Title: The Great Fire of London
Author: Samuel Pepys
Type: Non-Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 58
Rating 4.25/5
These are literally extracts from Pepys’ journals of 1665 and 1666, covering both the plague and the titular fire. He buried his cheese and wine so they wouldn’t be destroyed. Lad.
Title: The Mist in the Mirror
Author: Susan Hill
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 298
Rating 4.5/5
I’ve had this book for a while now, but for some reason I’d never got round to picking it up. I think part of the reason for that is that a few of my friends have independently met her in person and both said that she wasn’t very likeable. A pretty dumb reason for not picking it up, really.
That’s particularly true because it turned out to be excellent, and while there were some similarities to The Woman in Black (such as the time setting and the fact that it’s about a young man looking into the buried past), it didn’t feel as though she’d just had a go at duplicating a winning formula.
The focus on mirrors got to me in particular because I’ve always had a little bit of a fear of mirrors and reflections for some reason. When I was a kid and my mum went on holiday, I used to cover all of the mirrors in the house with bedsheets so that I didn’t get too creeped out while she was away.
All in all then, if you’re looking for a creepy little read that’ll give you some chills without taking too much of your time, this is a good place to look. I got my copy pretty cheap from a charity shop and so that made it a no-brainer, but it’s also worth the full RRP if you only buy new. It’s also made me want to read some more of Hill’s work. I’ll get there eventually, I just have so much other stuff on my list.
