Barbara Erskine Books in Order (Lady of Hay, The Ghost Tree, The Dream Weavers)

Barbara Erskine is a British writer born in 1944 who’s passionate about history and even studied Scottish history at Edinburgh University.

Since her best-selling first novel Lady of Hay published in 1986, Barbara Erskine has written almost twenty more books–and short stories–dealing with both history and the supernatural.

How to read Barbara Erskine’s Books in Order?

• Lady of Hay (1986) – In London, journalist Jo Clifford plans to debunk the belief in past lives in a hard-hitting magazine piece. But her skepticism is shaken when a hypnotist forces her to relive the experiences of Matilda, Lady of Hay, a noblewoman during the reign of King John.
• Kingdom of Shadows (1988) – In a childless and unhappy marriage, Clare Royland is rich and beautiful – but lonely. And fueling her feelings of isolation is a strange, growing fascination with an ancestress from the distant past. Troubled by haunting inexplicable dreams that terrify – but also powerfully compel – her, Clare is forced to look back through the centuries for answers.
• Encounters (1990) – A captivating volume of over forty short stories full of love, hope, and fear.

• Child of the Phoenix (1992) – In 1218 an extraordinary princess is born. Her mystical powers and unquenchable spirit will alter the course of history. Raised by her fiercely Welsh nurse to support the Celtic cause against the predatory English king, Princess Eleyne is taught to worship the old gods and to look into the future and the past. However, unable to identify time and place in her terrifying visions, she is powerless to avert forthcoming tragedy…
• Midnight is a Lonely Place (1994) – After a broken love affair, biographer Kate Kennedy retires to a remote cottage on the wild Essex coast to work on her new book, until her landlord’s daughter uncovers a Roman site nearby and long-buried passions are unleashed… In her lonely cottage, Kate is terrorized by mysterious forces. What do these ghosts want? Should the truth about the violent events of long ago be exposed or remain concealed?
• House of Echoes (1996) – When Joss, an adopted child, discovers that her real mother has left the beautiful family home, Belheddon Hall, to her, she is thrilled, until she discovers that the Hall is haunted by a presence which will not tolerate husbands or sons living in the house.

• Distant Voices (1996) – Barbara Erskine’s second volume of short stories.
• On the Edge of Darkness (1998) – Adam Craig is fourteen when he meets Brid near an isolated Celtic stone in the wild Scottish Highlands – he is fascinated by her exotic, gypsy-like dress and strange attitudes. They become friends, and, in time, passionate lovers. She leads him, unsuspecting, into the sixth century, where she has mastered the ancient mysteries and dangerous magic of the Druids. In her obsession with Adam, Brid is seen as a traitor by her people, only escaping death by following Adam to Edinburgh, when he leaves home to study medicine. As the years pass he makes new friends and finds new love. But Brid is consumed by jealousy and haunts him like an evil shadow, until, fifty years on, Adam’s granddaughter helps him discover the secret that will free them from the terror of Brid’s curse.
• Whispers in the Sand (2000) – Recently divorced Anna Fox decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great-grandmother Louisa made in the mid-nineteenth century – a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan. Anna carries with her two of Louisa’s possessions: an ancient Egyptian scent bottle and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has lain unread for over a hundred years. As she follows in Louisa’s footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful Victorian love story – and the chilling secret of the little glass bottle.

• Hiding from the Light (2002) – The parish of Manningtree and Mistley has a dark history. In 1644, Cromwell’s Witchfinder General tortured scores of women there, including Liza the herbalist, whose cottage still stands. Some say the spirits of his victims still haunt the old shop on the High Street… Emma Dickson gave up her high-flying career to live in Liza’s cottage, but as Halloween approaches, visions of a terrible past are driving her to madness. In despair, Emma turns to the local rector for help, but he, too, is in the grip of something inexplicably dangerous…
• Sands of Time (2003) – Sands of Time features two intriguing stories that pick up the fortunes of characters from Whispers in the Sand, Barbara Erskine’s captivating Egyptian novel. Still haunted by ancient mysteries, and the subject of dark intentions, Anna and Louisa must once more do battle with the past in order to survive the present.
• Daughters of Fire (2006) – Two thousand years ago, as the Romans invade Britannia, the princess who will become the powerful queen of the great tribe of the Brigantes, watches the enemies of her people come ever closer. Cartimandua’s world is, from the start, a maelstrom of love and conflict; revenge and retribution.In the present day, Edinburgh-based historian, Viv Lloyd Rees, has immersed herself in the legends surrounding the Celtic queen. She has written a book and is working on a dramatization of the young queen’s life with the help of actress, Pat Hebden. Cartimandua’s life takes one unexpected turn after another as tragedy changes the course of her future.

