Barbara Erskine

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...

In the summer of 1940, most eyes are focused on the skies above. The battle for Britain has just begun. But talented artist Evie Lucas has eyes for no one but a dashing young pilot called Tony, and spends her days sketching endless portraits of him. She wants his parents to have something to remember their only child by in case it all goes wrong in the war... Seventy years later, recently widowed art historian Lucy is trying to put the pieces of her...

History seems bound to ruthlessly repeat itself in The Lady of Hay, when tenacious journalist Jo Clifford undertakes a session of hypnotic regression. What unfolds is an eight hundred year-old tale of secret passion and brutal betrayal. In Time?s Legacy, Anglican Curate, Abi Rutherford, is forced to flee her parish in search of spiritual sanctuary when she is accused of witchcraft. She soon finds herself experiencing violent visions of a buried two...

Jo Clifford, journalist, is all set to debunk the idea of past-life regression in her next magazine series. But when she herself submits to a simple hypnotic session, she suddenly finds herself reliving the experiences of Matilda, Lady of Hay, the wife of a baron at the time of King John. As she learns of Matilda's unhappy marriage, her love for the handsome Richard de Clare and the brutal threats of death at the hands of King John, it becomes clear...

Recently divorced Anna is retracing the steps of her great grandmother on a Nile cruise, with the aid of an ancient scent bottle and an illustrated diary of the original cruise. Anna is haunted by a ghost that grows in strength as the story unfolds.

This volume features over forty short stories full of love, hope, and fear. Barbara Erskine is a born storyteller. The tales in 'Encounters' illustrate her extraordinary talent for capturing the spirit of a place and drawing us into the hearts and minds of her characters.