The object of this series, which I am running in conjunction with my wonderful friend, Elle, who blogs at Inkproductions.org (well-written, entertaining and thoughtful articles on all things writing and blogging-oriented) is to grab a long-neglected unread book off our shelves, speculate on what we think the book’s about based solely on its cover and then – ta dah! – reveal what the book is really trying to say.
Is it unfair to judge a book by its cover? We’re about to find out!
WHAT I THINK IT’S ABOUT
A rather unorthodox nanny, Leonora Saxonwurst, heiress to a fortune in herbal cosmetics but estranged from her family, decides that she needs to make her mark on the world of childcare.
Taking her six month old charge, Thomas, out for a walk in the woods one day in the depths of a miserably cold and snow-filled winter, she decides this would be the perfect time to test out the controversial technique of “extreme controlled crying”.
Leaving Thomas alone in his stroller, suitably rugged up of course with an intravenous milk drip, she returns back to the nearby manor house for biscuits and a nice cup of cocoa with one ear cocked for Thomas’ cries.
Hearing nothing, she congratulates herself on the successful implementation of the technique, little realising that Thomas has been taken by the Ice Queen of Narnia who will use him to conquer “the lands beyond the front of the wardrobe” as she calls them.
Little does she know but poor naive, misguided Leonora has doomed all of mankind to eventual enslavement at the hands of a merciless, literally frigid, enemy…
WHAT IT’S ACTUALLY ABOUT
When Grace’s husband, Adam, inherits a cottage on the isolated North Yorkshire moors, they leave London behind to try a new life. However, a week later, Adam vanishes, leaving their baby daughter on the doorstep.
The following year, Grace returns to the tiny village of Roseby. She is desperate for answers, but it seems the slumbering village is unwilling to give up its secrets. As Grace learns more about the locals and the area’s superstitions and folklore, strange dreams begin to trouble her. Are the villagers hiding something, or is she becoming increasingly paranoid? Only as snowfall threatens to cut them off from the rest of the world does Grace begin to understand how close the threat lies, and that she and her daughter may be in terrible danger if she cannot get them away in time.