A skinful of shadows

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Publication Date
2017.
Language
English

Description

From the award–winning author of The Lie Tree, Frances Hardinge offers “a delicious combination of historical adventure, coming-of-age tale, and supernatural intrigue” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide. Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding.

Young Makepeace has learned to defend herself from the ghosts that 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 defense when she is sent to live with her father’s rich and powerful family. There is talk of civil war, and they need people like her to protect their dark and terrible family secret. But as she plans to escape and heads out into a country torn apart by war, Makepeace must decide which is worse: possession—or death.

“Darkly splendid . . . a wonderful, resonant narrative whose subtlety and insight will challenge, entertain and enchant.” —The Guardian

A Skinful of Shadows is outlandishly creative and thoroughly blood-chilling. Her storytelling is visceral and unfurls at an exciting pace, making this novel a wonderful, weird and terrifying addition to her body of work.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“A book that only Hardinge could write . . . [a] masterful and spooky historical fantasy.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

“Hardinge’s writing is stunning, and readers will be taken hostage by its intensity, fascinating developments, and the fierce, compassionate girl leading the charge.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Deliberate, impeccable, and extraordinary.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

More Details

Contributors
ISBN
9781419725722
9781683351061

Discover More

Author Notes

Loading Author Notes...

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors intensifying and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "twelve-year-old girls," "english history," and "london, england history."
These books have the appeal factors creepy and menacing, and they have the genre "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "spirit possession," "spirits," and "paranormal phenomena."
These books have the genre "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "aristocracy," "nobility," and "intrigue."
These books have the appeal factors richly detailed and evocative, and they have the genre "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "aristocracy" and "heirs and heiresses."
After their mothers die, teen girls struggle to control their own magical powers in these richly detailed historical fantasies set in 16th-century (Witch) and 17th-century (Shadows) England. Creepy situations arise as the girls try to escape being manipulated by others. -- Julie Paladino
Teens are caught up in intensifying horror in these creepy historical fantasies. Although the settings are different (17th-century England in Shadows, 20th-century Calcutta in Palace), readers will experience dread in both as the teens struggle to escape supernatural threats. -- Julie Paladino
These books have the genres "historical fantasy" and "steampunk"; and the subjects "spirit possession," "paranormal phenomena," and "english history."
These books have the appeal factors creepy, menacing, and richly detailed, and they have the genres "historical fantasy" and "fantasy fiction"; and the subject "curses."
These books have the subject "family secrets."
These books have the appeal factors creepy, menacing, and intensifying, and they have the subjects "spirit possession," "family secrets," and "paranormal phenomena."
These books have the appeal factors creepy, menacing, and intensifying, and they have the genre "horror"; and the subjects "spirit possession," "paranormal phenomena," and "english history."
Fans of richly detailed historical fantasy will find themselves immersed in these stories of teen girls with special powers who are forced to live with distant relatives. Both encounter menacing situations, paranormal phenomena, and secrets. -- Julie Paladino

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
The haunting novels of both Ransom Riggs and Frances Hardinge feature youthful characters that appeal to middle school-age readers. But the eerie, unsettling tones of the novels add a sophistication that attracts older readers as well. -- Diane Colson
These authors' works have the appeal factors fun read, and they have the subjects "twelve-year-old girls," "swindlers and swindling," and "thieves."
These authors' works have the appeal factors creepy and world-building, and they have the subjects "witches," "wishing wells," and "vampires."
These authors' works have the appeal factors amusing and well-crafted dialogue, and they have the genres "fantasy fiction" and "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "twelve-year-old girls," "imaginary places," and "magic."
These authors' works have the subjects "child heroes," "reading," and "wizards."
These authors' works have the subjects "imaginary places," "witches," and "wishes and wishing."
These authors' works have the genres "fantasy fiction" and "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "girls," "islands," and "orphans."
These authors' works have the appeal factors world-building, and they have the genres "historical fantasy" and "epic fantasy"; the subjects "twelve-year-old girls," "thieves," and "preteen girls"; and characters that are "sarcastic characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors world-building, and they have the subjects "gods and goddesses," "imaginary places," and "orphans."
These authors' works have the genre "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "twelve-year-old girls," "rulers," and "princes."
These authors' works have the appeal factors world-building, and they have the subjects "sisters," "witches," and "child wizards."
These authors' works have the appeal factors world-building, and they have the subjects "imaginary places," "orphans," and "witches."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* In her first novel since The Lie Tree (2016), Hardinge again summons history and fantasy, intermingling them in a most unusual way. Set against a backdrop of the English Civil War, the story opens in a small Puritan village, where a girl named Makepeace wrestles with vivid nightmares. When her mother is accidentally killed, the girl is sent to her father's family, of whom she knows nothing. The Fellmottes, it turns out, are an old aristocratic clan with an insidious secret they are able to house the spirits of the dead, a gift they have twisted, and the inherited cause of Makepeace's clawing nightmares. The narrative opens slowly as Hardinge lays deliberate groundwork and conjures a palpably eerie atmosphere, which mounts in horror as the story progresses. It picks up after Makepeace, now 15, has spent two years as a kitchen girl at the Fellmotte estate, gathering information about the family. The plot becomes populated by spymistresses whose ranks Makepeace fleetingly joins and vengeful spirits, and is punctuated by her escape attempts and wartime battles. Yet much of the action unfolds in Makepeace's head, as she acquires her own coterie of ghosts, most memorably that of an ill-treated bear. Hardinge's writing is stunning, and readers will be taken hostage by its intensity, fascinating developments, and the fierce, compassionate girl leading the charge.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Publisher's Weekly Review

