5 stars! The mystery is top notch and I looooove the history and attention to detail!!!!

This book is very reminiscent of The Thirteenth Tale (highly recommended). A famous poet’s dying wish to be interred with his long deceased wife is up to the whim of a niece. If she doesn’t agree, the protagonist, a man who takes the photos of dead people for a living (post-mortem photographer), is responsible for taking the body all the way back to London and living with the guilt of separating this couple forever. The niece finally agrees to allow the burial, (in a glass folly that has been locked for a decade and the subject of all sorts of interest from devoted fans of the poet, no less) under the condition that the post-mortem photographer stay for 5 nights and listen to a story. The story is about her aunt, the woman who is largely unknown except as the poet’s wife. Apparently she had a secret before they married..... but what is it?!?! I MUST KNOWWWW!!!!!!

The location is so gothic, the characters are intriguing, it takes place in Victorian times, PLUS, post-mortem photography = fascinating and creepy AF!!

Go get this book on Netgalley for FREE! 🎉🎉

This book needs to be read, while sitting in a bay window, overlooking a raging sea, wrapped up in a blanket. It's Gothic storytelling that should be kept on the shelf next to Rebecca, Wuthering Heights and The Woman in White.

Tragic love stories, a photographer of the dead, a seemingly easy yet morbid errand...it's everything I have every loved.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Kris Waldherr for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love Kris Waldherr’s nonfiction and her fiction debut was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. The story tells of a historian who unlauers the secrets between his cousin, Hugh and Hugh’s wife, Ada. The story was very enthralling and mysterious and kept me wanting to know more about the truth between Hugh and Ada! This novel will appeal to not only fans of gothic fiction but also Kate Morton, Lucinda Riley, and Simone St. James.

A richly woven story with beautiful descriptions and an intriguing family mystery. I enjoyed the interplay between Robert and Isabelle as their shared family history unfolded.

An eerie, atmospheric, gothic mystery with ghostly visitations, unfulfilled genius, photos of the dead and two love stories thrown in. A very well done book that will leave staying up late at night until you reach the final page and the mystery is revealed.

"A post-mortem photographer unearths dark secrets of the past that may hold the key to his future, in this captivating debut novel in the Gothic tradition of Wuthering Heights and The Thirteenth Tale.

All love stories are ghost stories in disguise.

When famed Byronesque poet Hugh de Bonne is discovered dead of a heart attack in his bath one morning, his cousin Robert Highstead, a historian turned post-mortem photographer, is charged with a simple task: transport Hugh’s remains for burial in a chapel. This chapel, a stained glass folly set on the moors of Shropshire, was built by de Bonne sixteen years earlier to house the remains of his beloved wife and muse, Ada. Since then, the chapel has been locked and abandoned, a pilgrimage site for the rabid fans of de Bonne’s last book, The Lost History of Dreams.

However, Ada’s grief-stricken niece refuses to open the glass chapel for Robert unless he agrees to her bargain: before he can lay Hugh to rest, Robert must record Isabelle’s story of Ada and Hugh’s ill-fated marriage over the course of five nights.

As the mystery of Ada and Hugh’s relationship unfolds, so does the secret behind Robert’s own marriage - including that of his fragile wife, Sida, who has not been the same since the tragic accident three years ago, and the origins of his own morbid profession that has him seeing things he shouldn’t - things from beyond the grave.

Kris Waldherr effortlessly spins a sweeping and atmospheric Gothic mystery about love and loss that blurs the line between the past and the present, truth and fiction, and ultimately, life and death."

I was sold with post-mortem photographer, and all the other Gothic goodness steeped on top? Cherry on the sundae!

Thank you Atria Books for gifting me an E-ARC in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I rate this book a 4 out of 5 Stars.

Where to start? This book is beautiful, and tragic, eerie, atmospheric, and just full of characters who are haunted, and so richly written. I would have never have thought to pick up this book myself, So I am happy that Atria approached me about it.

I found myself totally gripped by this prose, and fully entranced with the story of Ada and Hugh, and even Robert and the secrets in his own marriage. This was such a unique ghost story, so dark and gothic, and romantic. I found myself speed reading because I needed to see how this book could possibly end.

The formatting was executed well too, the back and forth, the timelines, everything flowed seamlessly, and I felt like I breezed through this book.

