A Spell of Winter

Catherine and her brother, Rob, don't know why they have been abandoned by their parents.

Incarcerated in the enormous country house of their grandfather - 'the man from nowhere' - they create a refuge against their family's dark secrets, and against the outside world as it moves towards the First World War.

As time passes, their sibling love deepens and crosses into forbidden territory. But they are not as alone in the house as they believe . . .

About the Author

Helen Dunmore was an award-winning novelist, children’s author and poet who will be remembered for the depth and breadth of her fiction. Rich and intricate, yet narrated with a deceptive simplicity that made all of her work accessible and heartfelt, her writing stood out for the fluidity and lyricism of her prose, and her extraordinary ability to capture the presence of the past.