• The Warrior’s Princess (2008) – When Jess is attacked by someone she once trusted, she flees to her sister’s house in the Welsh borders to recuperate. There, she is disturbed by the cries of a mysterious child. Two thousand years before, the same valley is the site of a great battle between Caratacus, king of the Brtitish tribes, and the invading Romans. The proud king is captured and taken as a prisoner to Rome with his wife and daughter, Princess Eigon. Jess is inexorably drawn to investigate Eigon’s story, and as the Welsh cottage is no longer a peaceful sanctuary she decides to visit Rome. There lie the connections that will reveal Eigon’s astonishing life – and which threaten to reawaken Jess’s own tormentor…
• Time’s Legacy (2010) – Abi, a recently ordained priest of the Church of England, is appointed to the parish of the charismatic but fundamentalist Kier. He objects to her mysticism, her practice of healing in particular. When she sees a vision, Kier accuses her of witchcraft, but Abi soon sees more visions; an entire Roman family history, dark with betrayal and a promise of bloody revenge. With foreboding forces building up to violence, Abi must battle the approaching terror along with her own personal demons…
• River of Destiny (2012) – On the banks of the River Deben in Suffolk lies a set of barns dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Within their walls, secrets have been buried deeply. Zoe and Ken have just moved into one of the barns, ready to start a new life away from the hustle and bustle of the city. To the outside world they seem like an ordinary couple, but underneath they are growing more distant by the day. And when Zoe becomes close to local recluse, Leo, she finds her attraction to him undeniable.

• The Darkest Hour (2014) – In the summer of 1940, eyes are focused on the skies above the South of England: the Battle for Britain has just begun. But Evie Lucas has eyes for no one but a dashing young pilot called Tony. Evie has a glittering career as an artist ahead of her but seems only to be fascinated in sketching portraits of him… Seventy years later, recently widowed art historian Lucy is putting the pieces of her life back together, and to do that she needs to uncover the mystery surrounding a painting in her home. As Lucy ties up the loose ends of one lifetime, she stirs up a hornet’s nest of history in another. Suddenly, Lucy finds herself in danger from people past and present who have no intention of letting an untold truth ever surface.
• Sleeper’s Castle (2016) – Separated by more than six hundred years of history, two women are drawn together by Sleeper’s Castle, a house steeped in memory and magic. This is an epic tale of forbidden love, cruel revenge and a war that time can’t forget.
• The Ghost Tree (2018) – Ruth has returned to Edinburgh after many years of exile, left rootless by the end of her marriage, career and now the death of her father, from whom she had long been estranged. She is faced with the daunting task of clearing his house, believing he had removed all traces of her mother. Yet hidden away in a barely used top-floor room, she finds he had secretly kept a cupboard full of her possessions. Sifting through the ancient papers, Ruth discovers the diary and letters written by her ancestor from the eighteenth century, Thomas Erskine.

• The Dream Weavers (2021) – Mercia, 788 AD. In the grand Saxon halls of Mercia, King Offa rules with cold ambition. His youngest daughter, Eadburh, is destined for an arranged marriage, but with reckless spirit, her heart is taken by a Welsh prince, a man she can never be matched with and who is quickly and cruelly taken from her. Offa’s Dyke, 2021. In a cottage hidden amongst the misty Welsh hills of Offa’s Dyke, Bea Dalloway is called to help Simon Armstrong, who is searching for peace. Instead he finds himself disturbed by unsettling noises and visions. It isn’t long before Bea is also swept up by haunting dreams. The past is whispering to them, calling out for the truth to be told at last…

If you like the Barbara Erskine reading order, you may also want to take a look at The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, or the work of Kate Mosse. Don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.