When Gerald Freeman returns to Staplefield, he discovers his family's buried secrets in a tale of romantic love, obsession, betrayal and revenge
The story begins with Gerald Freeman, a young boy growing up in Mawson, Australia, sneaking into his mother’s room, where he discovers a photograph of a woman he has never seen before hidden away in a drawer. His mother, unexpectedly appears and to his shock gives him a sound beating. She warns him never to snoop in her room again. It is clear to him that her fears are not for herself, but somehow for him.
His mother, nervous and unstable, once lived in a grand manor in England called Staplefield, and though she speaks fondly of the place, she refuses to return and for some reason has cut off all connection with the place of her birth.
Feeling lonely and isolated, Gerald becomes pen pals with a young invalid girl, Alice Jessell, also thirteen years old, who lives in England. Orphaned and growing up in an institution, she seems to share through her letters his sense of loneliness and isolation. For some reason, his mother is disturbed by his writing to this stranger from England. Against his mother’s wishes, he continues his correspondence with Alice through the turbulent adolescent years, and the two, though far apart, eventually declare their love for each other.
Gerald’s great-grandmother, Viola, was a writer and in the course of the book Gerald comes across several of her Victorian ghost tales, short stories which are interwoven into the narrative of the book. These enigmatic tales of obsessive love, betrayal and revenge seem to serve in subtle ways as a foreshadowing of Gerald’s own situation and future. Through the tales, his great-grandmother’s spirit appears to be trying to convey some message concerning his mother’s dark past and why she fled England. They infer that his mother was involved in something sinister, and serve as a warning to Gerald if only he can grasp the hidden messages behind them.
After his mother’s death, Gerard travels to England to learn more about his family and to meet Alice. In a page-turning conclusion, he returns to Staplefield to discover its secrets. What happens next makes it clear he should have heeded his mother’s fears and his great-grandmother’s warnings. Nothing is as it appears, and he is soon caught up in the web of danger and deceit from which his mother had tried to spare him.
The ending appears to have a simple conclusion. But there is a subtle clue that is easy to miss. The last few pages of the book should be given a second reading to make sure the final twist comes to light.
The Ghost Writer is John Harwood’s first novel. He divides his time between London and Victor Harbor in South Australia.
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