Robert's wife died three years ago and to cope with the grief, he became interested in taking photos of the dead. Then he is called upon to take a picture of his cousin and also make sure he is buried with his already dead wife, Ada. However, Ada’s grief-stricken niece refuses to open the glass chapel for Robert unless he agrees to her bargain.

The story started to become redundant about halfway through and I had a struggle to finish.

This book was a wonderful and pleasant surprise!
I loved the paranormal plot and story line because it not only well written, but also unique.
This is a first book by this author, and yes, it won't be the last!
If you like ghosts, history, suspense and twists - this book will rock your world!
Id did mine!
LOVED IT!

I was given a ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Waldherr gives us his best with this quintessential Victorian mystery. You won't be able to put his one down so be ready to read all nite.

The Lost History of Dreams was a wonderful gothic novel. I was spellbound from the beginning to the end. I can't wait to read the next book from this author.

A gothic love story full of twists and turns...and ghosts! I absolutely had no idea where the story was going - I needed to know who Isabelle was and how Robert would fair being in her presence. I was sure one or both of them were ghosts at one point, and was shocked at the end. It was pleasantly unputdowbable and reminded me so much of a cross between The Thirteenth Tale and The Gargoyle: two of my favourite books of all time.

The Lost History of Dreams is an accomplished debut novel which reminded me of classics such as Wuthering Heights and the more contemporary Possession by A.S. Byatt. Set in Victorian England, the book, rich with Gothic creepiness, layers several love stories into a unified whole. Author Kris Waldherr blends mystery, grief, and brooding passion into a family history of lost loves and family secrets.

The protagonist, Robert Highstead, is tasked by his family with burying Hugh de Bonne, a famed Byronesque poet and now-dead relative. Highstead, a photographer who specializes in the Victorian tradition of post-mortem photography, must transport the embalmed body (which smells of almonds to disguise the scent of death) to a distant chapel so de Bonne can be married next to his muse—and beloved wife—Ada, in a stained-glass folly that has been abandoned since she was interred there. In exchange for permission to accomplish that goal, Highstead agrees to write Ada’s story as dictated by her only living relative and who does so over a Scheherazade-like five nights. Exquisite poetry and prose, fully in keeping with the Byronesque Hugh de Bonne, evoke a dream-like atmosphere that pervades the book and sets the stage for ghosts and labyrinthine twists and turns.

The book is spooky enough for those who enjoy ghost stories, gloomy enough for those who like to wallow in books, but surprisingly light and joyous and full of enduring love who those who like love stories.

A last display of care before consignment to the grave.

Robert Highstead spends his time daguerreotyping corpses as keepsakes for grieving strangers, a far cry from his years at Oxford University as a scholar of history. Understanding all too well that loss and tragic turns are like a contagion, this work becomes personal. His own wife Sidda’s accident altered their future, he walks closer to death than life. When his famous cousin and poet Hugh de Bonne dies, Robert must take his remains to be interred in his stained glass chapel on the moors of Shropshire where he will be reunited with his deceased, beloved wife Ada. Here, Robert is to make his daguerreotype. He’d much rather remain with his own ‘fading’ wife, than engage with the world, nor honor any tasks put to him. Yet travel he must, it’s the honorable thing to do. “This was his cousin. His cousin was dead. Though it made little sense, Robert stepped toward the coffin as though not to disturb it.”

Hugh’s fans journey to the chapel, all longing for their piece of the love story between Hugh and Ada, but for her surviving niece Isabelle, the story isn’t the fantasy that’s been toted as truth. Robert is not welcome, and Isabelle’s refusal to embrace the return of Hugh’s body is suspicious, and infuriating. Her own past is a mystery, but Robert won’t bend to her will, finds a way to stay and earning a semblance of her trust becomes audience as Isabelle reveals the tale of Ada and Hugh as she knows it. She wants him to record it in a book. Yet Isabelle herself remains behind her cloak of privacy, until it’s no longer possible to hide. Why does she not allow anyone entrance to the chapel? What secrets are hiding there?

