I have recently discovered, with great pleasure and admiration, Susanna Kearsley.
She is Canadian, from Ontario...living not very far from where i live.
She has some great historical novels.
So far i read 2 of her books, absolutely great...i think i fell in love with her style...Here are 2 titles that i would like to recommend
"The winter sea"---just beautiful written and very well documented
"Mariana"


she has more, all waiting at the library for me to borrow..
here is her web site
http://www.susannakearsley.com/index.html

I've been a fan of Susanna Kearsley for years, and I'm pleased to see that her books have recently been reissued in the UK- my favourite is The Winter Sea also known as Sophia's Secret in the UK. All the Shadowy Horses is also lovely...

She also writes thrillers under the name of Emma Cole...

Enjoy !

Susanna has is a new book out due in May 2011 - The Rose Garden

ISBN-10: 0749009519
ISBN-13: 978-0749009519

Just finishing "Wintersea", which was offered as a $2.99 book on Kindle recently. Its set around the rising in 08. Found it fascinating to see the background story there that's hinted at a few times in DG's books.....also, Simon Fraser makes an appearance, which was fun.
Jess

I think this is Susanna Kearsley's book The Winter Sea which was published also as Sophia's Secret. I read it a couple of years ago now, and was totally engrossed in the story.

Author details Fantastic Fiction Here


The story of an epic love that transcends both time and place from award-winning author Susanna Kearsley

Carrie McClelland came to Scotland to research her next book. Renting a cottage in the same town where her story takes place, Carrie embarks not only on her novel, but on a romance with her landlord's handsome son, Graham Keith. When the boundary between past and present begins to blur, Carrie finds herself channeling memories not her own. Pulled deeper and deeper into the memories of the past, Carrie realizes these visions are more than the means to another bestselling novel, but also a way to right the wrongs of the past and create a future with the man whose love is her destiny.



She has written several books which have a historical/paranormal theme - my favourite is Mariana.

And I have just loaded her latest The Rose Garden onto my Kindle.

Highly recommend this author.

I got The Winter Sea and The Rose Garden for a couple of dollars on B&N Nookbook. Going to start them soon.

Both are excellent stories - I recently read The Rose Garden and loved it...

Just finished "The Rose Garden" by Kearsley. Awesome (though not on the level of Gabaldon, Meyer, Ward--fav authors). I do highly recommend it. Will start "The Winter Sea" soon.

PS: it's the sport du jour to make fun of Stephenie Meyer and while I'll admit, her work will not win Pulitzers, it does draw you in and make you love the characters. IMO, that's the mark of a great writer in the same way DG has made us love Claire and Jamie or Ward has made us love the Black Dagger brothers.

Thanks for the feedback. These two books are on my reading list. In fact, I hope to start The Rose Garden tomorrow.

LadyJayne, you will love the characters.

I really enjoyed The Winter Sea (read last year) and The Rose Garden (just a couple of weeks ago). Both are very romantic and have a time travel/time displacement element. The characters feel very real and fleshed out -- both those in the modern era and the ones in the past. The author does a marvelous job of describing the landscapes and atmospheres of the settings, really breathing life into these beautiful places (and making me so want to travel!). I think I felt slightly more drawn to the main character of the Rose Garden, whose journey though grief to find a new path in life was very moving and felt very real.

After reading these two, I've managed to find a few of her other works in used books stores: Marianna, Shadowy Horses, and Season of Storms. Can't wait to dig in!

I finished The Rose Garden the other day and would also recommend it. I loved the last few chapters and was pleasantly surprised by some turn of events. I actually let out an audible sigh. I look forward to reading Kearsley's other books.

I was really glad to see this discussion! I was just looking at The Winter Sea yesterday and was trying to decide whether or not to buy it.

I have just recently read The Winter Sea and Rose Garden on Kindle, I enjoyed them quite a bit as well.

I would buy it - it's a great read !!!