Houses of Stone is a novel written by Barbara Mertz (under the name Barbara Michaels). Released in 1993, it features scholar Karen Holloway discovering the life story of a mysterious author known only as "Ismene".
Characters[]
- Karen Holloway - a professor of English and devout collector of books
- Cameron Hayes - a co-owner of the Amberley estate
- Bill Meyer - a fellow English professor who tries to insert himself into Karen's research on Ismene
- Dr. Margaret "Peggy" Finneyfrock - an older, bombastic friend of Karen's
- Lisa Fairweather - a co-owner of the Amberley estate
- Mrs. Violetta Fowler - Karen's landlord
- Tanya - local librarian
- Joan - friend of Karen
- Sharon - psychologist friend of Karen
- Bobby - son of Mrs. Fowler, former brother-in-law of Cameron
- Simon Hallett - an older friend of Karen's with a puckish sense of humour
- Dorothea Angelo - a standoffish older professor and rival of Karen
Publisher's Summary[]
When young professor of English Karen Holloway happens on a privately printed volume of verse dating from the early nineteenth century, it's all in a day's work. But when a battered manuscript bearing the same mysterious attribution, "Ismene", turns up, Karen realizes that it is an important discovery that could be the making of her academic career.
Karen immerses herself in a headlong search for the true identity of the unknown author, tracking the provenance of the manuscript to Virginia's historic Tidewater egion. She is not alone i her quest; academic rivals shadow her steps, trying to gain possession of the valuable manuscropt, and the locals are more inquisitive about her activies than seems natural.
Fortunately, Karen has the help of her eccentric and able mentor, Peggy, whose historical expertise proves to be invaluable. And, as she painstakingly deciphers the crabbed, charred pages, she begins to wonder whether she has the assisstance of Ismene herself. Is the tale of Gothic horror that Ismene tells not a novel but a memoir, the very possession of which may jeapordize Karen's life? Ismene's legacy calls out from the past, from an eerie world fraught with terrifying impressions of fire and ice that will not die until the painful truths that inhabit houses of stone are revealed.
Full Summary[]
Chapter One[]
Literary professor Karen Holloway visits an old bookstore in Baltimore after an old friend (Simon, who owns the bookstore) gives news of an unusual and rather thrilling book in his collection, a work by a mysterious author of the name of Ismene. After a discussion of music, Simon refuses to give the work to Karen immediately. Instead, he talks at length about the short story The Torture by Hope.
Once he finishes and locks up the store, Simon shows Karen the work - a novel of extreme age (that has suffered somewhat from the ages). Even now, Simon refuses to let her take the work with her, instead proposing that it should be given to a scholarly source so that it can be distributed to the masses. Karen manages to convince Simon to give her a small sample of the copy to keep it safe.
Chapter Two[]
After studying the sample (which keeps Karen absolutely invested and gives her horrible nightmares), Karen and a friend named Penny visit Simon to stake out the other buyers. Penny finds Simon a charming (though chauvinistic) man. The duo finds that none of the other prospective buyers has purchased the manuscript, possibly leaving it ripe for the picking.
Chapter Three[]
While in her university, Karen finds a man named Cameron Hayes who claims to be the owner of the estate (the Amberly estate) that Simon found the Ismene manuscript in. Though Cameron offers to help Karen in her research of Ismene, Karen decides to visit the Amberly estate without telling him.
While rooting around the estate in the middle of the night, Karen slips and sprains her ankle. She is found by Bill Meyer (a fellow English professor) and Lisa Fairweather (the co-owner of the Amberly estate). They bring her inside. Bill tries to get Karen to include him in her investigation of Ismene, though Karen leaves him without an answer.
Chapter Four[]
Accompanied by Cameron, Karen tours the Amberley manor. Right before she can enter into the manor's basement, she is overcome by a wave of pure terror and flees. She then sees Cameron and a man named Bobby arguing.
Karen (using Peggy's money) finally buys the full manuscript off of Simon. Bill Meyer invites Karen (along with Peggy and Simon) to dinner. While they are at dinner, Bill subtly threatens Karen by mentioning a less scrupulous professor (Dorothea Angelo).
Chapter Five[]
Karen decides to live near the Amberley manor while researching Ismene (bringing a copy of manuscript with her). Right before she can leave, she is confronted by Dorothea but is able to escape with the help of her friends.
While in Blairsville (the town that the Amberley house is in), Karen lodges with the elderly Mrs. Fowler. She tries to gain more historical details, but comes up largely blank (though she gains the diaries of a Cartwright letter writer and meets a friendly local librarian named Tanya) until Lisa Fairweather arrives and offers her access to the Amberley estate's genealogical records.
Chapter Six[]
Though the records could help Karen in her search for Ismene, they are largely a dead end (only showing the track of the male relatives and giving very little detail on the lives of the women).
As Karen reads further and further into Ismene's manuscript, she becomes convinced that the house within the manuscript is the Amberley estate. This is reinforced when she finds striking architectural similarities while visiting the house.