Both are unable to release themselves from the chains of guilt, haunted by ghosts of time and battling with the demons of their choices. No one punishes either Isabelle or Hugh more than they do themselves. The strange pair push and pull each other, and what appears as solid becomes fluid, changes. This gothic novel begins with a curious profession that bleeds into the tale of why death is easier to befriend than life. Love as muse, ghost, poetry, guilt, blame, and rage. Characters begin desperately in love, and weakness blooms for some as fate tests the soul. A heart can turn cruel when love is stolen by the hands of fate. People can love romantically and yet absent themselves in other horrible ways. Isabelle’s story is revealed as her defenses are stripped and her tale tugs the heart. The dead are not silent here. I rather like the ‘eye’ that Hugh had painted in miniature of Ada because for me as Isabelle tells the tale from Ada’s perspective it becomes symbolic of an all-seeing eye and yet what should be obvious to the characters is hidden.

A gothic love story that one must chase like a bird that disappears into the darkest of skies. Naturally love is the ruin of many, will there be time to set things right and maybe live again?

Publication Date: April 9, 2019

Atria Books

This book is haunting! It strikes such a chord with me, as I so frequently question whether the spirit of my loved ones who are passed are with me. This is a love story, ghost story, and gripping mystery all in one. I absolutely didn’t see the ending coming!

What a weird, wild, darkly compelling and fascinating read this was...

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. It wasn't what I got, and while at first I thought that was going to be a problem, as the story wound on and things got more and more involved, I found my feelings changing.

This was a rather slow burn, but the character development and multiple story lines required a lot of set up and we're definitely worth the effort. I wound up quite enjoying the meandering direction the book took, and the resolution was thoroughly satisfying when it finally came.

The Lost History of Dreams: A Novel by Kris Waldherr.

Robert is a former Ovid scholar, traumatized and suffering and in what appears to be a loving but unstable relationship with his wife Sida (Cressida) and a puzzling three-year estrangement from his brother. Set in 1850’s Victorian England, the story centres on a request from a recently deceased cousin Hugh, a famous poet, for a daguerreotype (photograph) of Hugh’s body interred with that of Ada, his late wife who died very young. Robert has, by chance taken up the profession of photographing the recently dead on behalf of their families. Though reluctant to leave Sida on her own in London, Robert agrees to the commission as a favour to his brother, taking Hugh (in his coffin) to Ada’s family estate in Shropshire. In the process of all this, we hear about Robert and Sida, Hugh and Ada, and Ada’s parents Lucian and Ada, just three of the romances in this book. We also meet the intriguing Isabelle, Hugh’s heir.

Easy to read, the writing style is smooth and engaging loaded with descriptions that transform each page into a series of colour images, both moving and still. Reading this book over several days was, for me, like consuming a delicious but unfamiliar cheesecake; a piece at a time to savour. I last felt like this when I watched Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander in 1982.

This is my first encounter with Kris Waldherr – I am already looking for more.

Read this book if you are looking for something very different.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Lost History of Dreams via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

THE LOST HISTORY OF DREAMS is a compelling, gothic novel. I was compelled to read the novel as soon as I saw that the main character was a post-mortem photographer. Yes, I am one of those morbid people who is fascinated by the Victorian Era tradition of photographing the dead. While I wish there had been some more information about the post-mortem photography, I was swept up in the Robert’s and Isabelle’s stories. The novel is beautifully written, the characters are compelling, and there are multiple mysteries about the characters’ past that will keep the reader enthralled. Also, Kris Waldherr recreates the Victorian Era through descriptions of the places, traditions, and beliefs.

I received this from Netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Robert's wife died three years ago and to cope with the grief, he became interested in taking photos of the dead. Then he is called upon to take a picture of his cousin and also make sure he is buried with his already dead wife, Ada. However, Ada’s grief-stricken niece refuses to open the glass chapel for Robert unless he agrees to her bargain.

An okay gothic story. The atmosphere was good but at about the half-way point, it really began to drag and it was an effort to finish the book. The story kept looping back on itself as it was told from different angles and timelines which gave the story the feeling of being repeated over and over.


3 stars

I was immediately gripped with this read. And I mean immediately. In the beginning I couldn't put it down. The settings were described perfectly and the grief in this book, which is palpable through the entire book, was slapped into your face hard right from the start. In fact, the main character's grief and longing were so well done that I found myself thinking his plight was actually quite beautiful. Which I can only attribute to the author's talent. Let's not forget this book is a ghost story. Filled with ghostly imagery, mysterious characters and haunting structures it's a really, really good ghost story. I will say that most of the middle section of this book was a bit of a slog for me and I really found myself pushing to get past it. But the ending was totally worth it, full of mystery and intrigue.