Anne Allen – Her Previous Self

‘Her Previous Self’ by Anne Allen is the eighth book in the Guernsey series. This is the only book I have read from this series, though. I had no problems with just dipping in. There are some references to things that have happened previously but nothing to cause an issue.

A historical fiction time-slip novel in which Lucy Stewart has moved back to Guernsey after the tragic death of her daughter and the disintegration of her marriage. Lucy is left looking after her grandfather as her parents leave to go on a cruise. She finds herself haunted by a portrait of Mary, a woman who lived in the same mansion two hundred years previously. Lucy is haunted by Mary’s continued presence in the house and finds herself being pulled more and more back in time. How is it possible for her to live as Mary? To experience scenes from her tragic life? Lucy is forced to come to terms with Mary’s grief as well as her own.

The more enmeshed she becomes the more anxious Lucy is to discover the truth. Why is Mary still restless? What caused her mysterious disappearance two hundred years ago? And can Lucy move on from her own loss to find happiness again?

A tale of two women, divided by history but each have the power to set each other free. As Lucy is dragged into Mary’s world she can empathise with Mary’s sadness and she feels her around. She understands that Mary needs her storytelling and as it unfolds we experience the brutal life she lived.

A book that is full of emotion as we see Lucy and Mary both attempting to deal with the life they have been handed. The story interweaves both women’s stories together so it almost feels like they are as one as the emotions almost overflow from the pages of the book. The amount of sadness I felt for Mary almost made me cry at certain points, that she had to deal with such things really affected me as I was reading. This is a credit to Anne Allen’s skill in creating characters that the reader can feel attached to in a way that you care about said characters and it has the power to affect you.

A very compelling and immersive story that I would recommend if you are a historical fiction lover with a time slip that increases the edge to the story.

Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Anne Allen for my place on the tour and the copy of the book.