Ferney - Hardcover

Long, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0553108441 ISBN 13: 9780553108446

Publisher: Bantam, 1999

Synopsis

Combining the spellbinding time travel of Jack Finney's Time and Again and the sweeping passion of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, here is a haunting and enchanting novel that captures the magic of the ineffable sense that we have lived and loved before...

It was an accidental detour inspired by one of Gally's frequent panic attacks that sent her husband Mike down a twisting, lane to the abandoned cottage.  Yet from the moment she saw it, Gally felt a peace she hadn't known in years and the inexplicable sense that she had finally come home.

And so she had.

For as Mike worries and fusses over their new home's restoration, it is Gally who seems to know exactly how it should look. Indeed, Gally seems to flourish in the tiny village of Penselwood, deep in the Somerset countryside. But the greatest mystery of all is her growing and unexpectedly intimate relationship with an irascible eighty-three-year-old countryman named Ferney.

Not even Gally herself can explain the bond between them--or how Ferney seems to know her better than she knows herself. Yet through Ferney's old stories Gally finds herself transported down hazy pathways to a past unrecorded in any history book: a magnificent sweep of time and events when the woods were alive with thundering hooves, peasants and soldiers, bloodshed and bravery, and two tragic young lovers who made a vow even death could not break.

Now, as the days slip away, Gally begins to understand her connection to Ferney: a bond wrought of many meetings and many partings. And as this short, bittersweet rendezvous draws to a close, she must face a life-and-death dilemma that has followed them down the centuries to one moment of unbearable suspense. For Gally must make a decision that will forever change not only their lives, but the lives of all they touch.

Beautifully evocative, tender, and gripping, Ferney is a novel for anyone who's ever believed that two people are destined for each other, that passion has no end, and that true love never dies--a unique and unforgettable love story that truly stands the test of time.

About this title

Review:

Though Gally Martin has the unfailing love and support of her husband Mike, she has always known a deep yearning for something else. When Mike and Gally pass through the small country village of Penselwood on a house-hunting excursion, they discover an abandoned house and an elderly neighbor named Ferney. The moment Gally sees Ferney and the home, she feels the tremors of a long-dormant emotion stirring in her core. Desperate soothe the anxieties that have always haunted Gally--and overlooking the strange Ferney--Mike agrees to buy the dilapidated home.

While the house seems to bring Gally a newfound sense of stability, she is alternately intrigued and troubled by the aged Ferney--she feels an enormous pull toward him but cannot understand his allure or her growing sense of betrayal. How can she be so attracted to such a strange, older man? When Ferney begins to tell Gally of his past, she feels her confusion growing. He describes a mysterious relationship that transcends time, a connection stronger than that of siblings or even lovers. Unable to reject his words or ignore the ephemeral evidence in her own memory, Gally must test her heart and wager her destiny.

Merrily skipping along the history of the past millennium, James Long's Ferney spends just enough time in each significant historical period to have the immortal lovers unite, experience the pertinent social or political issues of the day, and pass on. Frank dialogue, rich descriptions, and the exploration of the concepts and consequence of destiny make this novel a special treat for the head as well as the heart. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

From the Back Cover:

"A story of love and self-discovery that resonates across the ages."
--Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer

"The nature of self, the ownership of history, the endurance of love--these are some of the themes touched upon in Long's engrossing if somewhat disturbing tale of lovers separated by history.... The highlights of the novel are Long's forays into history as he makes imaginative use of time travel to bring his characters to life in different eras of British history...the unfolding mystery and the clever handling of the complex plot make for a provocative tale."
--Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0553108441
• ISBN 13: 9780553108446
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352