As the English Civil War gains momentum, a girl named Makepeace Lightfoot attempts to uncover the shadowy secrets of her family history after her mother is killed. To do so, she travels to Grizehayes, the ancestral home of the father she never knew, where she learns that the aristocratic Fellmottes are able to possess ghosts within them, bringing them preternatural knowledge and strength. Thanks to her Fellmotte lineage, Makepeace comes to harbor several spirits within her, and she takes on as many external personas-servant, spy, medic, prophet-as she attempts to escape (and eventually bring down) the Fellmottes, who see her little more than a vessel. Hardinge, whose The Lie Tree was the 2015 Costa Book of the Year, crafts a delicious combination of historical adventure, coming-of-age tale, and supernatural intrigue, set amid power struggles that reshaped 17th-century England. Makepeace's evolving relationships with the ghosts embodied within her are fascinating and moving (differentiated fonts make these internal conversations easy to follow), highlighting her growing compassion despite being given few reasons to trust anyone in her young life. Ages 13-up. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Powered by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

In 17th-century England, a girl faces civil unrest, conflicting Christianities, and a family inheritance more horrific than she could have dreamed.Makepeace has nightmares, so Mother banishes her to an abandoned chapel to practice fighting off the dead people who are trying to enter her mind. Upon Mother's death, Makepeace is sent to the Fellmottes, family of the father she never knew. Grizehayes is a "graceless and vast" house, the wealthy family's "arrogance made stone.proof of their centuries." The Fellmottes treat her as a servant and prevent her escape: they need her as a spare receptacle for generations of family ghosts. But if Makepeace's body inherits the ghosts, her own consciousness may not survive. Doggedly ingenious and stolid, Makepeace grabs every scrap of agency she can findeven when ghosts do share her mind, invited or not, human or beast. She escapes Grizehayes, but the Fellmottes hunt her through city and countryside, through both sides of the unfolding English civil war, through the disguises she keeps changing. Powerlessness, poverty, and integrity are major themes, built on a subtle yet stubborn underlying warmth. Hardinge's plot is both unpredictable and rock-solid, her settings full of smells, her imagery vivid: "A shocked silence pooled like blood." All characters are white and English.Deliberate, impeccable, and extraordinary. (Historical fantasy. 12-15) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* In her first novel since The Lie Tree (2016), Hardinge again summons history and fantasy, intermingling them in a most unusual way. Set against a backdrop of the English Civil War, the story opens in a small Puritan village, where a girl named Makepeace wrestles with vivid nightmares. When her mother is accidentally killed, the girl is sent to her father's family, of whom she knows nothing. The Fellmottes, it turns out, are an old aristocratic clan with an insidious secret—they are able to "house" the spirits of the dead, a gift they have twisted, and the inherited cause of Makepeace's clawing nightmares. The narrative opens slowly as Hardinge lays deliberate groundwork and conjures a palpably eerie atmosphere, which mounts in horror as the story progresses. It picks up after Makepeace, now 15, has spent two years as a kitchen girl at the Fellmotte estate, gathering information about the family. The plot becomes populated by spymistresses—whose ranks Makepeace fleetingly joins—and vengeful spirits, and is punctuated by her escape attempts and wartime battles. Yet much of the action unfolds in Makepeace's head, as she acquires her own coterie of ghosts, most memorably that of an ill-treated bear. Hardinge's writing is stunning, and readers will be taken hostage by its intensity, fascinating developments, and the fierce, compassionate girl leading the charge. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.
Powered by Content Cafe

Publishers Weekly Reviews

As the English Civil War gains momentum, a girl named Makepeace Lightfoot attempts to uncover the shadowy secrets of her family history after her mother is killed. To do so, she travels to Grizehayes, the ancestral home of the father she never knew, where she learns that the aristocratic Fellmottes are able to possess ghosts within them, bringing them preternatural knowledge and strength. Thanks to her Fellmotte lineage, Makepeace comes to harbor several spirits within her, and she takes on as many external personas—servant, spy, medic, prophet—as she attempts to escape (and eventually bring down) the Fellmottes, who see her little more than a vessel. Hardinge, whose The Lie Tree was the 2015 Costa Book of the Year, crafts a delicious combination of historical adventure, coming-of-age tale, and supernatural intrigue, set amid power struggles that reshaped 17th-century England. Makepeace's evolving relationships with the ghosts embodied within her are fascinating and moving (differentiated fonts make these internal conversations easy to follow), highlighting her growing compassion despite being given few reasons to trust anyone in her young life. Ages 13–up. (Oct.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly.

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly.
Powered by Content Cafe

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Staff View

Loading Staff View.