Definitely a great read with a darker side of Victorian England. Is this a love story or a ghost story? I’ll let you decide.
I love this era and the gothic romance genre was new to me. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read for an honest review.

I'm choosy with my Gothic fiction. A large part of the issue I had with this novel is that it was missing one of the keystones of Gothic literature, in all eras: a setting that is a character itself. For all the talk of a glass cathedral and a house on the moors, we do not get nearly enough descriptions. They are not brought to life as they should be so that we are transported there, so that we can feel the chill in the rooms, the smell of the just-snuffed out candles. Part of the reason for this is that the story has an uneven pace. There's always too much happening at one time and too many locations to keep track of. The love story we're supposed to be rooting for is insta-love, which has never worked for me, and which only accentuates the pacing issues. The middle of the book is the best part, at least for me, and although the big reveals are supposed to make us stagger back, they don't quite manage to do that. Again, I blame pacing issues and the author's failure to create a true Gothic atmosphere.

Who doesn't love a book about...a book? Wonderfully and richly and inventively Gothic, full of Shadows and mysteries.

A Byronesque love story, a ghost story, a story of mistaken identity and the story of an exquisite stained-glass burial chapel that keeps its secret until the very end.
The story starts with Robert HIghstead, a historian turned post-mortem photographer. In Victorian England, grieving relatives often commissioned photographs of their dearly departed--especially babies who died with such woeful frequency. This was also the era of during which hair of dead loved ones was incorporated into memento mori jewelry--a brooch, a pendant, a watch chain. .
When HIghstead is asked to photograph the corpse of his recently deceased cousin, a famous poet (no, not Byron...but similar in many ways), he must travel to the family home on the moors of Shropshire--cousin (in casket) in tow. There are more than a few instances of such dry humor. But there are also pages of poetry (quite-good in a melancholy way) and a cache of yellowed letters never meant to be found. Clues. Who died and how. And who, believed dead, still lives.
A ghost story and a mystery.
Did I say there are ravens, doves and a second chance at love?
A lovely and lyrical read that also manages to be a page turner.

The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr has a Gothic ambiance.

from description: 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.

The book has elements from some of the best Gothic tales and a vibe of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher.

Waldherr skillfully develops a wonderfully creepy atmosphere. The author is certainly familiar with the plots and styles of the best known Gothic novels, but the characters don't feel as authentic.

Read in January; blog review scheduled for 3/27/19.

NetGalley/Atria Books
Historical Fiction/Gothic. April 9, 2019. Print length: 320 pages.