Frost Hollow Hall

Frost Hollow Hall is a delightful debut novel from a talented new voice in historical fiction for children.

Despite the spooky nature of the tale – including the icy lake, the haunted halls and the crockery which moves across the room by itself – Frost Hollow Hall is a cosy and satisfying read. Emma Carroll has created a down-to-earth and assured narrator in Tilly, who is rescued from the lake after a skating accident by Kit Barrington – even though he’s been dead for ten years.

Tilly is sure there is a reason his spirit is not at rest, and she is determined to find out what. Betrayed by her own family's disbelief, when Tilly's friend Will Potter refuses to believe her, Tilly takes a job as a maid at Frost Hollow Hall and finds a house still in mourning after a decade of loss – as well as a vengeful spirit who frightens the staff. Tilly has a mystery to unravel and she’ll do it with or without Will Potter.

This is a charming story which, despite dealing with dark themes of grief, poverty and death, remains light-hearted and hopeful. With wonderful description and great characterisation, Emma Carroll is a real find and Frost Hollow Hall is a perfect ghostly mystery for fans of Eva Ibbotson, Ellen Renner and Marie-Louise Jensen.

This review originally featured on welovethisbook.com

Friday Feature Author Emma Carroll

Apologies for missing last week but I have returned to feature a wonderful writer for children the very lovely and very talented Emma Carroll. I have to say I love Emma's book choices. You can get both of Emma's brilliant books in paperback in all good bookshops now and you can read my review of Frost Hollow Hall HERE

When she isn’t writing, Emma Carroll teaches English part-time at a secondary school in Devon. She has also worked as a news reporter, an avocado picker and the person who punches holes into filofax paper. She graduated with distinction from Bath Spa University’s MA in Writing For Young People. ‘Frost Hollow Hall’ is Emma’s debut novel for Faber and won the North East Book Award. Her second novel, ‘The Girl Who Walked On Air’ is set in a Victorian circus. In another life she wishes she’d written ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne Du Maurier. Emma lives in the Somerset hills with her husband and two terriers. You can find out more about Emma at her blog http://emmacarrollauthor.wordpress.com/

Emma's Top Five Writimg Tips

In no particular order (and said with no great authority as I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to write)

1. Use pictures or film to help you visualize places or settings.
2. Set yourself a do-able daily word count and STICK TO IT.
3. Don’t expect every writing day to be the same: few are almost effortless, most are hard work.
4. Write down ideas immediately they occur- otherwise you’ll forget them.
5. Vary where you write- I tend to move from room to room during the day, just to shake things up!


Emma's Top Five Books (Historical)

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
2. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
3. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
4. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
5. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Emma's Top Five Historical Fiction Books For Children and Teens

1. Witch Child by Celia Rees
2. I, Coriander by Sally Gardner
3. the Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pulman
4. The Mysterious Misadventures of Clemency Wrigglesworth by Julia Lee
5. The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson