Helpful Score: 7
Danielle Steel writes an interesting novel that so fluently moves between the past and present. She did an incredible job of weaving the two stories together, making Charlie and Francesca learn to love through the story of Sarah and Francois. Both of the stories were fairly simple. The characters of Sarah and Francois were much more exciting and likable, but Charlie and Francesca grew as the story continued. However, She could have shortened the beginning of the book. It was evident that Charlie was miserable on the first page, but for some reason, Ms. Steel thought it was necessary to drag this point out. Definitely worth the time! The one really surprised me!
Helpful Score: 4
Architect Charles Waterston has a job he loves, a charming and beautiful wife, and an idyllic life in London. But when everything comes crashing down around him--his wife leaving him for another man and his sudden transfer back to the New York home office--Charles takes a well-deserved ski vacation in Vermont. When an unexpected snowstorm strands Charles in a small town, he takes refuge in a small bed-and-breakfast. The proprietor, an elderly widow, also owns a family home in the woods, which Charles decides to rent. Soon after moving in, Charles senses a ghostly presence. While investigating in the attic one day, Charles discovers the diary of Sarah Ferguson, who left her abusive husband in England for a better life in the New World. Charles soon finds himself drawn to Sarah, and he even visits the local historical society in an attempt to learn more about her. There he meets lovely, timid Francesca Vironnet, the historical society curator and librarian, who has fled France with her young daughter. Through Sarah's journals and Francesca's kindness, Charles is able to heal his heart and learn to love again. Complete with Steel's trademark poignancy but minus the glitz and glamour so evident in many of her novels, The Ghost is an outstanding and awesome read. One of her best!
Helpful Score: 4
I love this book. This is the only Danielle Steel book that I've read. It weaves in and out of the past and present. Easy to read.
Helpful Score: 3
I really liked this one very much! I love a great ghost story and this one is a very good read. The setting is beautiful - in the woods in New England in the winter!!! A very cozy read.
Helpful Score: 2
The Ghost was an excellent book to read which kept my full attention and interest just waiting to see what happened next. This was actually the first time I remember reading a Romance in which the main character was not the typical locve struck woman, but instead a man.
Helpful Score: 2
Sometimes to facae your future you have to let go of the past....
Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was different from other Danielle Steel books.
Helpful Score: 2
Typical Danielle Steel keeps you interested on every page.
Helpful Score: 2
Danielle Steel creates a little different story in THE GHOST. The setting is New England at Christmas. A sudden snowstorm strands an architect in a small town bed and breakfast. The elderly owner is a colorful character who just happens to own a haunted lakeside chateau in the deep woods. There is a real ghost in this tale and I enjoyed the parallel stories that the author weaves. Past and present is brilliantly joined in a fascinating tale of healing and courage. Not the usual stuff here. I fell in love with the ghost and the chateau. Of course, there is a romance. While the architect is doing a little research on the resident ghost he enlists the assistance of the local librarian who, unfortunately has her own baggage to discard before any sparks can fly. Great story. You will enjoy this one.
Helpful Score: 2
A charming romance that keeps your nose in the book until the very end!!
Helpful Score: 1
I'm not a fan of Danielle Steel but I really enjoyed this book. Wonderful romance!
Helpful Score: 1
In a blend of history and drama Steel has interwoven past and present to bring to life two stories, centuries apart, in a timeless story of courage, healing, and love.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful story! I recommend it highly.
Helpful Score: 1
Great story as usual could not put it down until finished
Helpful Score: 1
A VERY interesting READ!! It weaves together the present, in the life of Charlie, an architect based in London, who finds himself being uprooted and transferred to the NYC office of his firm, and also, he faces the end of his 10 year marriage to a woman he loves... He travels through New England intending to ski, but bad weather finds him looking for a place to stay. A widow he meets offers to rent her lakeside chateau to him.
He learns that two hundred years before, a woman lived and died there, and from the moment he resides there, he can feel her presence, and he longs to know more about her.He finds the diaries of Sarah Ferguson in the attic, and begins to read them. Sarah comes alive to Charlie on the pages of the diaries. He learns about why Sarah herself fled England to America in 1789, and about the man she eventually met and of their
special love that manages to transcend the centuries and gives renewed HOPE to Charlie in his own troubles. This is TRULY a beautiful story and a MUST READ in my book!! I would give it 5 stars!
He learns that two hundred years before, a woman lived and died there, and from the moment he resides there, he can feel her presence, and he longs to know more about her.He finds the diaries of Sarah Ferguson in the attic, and begins to read them. Sarah comes alive to Charlie on the pages of the diaries. He learns about why Sarah herself fled England to America in 1789, and about the man she eventually met and of their
special love that manages to transcend the centuries and gives renewed HOPE to Charlie in his own troubles. This is TRULY a beautiful story and a MUST READ in my book!! I would give it 5 stars!
