product of the mind.
Some of Wilkie Collins’s works had a radical (for their time), proto-feminist message. I feel that Littlewood cannily taps into this vein, giving her Victorian novel a more contemporary flavour and going beyond mere pastiche. Her subject-matter and approach – making the 19th Century relevant and appealing to contemporary readers – reminded me of Sarah Waters’s brilliant early novels “[b:Fingersmith|8913370|Fingersmith|Sarah Waters|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348622459s/8913370.jpg|1014113]” and “[b:Affinity|25337939|Affinity|Sarah Waters|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428720323s/25337939.jpg|1413038]”. “The Crow Garden” certainly deserves to share a shelf with them.
Following the folklore-soaked mystery “[b:The Hidden People|30052003|The Hidden People|Alison Littlewood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461876563s/30052003.jpg|50461044]”, Alison Littlewood returns to the Victorian era with her latest book, “The Crow Garden”. The novel’s narrator is Nathaniel Kerner, a young “alienist” or “mad-doctor”, who has found a placing as under-physician at Crakethorne Manor, a remote asylum in desolate, rural Yorkshire. The son of a doctor, Kerner has his demons to exorcise – he still feels guilty about having, when still a boy, indirectly encouraged his father’s suicide. This gives him the incentive to prove himself as a “progressive” physician, a proponent of a more humane approach to the treatment of psychological problems. The asylum director, Doctor Chettle, is not too keen about Kerner’s methods, preferring his own phrenological theories and experiments with electric shock treatments. Yet, he gives Kerner a free hand with their latest patient, the “hysterical” Mrs Victoria Harleston, who has been admitted at the behest of her husband. Harleston claims that she is haunted by the ghost of her husband’s son, and that she has the gift of conversing with the dead. After initial sessions with the patient leave little effect, Kerner invites a “mesmerist” in the hope of curing Harleston. The session, however, has unexpected consequences, leaving Kerner in doubt as to whether Harleston is really mad or whether there might be some truth in her allegations and imaginings.
The novel shifts between the mists of Yorkshire and the thick, industrial fog of London; between the oppressive ambience of the mental asylum and the creepy goings-on of the City’s “spiritualist” circles. These settings are well researched and, apart from building a chilling atmosphere, they also give us an authentic snapshot of 19th Century life. The Victorian era however does not merely provide a backdrop to the plot. On the contrary, I felt that the novel is itself a tribute to the popular novels of the time, particularly those of a Gothic, supernatural bent. The narrative voice and dialogue are perfectly pitched – they could have come out of Dickens or, better still, Wilkie Collins. There are also plenty of Gothic tropes – ghostly manifestations, noctural perambulations in grimy streets, madness, obsession and (with more than a nod to “[b:The Woman in White|5890|The Woman in White|Wilkie Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1295661017s/5890.jpg|1303710]”) the wife placed in an asylum against her will. And as with the best supernatural fiction, there is that constant niggling doubt as to whether the allegedly otherworldly manifestations are all a product of the mind.
Some of Wilkie Collins’s works had a radical (for their time), proto-feminist message. I feel that Littlewood cannily taps into this vein, giving her Victorian novel a more contemporary flavour and going beyond mere pastiche. Her subject-matter and approach – making the 19th Century relevant and appealing to contemporary readers – reminded me of Sarah Waters’s brilliant early novels “[b:Fingersmith|8913370|Fingersmith|Sarah Waters|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348622459s/8913370.jpg|1014113]” and “[b:Affinity|25337939|Affinity|Sarah Waters|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428720323s/25337939.jpg|1413038]”. “The Crow Garden” certainly deserves to share a shelf with them.
mallodoragrymm's review against another edition
2.0
Oh my God..
I've been struggling to finish this book for four whole months. This is the first time I ever even considered not finishing a book, but I had to, since I got an arc. It got me into a horrible mood where I couldn't even read other, good books. But I've finally made it. Here goes.
I love Gothic, I adore Victorian. Horror, Mystery, an asylum, paranormal, I loved absolutely everything from the description, and I loved the cover. The description also said: "Susan Hill meets Alfred Hitchcock". Let's just say if Susan Hill ever met Alfred Hitchcock in a book like this, she would die either of boredom or shame, and poor Alfred would roll in his grave.
The Crow Garden actually is everything of the above (except the overstated comparison), but it also is horribly, terribly boring. There is no plot. For the first couple of pages we get the sense that something is building up, that some plot is going to happen, but the only plot here went out looking for Susan Hill to fix her up.
A brief summary: Doctor Nathaniel Kerner is haunted by his father's suicide, but he wants to become a famous alienist like him, so he goes to claim his new position at Crakethorne Asylum. There he insta-falls in love with a married patient Victoria Harleston whose husband accuses her of hysteria because she once boarded an omnibus quite rashly and by herself. In turn, she accuses him of his previous-marriage-son's death. Then one day a mesmerist comes to Crakethorne, becomes obsessed with Mrs. Harelston and she escapes the asylum.
None of these plot points further evolve. The rest of the book is Dr. Kerner pining for Victoria, describing her beautiful body parts, hiding her in his house, then committing her to the asylum again for no reason at all, then pining some more, and then .... comes the most mental "plot" twist I ever read, where Mrs. Harelston mesmerizes everybody in the asylum (where did she learn that) and escapes yet again. And here is the ultimate twist - she made Kerner think that the gatekeeper's dog is actually her. So he was shacking up with a dog for the last couple of pages, while she was suntanning at sea. The end.
