Bookseller Reviews
View all
The devil shall take what is his....
The devil himself is to blame for all of what transpires ahead in this story, and it starts with one of his many daughters, a vessel for pure malice, evil ... READ MORE
A dark, hypnotic tale
Rich, dark and hypnotic, this novel builds tale upon tale like the bricks of the Edinburgh house it chronicles. Original and unusual historical fiction of ... READ MORE
Synopsis
1910, Edinburgh. Jessie, the devil's daughter, arrives on the doorstep of an imposing tenement building and knocks on a freshly painted wooden door. She has been sent by her father to bear a child for a wealthy couple, but, when things go wrong, she places a curse on the building and all who live there - and it lasts a century.
Caught in the crossfire are the residents of 10 Luckenbooth Close, and they all have their own stories to tell. While the world outside is changing, inside, the curse creeps up all nine floors and through each door. Soon, the building's longest kept secret - the truth of what happened to Jessie - will finally be heard.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Cornerstone
- ISBN: 9780099592198
- Number of pages: 352
- Dimensions: 197 x 130 x 23 mm
- Weight: 280g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View alldecline and fall
Number 10 Luckenbooth Close is a nine-storey tenement building in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town. Over ninety years we witness the changing times and th... READ MORE
Dark & twisty Gothic fairytale
Fagan's writing is as electric and inimitable as ever, Luckenbooth is a very dark & twisty Gothic fairytale as well as a portrait of Edinburgh & Edinburgh ... READ MORE
Luckenbooth
This is quite a dark story from the off. She arrives in a coffin made by her father, rather than by boat. The story is set in Edinburgh in a 9 storey apart... READ MORE
Surely Fagan's magnum opus?
It's 21st January 2021 and I've already found my book of the year. Nothing can possibly top it. Jenni Fagan's "Luckenbooth'' is highly original and intoxic... READ MORE
Clever, ambitious, patchy
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance review copy.
Luckenbooth is a fascinating oddball of a novel. It is ambitious in structure and ... READ MORE
I loved this book!
I love a book that takes me by surprise and is a bit off centre; something a bit different from books found on the bestseller lists (which is where I would... READ MORE
Fabulous
I loved this book! I wasn’t sure at first but as I got into ‘Luckenbooth’ by Jenni Fagan I was hooked. A very unusual mix of historical, supernatural, and ... READ MORE
Disappointed
I had high hopes for this novel on the basis of the concept of a 100 year alternative history of an Edinburgh tenement.
I was disappointed by the end of t... READ MORE
It would be an understatement to say I loved this book. It is brilliant.
'Luckenbooth' by Jenni Fagan is set in a towering Glasgow tenement. Across different times in the 20th century, its many floors are populated by an ensembl... READ MORE
Gritty, spooky and so so good
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel despite there being a slight fantastical element to the story and my usually eschewing fantasy. This is in part due to Faga... READ MORE
Luckenbooth, by Jenni Fagan. A haunting tale of Edinburgh
This is very definitely a ghost story in the tradition of “The Turn of the Screw”. The story begins with the arrival of Jessie MacRae at a tenement build... READ MORE
Rambling and excessive
This story spans a century of inhabitants of No.10 Luckenbooth Close, a tenement in Edinburgh.
~
I quite liked the sound of this book so picked a copy up a... READ MORE
Atmospheric and dark
Luckenbooth begins in 1910 when Jessie MacRae sails to Edinburgh in the coffin her father made for her. She is The Devil’s Daughter and has been sold to a ... READ MORE
Astonishing
Luckenbooth is undeniably a 5/5 stars. It is quite a short novel, but it contains multitudes in it. Fagan makes it possible by exploring and describing the... READ MORE
Location, Location, Location
A fearsome, multi-streamed, gothick narrative in which the titular house and, by extension, the Old Town of Edinburgh, serves as the main vehicle for the a... READ MORE
An imaginative and atmospheric collection of stories that lacked consistency and novelty.
An imaginative and atmospheric collection of stories that lacked consistency and novelty.
10 Luckenbooth Close is an eery, cursed building that, over the ... READ MORE
Dark
Firstly, I bought the book because the cover attracted by eye, but the blurb sounded great too.
The book is a good read, dark, twisty and bizarre in places... READ MORE
Dark fairytale, a must read
Beginning with the arrival of Jessie MacRae, the devil's daughter, this tapestry of a novel is woven from the lives of the tenants of No. 10 Luckenbooth Cl... READ MORE
Overly Ambitious.
Decided to purchase this based on many of the positive reviews.
Unfortunately I found it greatly lacking and rather disjointed throughout.
As much as I w... READ MORE
A Mad God's Dream
I had been wanting to read this book for ages ..it completely lived up to my expectations.
The epigram at the beginning is taken from this poem:
Edinburgh... READ MORE
Disjointed
I was looking forward to reading this as it is set in Edinburgh, where I live, and the synopsis on the cover sounded intriguing.
Unfortunately I was very ... READ MORE
How do you move on, as a reader, after such an experience…
‘’I kiss my mother’s cross. Set into the floor so there’s one holy thing between me and oblivion. The sea won’t take me. I am the devil’s daughter. Nobody ... READ MORE
You may also like...
Hamnet
Price: £10.99
The Wedding People
Price: £10.99
The Names
Price: £10.99
Yesteryear
Price: £16.99
The Daisy Chain Flower Shop
Price: £9.99
By Your Side
Price: £9.99
Wild Dark Shore
Price: £9.99
The Correspondent
Price: £9.99
The Long Shoe
Price: £9.99
Heated Rivalry
Price: £10.99
Land
Price: £25.00
The Divorce
Price: £9.99
What We Can Know
Price: £10.99
Heart the Lover
Price: £9.99
Atmosphere
Price: £9.99
The Impossible Fortune
Price: £9.99