Helpful Score: 1
This Danielle Steel book kept my attention until the last page. The story of a man reading the journals of a 200 yr old ghost he see's on the odd occasion, and how it helped him deal with his own problems in life.
I haven't read Danielle Steel in probably 20 years, and have become more conservative in what I read lately. I think I assumed that her books had lots of sex and love scenes in them. But not so, at least not with this one. I loved it! It was sweet, and a genuine love story. The love scenes were very tasteful. I am anxious to get my hands on another book!
I'm a fan of Danielle Steel and did thoroughly enjoy this book.
"The Ghost" is a wonderful book. The writing was fluid and separate stories were bound seamlessly by love and emotional healing. I enjoyed Sarah Ferguson's story the most and was looking forward to excerpts about her life.
On the down side, I thought that the first section about Charlie's divorce was a little too long. I couldn't bear hearing more about Charlie's pitty party in the wake of the divorce. I was also hoping for a little more romance in the book.
All in all though, the book was a great, light read. It is a good book to snuggle with on a cold winter night.
On the down side, I thought that the first section about Charlie's divorce was a little too long. I couldn't bear hearing more about Charlie's pitty party in the wake of the divorce. I was also hoping for a little more romance in the book.
All in all though, the book was a great, light read. It is a good book to snuggle with on a cold winter night.
i started reading this book and realized i had read it a long time ago. it is a good book.
In the ghost, Danielle asteel has created a stunning blend of hitory and drama. She brings to life two stories, centuries apart, in a timeless novel of courage, healing, and love.
This was a very good book! I didn't want the story to end.
This is an excellent story. I was captivated.
Abridged 6 hrs 4 cassettes
Good story by Steel, enjoy her writing.
A terrific book!!!!
Rich in historical detail...It's affecting message about the healing power of love will linger long after the last page is turned.
very chilling and suspenseful story
With a wife he loves and an exciting London based career,architect Charles Waterston's life seems in perfect balance.Nothing in his comfortable existance prepares him for the sudden end to his ten year marriage or his unwanted transfer to his firm's New York office.With nothing left to lose,Charles takes a leave of absence from his job to drive through New England,hoping to make piece with himself.
Great book as always with Daneille Steel
Wonderful
One of my favorite books of Danielle Steel.
Sometimes to face your future
you have to let go of your past
Sometimes to face your future
you have to let go of your past
Loved it! Enjoy a good ghost story.
she brilliantly interweaves past and present, bringing to life 2 stories, centuries apart,in a timeless novel of courage, healing and love.
Another 2 1/2 star Danielle Steel novel! Just like all the others, but still fun!
Great book - couldn't put it down!
This book was well written and I enjoyed very much
Excellent! Makes you remember why you started reading Danielle Steel in the first place.
Good novel of courage, healing & love.
Modern day and a little history mixed together. Good read.
Broken hearts, ghosts, time travel & romance.
Stranded in a snowstorm, a man rents a beautiful chateau and finds the diary of a woman who once lived there. In her story, he finds the courage to let go of his own past and face the future.
Sometimes to face your future you have to let go of your past.......
I truly enjoyed this book..was a very fast read for me!
With a wife he loves and an exciting London-based career, architect Charles Waterston's life seems in perfect balance. Nothing in his comfortable existence prepares him for the sudden end to his ten-year marriage--or his unwanted transfer to his firm's New York office. With nothing left to lose, Charlie takes a leave of absence from his job to drive through New England, hoping to make peace with himself.
Christmas is approaching when Charlie leaves New York, heading to Vermont to ski. But a sudden, blinding snowstorm strands him in a small Massachusetts town. There, as if by chance, Charlie meets an elderly widow who offers to rent him her most precious possession: a remote, exquisite lakeside chateau. Hidden deep in the woods, it once belonged to a woman who lived and died there two centuries before. Her name was Sarah Ferguson. And from the moment Charlie sets foot inside the chateau's graceful depths, he feels her presence, and longs to know more about the life she led.