Chapter Seven[]
During a night of heavy rains, Mrs. Fowler (due to the machinations of Bill Meyer) invites Karen to Blairsville's literary society. Karen initially assumes that this is a cruel joke put forth by Bill, but Bill visits Karen at her temporary home and reveals that he intended it to be a way for her to gain information from the old gossips of Blairsville. Bill also slyly reveals that he has read some of Ismene's manuscript.
Chapter Eight[]
Peggy arrives in Blairsville after being held up standing at the deathbed of her gay ex-husband (who died from AIDS complications). They begin looking for the "house of stone" that Ismene described in her poems. The duo finds several stone structures covered in weeds but are scared off by a scream they hear in the wilderness.
Some time after this, Karen finds that her room has been rifled through and later (after returning from a meeting of some of Blairsville's "literary scholars" that includes Karen, Bill, and Peggy) Bill sees a figure that he assumes is Dorothea Angelo.
Chapter Nine[]
Another friend of Karen's (Joan) visits Joan while on the run from a health spa. She gives Karen a book on Tidewater hauntings written by Mrs. Fowler. The book describes a spirit known as the "Screaming Woman", who matches the description of the "spirit" that Karen and Peggy heard while looking for the house of stone.
Chapter Ten[]
At the literary society meeting, Karen launches into an extremely feminist speech on Jane Austen's works. Though Bill and Peggy are proud of her, Karen herself is scared that she will be booted out by her elderly landlord.
Right after the literary society meeting, Lisa Fairweather presents Karen with boxes of family papers (though the family bible is missing). Later, Lisa provides several ancient books that she believes were read by Ismene.
Late in the night, Karen is attacked by a figure who tries to grab for her briefcase. Karen is able to beat them off.
Chapter Eleven[]
Peggy and Karen reason that the figure is either Dorothea or Bill pretending to be Dorothea due to a scent of heavy perfume.
After a heavy rainstorm, Karen, Peggy, and Joan visit an auction made up of the possessions of the Amberley estate's previous owner (an obsessive hoarder). The auction turns nothing up, though they find Bill at the auction. While leaving the auction, Karen is nearly hit by a car - with Bill being struck instead.
Chapter Twelve[]
At the auction, Karen and Peggy (along with Joan and Simon) bet on various merchandise. Karen sees Bill in the crowd. Bill's injuries are minor - skin being scratched off of his face by gravel - but gruesome. As the auction winds down, Karen accidentally bumps into Mrs. Fowler (who promptly screeches at Karen) and with the help of Peggy, catches Dorothea breaking into her car. After the auction, Bill declares that one of the paintings the duo bought could be a portrait of an older Ismene.
Chapter Thirteen[]
The next day, Karen and Peggy (with the help of Bill and Simon) begin work on excavating a local graveyard for clues about Ismene's identity. This search is largely fruitless. After the search, Simon tells Karen that she should look for clues in the manuscript instead of hunting around Blairsville.
That night, Karen wakes up to find her apartment on fire. She manages to escape - dragging the briefcase with the manuscript in it - and finds that Ms. Fowler is passed out drunk.
Chapter Fourteen[]
To search more for more clues, Karen and Peggy visit the maid of Cameron's mother (Mrs. Madison, mother of Tanya). This also proves to be a dead end, with the duo visiting Cameron's mother angering Cameron. Later, Lisa provides the family diary though this also proves to be a dead end.
Chapter Fifteen[]
Karen and Peggy (with the help of Bill and several local youths) excavate a stone structure near the Amberley estate that was supposedly used to kill rebellious slaves. They find a hole in its floor, though they break for the day before they can find anything else.
Later, the duo meets with Tanya to discuss local matters. They discover that Bobby and Cameron fought over Cameron refusing to give Mrs. Foyle her fire insurance.
Even later in the night, Karen discovers what she declares is the "Deadly Secret" (presumably at the heart of Ismene's narrative).
Chapter Sixteen[]
The next day, the excavation continues but is stalled by Peggy being injured by falling rocks. As such, Karen and Cameron are left alone at the sight. They begin to explore the tunnel but soon hear Bobby and some local cohorts moving towards them on the warpath. They initially hide in the tunnel (which has bones inside of it), but they both emerge from the tunnel. During the confrontation, Bobby reveals that Bill paid him to set up a car accident. Before Bobby can attack the duo, they are saved by mysterious screaming.
Later, Peggy discovers the identity of Ismene from a forgotten diary from the letter writer - her mother's sister. The diary also states that its author tried to destroy the manuscript in a fire but was only able to destroy its ending and beginning. From this and the bones in the tunnel, Peggy and Karen postulate that the real Ismene was murdered by her sister. They also postulate that Bill was responsible for the burglary (along with several other acts, all framed as acts of Dorothea), though not the arson.
Epilogue[]
At Peggy and Simon's wedding, Karen reveals that she told Dorothea about Bill's plot to frame her. She also reveals Ismene's real name (Cassandra Cabot) and that it was Mrs. Fowler who set the fire.
Notes[]
- Each chapter is prefaced by a quote based around the subject of female literature.
See also[]
- The Alchemy Fire Murder by Susan Rowland
- Possession by A.S. Byatt