...At last, a real gothic novel! Governesses, sinister Counts, castles, murders and madness galore. We are in Jane Eyre territory here, or perhaps Victoria Holt or Virginia Coffman; this is guaranteed to please all lovers of real classic-style gothics who have been missing them since they vanished in the 1980s. Christabel tells the tale which works well, giving it an immediacy that this sort of thing needs. She is no shrinking violet either, determined to get her man and take on all comers and even a bit conceited, well aware of her charms. This gives her a sassy modern appeal at times, but she still retains an essentially Victorian outlook in other areas. Ms Challis also has a nice hand for descriptions, ranging from the isolation of the "Castle of Dreams" to a lightning sketch of Vienna with its coffee houses, although this could have been expanded on to great effect. Ultimately though this is great fun, and I hope it starts a retro trend for this sort of thing... gothics for the 2000s!