It is Christmas Eve when Charlie first glimpses her, a beautiful young woman with jet black hair. He thinks it is a neighbor playing a joke on him, until he finds her diaries hidden away in an old trunk. As he begins to turn the brittle, dusty pages, Sarah Ferguson comes alive. Intrigued and unafraid, Charlie immerses himself in the diaries, eager to learn more about the woman for whom the house was built. Sarah's first entry is dated 1789, the year she arrived in America. Without self-pity or sentiment, she writes of her harrowing journey from her native England, having fled the brutality of her aristocratic husband. Settling in Massachusetts, Sarah finds an unfamiliar land seething with the turbulence of the Indian wars. Determined to start a new life in the vast new world, Sarah finds freedom--and danger--as she builds her home in the wilderness and meets a man who will transform her life. His name is François de Pellerin, a French nobleman adopted by Indians and drawn into the battle for the growing nation. Their fateful union is a testament to a love so powerful it reaches across the centuries. And for Charlie Waterston, caught between Sarah's world and his own, their story is a gift--one that gives him the courage to let go of his past, and the freedom to grasp a future that is right before his eyes.
Christmas is approaching when Charlie leaves New York, heading to Vermont to ski. But a sudden, blinding snowstorm strands him in a small Massachusetts town. There, as if by chance, Charlie meets an elderly widow who offers to rent him her most precious possession: a remote, exquisite lakeside chateau. Hidden deep in the woods, it once belonged to a woman who lived and died there two centuries before. Her name was Sarah Ferguson. And from the moment Charlie sets foot inside the chateau's graceful depths, he feels her presence, and longs to know more about the life she led.
It is Christmas Eve when Charlie first glimpses her, a beautiful young woman with jet black hair. He thinks it is a neighbor playing a joke on him, until he finds her diaries hidden away in an old trunk. As he begins to turn the brittle, dusty pages, Sarah Ferguson comes alive. Intrigued and unafraid, Charlie immerses himself in the diaries, eager to learn more about the woman for whom the house was built. Sarah's first entry is dated 1789, the year she arrived in America. Without self-pity or sentiment, she writes of her harrowing journey from her native England, having fled the brutality of her aristocratic husband. Settling in Massachusetts, Sarah finds an unfamiliar land seething with the turbulence of the Indian wars. Determined to start a new life in the vast new world, Sarah finds freedom--and danger--as she builds her home in the wilderness and meets a man who will transform her life. His name is François de Pellerin, a French nobleman adopted by Indians and drawn into the battle for the growing nation. Their fateful union is a testament to a love so powerful it reaches across the centuries. And for Charlie Waterston, caught between Sarah's world and his own, their story is a gift--one that gives him the courage to let go of his past, and the freedom to grasp a future that is right before his eyes.
From the Publisher:
A small chateau lies hidden in the New England woods. No one has lived there for a hundred years. But it is as pristine and exquisite as if it had been built yesterday, and the incandescent spirit that fills and surrounds it keeps a timeless love alive and gives a shattered man the strength to begin again.
Charles Waterston is sure his life is over at 42. His wife of nine years has fallen in love with another man and brought an abrupt end to their once blissful life together in London. At the same time, Charles's exhilarating career as an innovative international architect is thrown badly off track when his company orders him back to New York to administer the politicized and aesthetically stagnant head office. Without friends or family, unable to regain his footing and move forward, the dazed and emotionally dead architect takes a leave of absence and heads north to his native New England to nurse his wounds.
Sarah Ferguson's life ended over 150 years before Charles Waterston's began. Forced into marriage to a vicious aristocrat in 18th century England, the fragile heiress found the strength to flee, leaving everything behind to brave alone the perilous crossing to post-revolutionary America. There, in the wilderness of western Massachusetts, amid soldiers, settlers, and natives living in uneasy truce, she carves out a peaceful place for herself, wanting nothing more. But her life truly begins when she meets Francois de Pellerin, the enigmatic intermediary between the army and the tribes, as dangerous as he is fascinating.
Separated by centuries, united by a deathless courage and a magical place, two lives converge in an unforgettable tribute to life and new beginnings in Danielle Steel's spellbinding new novel, The Ghost.
A small chateau lies hidden in the New England woods. No one has lived there for a hundred years. But it is as pristine and exquisite as if it had been built yesterday, and the incandescent spirit that fills and surrounds it keeps a timeless love alive and gives a shattered man the strength to begin again.
Charles Waterston is sure his life is over at 42. His wife of nine years has fallen in love with another man and brought an abrupt end to their once blissful life together in London. At the same time, Charles's exhilarating career as an innovative international architect is thrown badly off track when his company orders him back to New York to administer the politicized and aesthetically stagnant head office. Without friends or family, unable to regain his footing and move forward, the dazed and emotionally dead architect takes a leave of absence and heads north to his native New England to nurse his wounds.
Sarah Ferguson's life ended over 150 years before Charles Waterston's began. Forced into marriage to a vicious aristocrat in 18th century England, the fragile heiress found the strength to flee, leaving everything behind to brave alone the perilous crossing to post-revolutionary America. There, in the wilderness of western Massachusetts, amid soldiers, settlers, and natives living in uneasy truce, she carves out a peaceful place for herself, wanting nothing more. But her life truly begins when she meets Francois de Pellerin, the enigmatic intermediary between the army and the tribes, as dangerous as he is fascinating.
