Ancient Egyptian curses! Ghosts! Time travel! Shakespearean actors! Alchemy! Flappers! Moon and Sun dials!
The Book of Thoth is inspired by the classic genre of the Gothic Novel.
Published 1st February 2015
|
"But... This is the same as asking me to sell my soul to the Devil!"
"No, my friend... This is much, much better!" |
“All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous.”
Paracelsus (1493-1541), physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer and occultist
You will find below the synopsis for the book and some pictures that have inspired me.
At 27, Adam Tuckfield is contemplating the smouldering ruins of his life. His girlfriend has left him to marry another man, he has been sacked from his part-time teaching job for gross misconduct and he will not be able to complete the Postgraduate Diploma in Conservation he has started at the City and Guilds.
A strange encounter on a Tube carriage leads him to apply for a position as a private tutor at Whitemoor Hall, an estate in Somerset. From the day he sends off his application, Adam’s life takes an unusual turn: the history of the house is shrouded in mystery, his dreams become a little bit too real for his own taste and his successful job interview is rather memorable.
Ignoring what could only be described as warning signs, Adam finally makes the journey to the estate; once there, he immediately starts losing his grasp on reality.
The eccentric inhabitants of the house represent the biggest challenge of all. What exactly is the nature of the relationship between the scholar and scientist Vangelis Chronos and his assistant and secretary Saturnin Bloom? Why is the ethereal Lady Chronos so scared of men? What is the sparkling Maeve Hayward doing so far away from her beloved London? Can Adam’s young charge Dimitri really see ghosts? And who are the mysterious inhabitants of the Abbey?
Oh, and is this really 1925?
At 27, Adam Tuckfield is contemplating the smouldering ruins of his life. His girlfriend has left him to marry another man, he has been sacked from his part-time teaching job for gross misconduct and he will not be able to complete the Postgraduate Diploma in Conservation he has started at the City and Guilds.
A strange encounter on a Tube carriage leads him to apply for a position as a private tutor at Whitemoor Hall, an estate in Somerset. From the day he sends off his application, Adam’s life takes an unusual turn: the history of the house is shrouded in mystery, his dreams become a little bit too real for his own taste and his successful job interview is rather memorable.
Ignoring what could only be described as warning signs, Adam finally makes the journey to the estate; once there, he immediately starts losing his grasp on reality.
The eccentric inhabitants of the house represent the biggest challenge of all. What exactly is the nature of the relationship between the scholar and scientist Vangelis Chronos and his assistant and secretary Saturnin Bloom? Why is the ethereal Lady Chronos so scared of men? What is the sparkling Maeve Hayward doing so far away from her beloved London? Can Adam’s young charge Dimitri really see ghosts? And who are the mysterious inhabitants of the Abbey?
Oh, and is this really 1925?
Below are the websites of Allerton Castle and Cleeve Abbey, two places I have used to write the book (under different names).
http://www.allertoncastle.co.uk/
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/cleeve-abbey/
http://www.allertoncastle.co.uk/
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/cleeve-abbey/