The writing is okay, good even. I had no troubles understanding it, but I was seriously -MEGA- annoyed by the lower class accent. It was overused and over-abused and clownified. It only added to my misery of reading this soul-eating book.
I think the real rating here is 1, but since I did manage to finish this, quite heroically I may add, let's raise it to 1.5.
Arc provided by Netgalley
I've been struggling to finish this book for four whole months. This is the first time I ever even considered not finishing a book, but I had to, since I got an arc. It got me into a horrible mood where I couldn't even read other, good books. But I've finally made it. Here goes.
I love Gothic, I adore Victorian. Horror, Mystery, an asylum, paranormal, I loved absolutely everything from the description, and I loved the cover. The description also said: "Susan Hill meets Alfred Hitchcock". Let's just say if Susan Hill ever met Alfred Hitchcock in a book like this, she would die either of boredom or shame, and poor Alfred would roll in his grave.
The Crow Garden actually is everything of the above (except the overstated comparison), but it also is horribly, terribly boring. There is no plot. For the first couple of pages we get the sense that something is building up, that some plot is going to happen, but the only plot here went out looking for Susan Hill to fix her up.
A brief summary: Doctor Nathaniel Kerner is haunted by his father's suicide, but he wants to become a famous alienist like him, so he goes to claim his new position at Crakethorne Asylum. There he insta-falls in love with a married patient Victoria Harleston whose husband accuses her of hysteria because she once boarded an omnibus quite rashly and by herself. In turn, she accuses him of his previous-marriage-son's death. Then one day a mesmerist comes to Crakethorne, becomes obsessed with Mrs. Harelston and she escapes the asylum.
None of these plot points further evolve. The rest of the book is Dr. Kerner pining for Victoria, describing her beautiful body parts, hiding her in his house, then committing her to the asylum again for no reason at all, then pining some more, and then .... comes the most mental "plot" twist I ever read, where Mrs. Harelston mesmerizes everybody in the asylum (where did she learn that) and escapes yet again. And here is the ultimate twist - she made Kerner think that the gatekeeper's dog is actually her. So he was shacking up with a dog for the last couple of pages, while she was suntanning at sea. The end.
The writing is okay, good even. I had no troubles understanding it, but I was seriously -MEGA- annoyed by the lower class accent. It was overused and over-abused and clownified. It only added to my misery of reading this soul-eating book.
I think the real rating here is 1, but since I did manage to finish this, quite heroically I may add, let's raise it to 1.5.
Arc provided by Netgalley
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
2.0
This is a brooding gothic melodrama that is set in that most Victorian of places, the asylum. Nathaniel Kerner is appointed by one run by Dr Algernon Chettle called Crakethorn. It is located between North and West Ridings in Yorkshire and offered clean air, water gardens and healing springs. Chettle is a proponent of the science of phrenology, the study of skulls to try to elicit information about the mind and brain contained within the skull.
He is allocated the newest patient there, Victoria Harleston, who has been sent by her husband from another institute to be cured of her madness. She is a striking young woman, who at first glance doesn’t seem to be suffering in the same way that some of the other patients are. Kerner’s methods are very different from Chettles, but even they have very little effect on her. Stuck for ideas he invites a ‘mesmerist’ to try to cure her, but after he is left wondering if she really is mad, or the revelation that she reveals whilst under his influence is true.
The second part of the book is set in London. Kerner heads there in search of Harleston after she manages to escape Crakethorn. There is strong spiritualist undercurrent in the city with various seances and events taking place. It feels creepy that the first part of the book. In the final part of the book, they are all back at Crakethorn, and it is slowly dawning on Kerner just why Chettle has the asylum in the first place…
I liked the brooding atmospheric backdrop to all the scenes in the book. It feels well researched and authentic too, from the way that she describes the smells from the dogs, the way that different classes interact and the barbaric treatment of the patients in the asylum. The supernatural and spiritualist elements feel like they have been lightly dusted over the plot, they are there to enhance rather than be the central element. It has some really strong female characters too, but I thought it was overly convoluted and complicated and for me was missing that one moment of utter dread that a book of this style demands. Not entirely my book, but I thought it was well written nonetheless.
He is allocated the newest patient there, Victoria Harleston, who has been sent by her husband from another institute to be cured of her madness. She is a striking young woman, who at first glance doesn’t seem to be suffering in the same way that some of the other patients are. Kerner’s methods are very different from Chettles, but even they have very little effect on her. Stuck for ideas he invites a ‘mesmerist’ to try to cure her, but after he is left wondering if she really is mad, or the revelation that she reveals whilst under his influence is true.
The second part of the book is set in London. Kerner heads there in search of Harleston after she manages to escape Crakethorn. There is strong spiritualist undercurrent in the city with various seances and events taking place. It feels creepy that the first part of the book. In the final part of the book, they are all back at Crakethorn, and it is slowly dawning on Kerner just why Chettle has the asylum in the first place…
I liked the brooding atmospheric backdrop to all the scenes in the book. It feels well researched and authentic too, from the way that she describes the smells from the dogs, the way that different classes interact and the barbaric treatment of the patients in the asylum. The supernatural and spiritualist elements feel like they have been lightly dusted over the plot, they are there to enhance rather than be the central element. It has some really strong female characters too, but I thought it was overly convoluted and complicated and for me was missing that one moment of utter dread that a book of this style demands. Not entirely my book, but I thought it was well written nonetheless.
thorfrost's review
1.0
It seemed like such an interesting premise but it was SO boring. Such a shame.