Separated by centuries, united by a deathless courage and a magical place, two lives converge in an unforgettable tribute to life and new beginnings in Danielle Steel's spellbinding new novel, The Ghost.
Charlie Waterston thought he had it all?a beautiful wife, happy marriage, and brilliant architectural career?but a year changes all that completely. London, his job, and the lovely house he and his wife shared all become unbearable after she leaves him for another man. The alternative, working for his firm's main office in New York, turns out to be equally unbearable, so he flees it all, escaping to Vermont ski country. A sudden snowstorm en route, a night's refuge at a bed-and-breakfast owned by a charming old woman, and his discovery of the 200-year-old diary of a brave and beautiful lady teach him to endure his own sufferings, reach out to others, and hope for love and happiness again. Fans expecting Steel's (Malice, LJ 1/96) usual glitz and glamour may be disappointed by this elegiac tribute to mature love hard won the second time around.
LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW
LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW
With a wife he loves and an exciting London-based career, architect Charles Waterston's life seems in perfect balance. Nothing in his comfortable existence prepares him for the sudden end to his ten-year marriage ... or his unwanted transfer to his firm's New York office. With nothing left to lose, Charlie takes a leave of absence to drive through New England, hoping to make peace with himself.
THIS DANIELLE STEEL HAS AN INTERESTING PREMISE. HIS WIFE LEAVES HIM FOR ANOTHER MAN. BREAKS HIS HEART. HE ENDS UP LIVING IN AN OLD HOUSE WITH A BEAUTIFUL GHOST WHOSE DIARIES FROM REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA TEACH HIM HOW TO REACH OUT AND LOVE AGAIN. GOOD FAST READ FOR BEACH, POOL OR PLANE THIS SUMMER.
Charles Waterson has a job and a wife he loves. When his marriage ends and he is tranfered to his companies New York Office. He arrives around Christmas time and then heads to Vermont to go sking. He ends up getting stranded in a town in Massachusetts. He stays in a lakeside chateau. It once belonged to a woman names Sarah Ferguson who lived there two centuries before. Charles felt her presence as soon as he spent time in the house. He found diaries written by Sarah.Charles read the diaries, first dated in 1789. There is brutality, harrowing journeys. Settling in Massachusetts and building her home in the wilderness, she meets a man who will transform her life. Their fateful union is a testament to a love so powerful, it reaches across the centuries. And for Charles, it gives him the courage to let go of his past, and the freedom to grasp a future that is right before his eyes.
Very good book
"Rich in historical detail...its affecting message about the healing power of love will linger long after the last page is turned...a tale that reminds you why you started reading [Danielle Steel] in the first place."
-People
In my opinion, it was one of Danielle Steel's BEST novels. My grandmother agrees!
-People
In my opinion, it was one of Danielle Steel's BEST novels. My grandmother agrees!
With a wife he loves and an exciting London-based career, architect Charles Waterston's life seems in perfect balance. Nothing prepares him for the sudden end to his ten-year marriage- or his unwanted transfer to his firm's New York office. Charles leaves New York heading to Vermont to ski. But a sudden snowstorm strands him in a small Massachusetts town. There Charlie meets an elderly widow who offers to rent him her exquisite lakeside chateau. Hidden deep in the woods, it once belonged to a woman who lived there two centuries before named Sarah Ferguson - and from the moment Charlie sets foot inside the chateau, he feels her presence.....
An architect is trying to get his life back in order after his marriage of ten years falls apart and his firm transfers him to NY....He heads away for a Christmas ski holiday and ends up in Massachusetts and that is where he first feels the presence of the ghost of Sarah Ferguson....
From the back cover: "When Charlie first glimpes...a beautiful young woman with jet-black hair, he thinks it is a neighbor playing a joke. Until he finds her diaries hidden away in an old trunk. As he begins to turn the brittle, dusty pages, the spirit of Sarah Ferguson seems to fill his life. Sarah's first entry is dated 1789 as she writes of her harrowing journey from her native England, having fled the brutality of her aristocratic husband. Settling in Massachusetts, Sarah finds an unfamiliar land seething with the turbulence of the Indian wars. As she builds her home in the wilderness and meets a man who will transform her life, Sarah finds freedom from the torment of her past. His name is Francois de Pellerin, a French nobleman adopted by Indians and drawn into the battle for the growing nation. Their fateful union is a testament to a love so powerful it reaches across the centuries. And for Charlie Waterston, their story gives him the courage to let go of his past, and the freedom to grasp a future that is right before his eyes."
