This is a brilliantly written historical novel that had me totally invested from the beginning till the end. If you’ve not read a book by Barbara Erskine before then I defiantly recommend this one you will not be disappointed.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Story Spinner in return for my honest review.

I have just finished this book and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Cadi lives alone in a cottage on the edge of a meadow, she is an author and very successful. She loves the peace and quiet of the village she lives in. That is until she is woken night after night by the sound of soldiers marching past her window. Who are they and where are they going? The end of her road is a dead end, leading to a meadow. When she look out her window no one is around.
Then suddenly she and other villagers are made aware that planning permission to build on the meadow is about to be granted. The peaceful location is about to be ruined. When a skeleton turns up in the meadow the plans are put on hold. Is this a recent grave or something from further past. The meadow has Roman links. Can Cadi stop the plans before they start building
While all this is going on Cadi is drawn into the past as she begins to spin the stories of the past

would like to give this more stars but felt the ending let it down.
It just seemed such a shame that was the end. I felt like there was more to come

Barbara is definitely a story spinner.
Enjoyed this, the double time line works well, usually the main character travels in time but not this time.
Cadi is the woman living in the present day, she lives in a cottage at the edge of a meadow which was a Roman camp. Cadi is very sensitive and hears soldiers marching and when she writes she unconsciously writes about the past. Her love life has not been easy, first her husband David and Cadi split up amicably, then a tempestuous love affair with Ifan, a controlling and violent man. She meets Charles as he is dowsing in the meadow and they form a gentle friendship.
In 383 AD Elen a Welsh Princess is married to a Roman general Mascen, despite warnings she is determined to make the marriage work, after the birth of five children and various moves, her husband becomes Emperor naming his son Vincent as Co-Emperor, Vincent is only a young boy but tries to fulfil his role. Cadi is helped by the wise woman Branwen, who helps her develop her powers.
The two lives of the women are eventful and linked by the wormhole in the meadow.
The character of Meryn, Cadi's uncle is well developed and his interaction with Branwen helps Cadi.
An enjoyable if long story with lots of domestic detail.
Thank you Barbara, NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC

I love Erskine’s unique way of storytelling. I’m a fan of historical fiction but the mix of history being brought into the present with ghostly happenings is absolutely brilliant.
I really appreciated that although the historical aspects on the whole were not characters I’d heard of there was the odd element and artefact mentioned where it really caught my interest, making me wonder what their actual story was

Cadi is a poet living in a cottage near Camp Meadow at night she is haunted by the sound of marching soldiers. Cadi’s peaceful life is threatened when a developer plans to build multiple houses in the meadow next to her cottage.

Cadi starts delving into the history of the meadow to find a reason to stop the meadow from being disturbed.

I loved the way the early history and the present time are written by Cadi and Elen a Welsh Princess who inhabited the area in the early history.

This was about early history of Wales, with lots of mythology. In the present time Cadi is stalked by her previous partner who is evil and wants to destroy Cadi’s way of life.

At times it was hard to follow the ancient history part with all the different kings and Emperor’s but overall, I loved the way Elen told her story to Cadi.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for a chance to read this E-Book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Barabra Erskine is one of my comfort authors. And her newest novel, The Story Spinner, did not disappoint,

Erskine’s stories follow the same structure; a modern day protagonist who has ties with a person of the past and seeks to unravel their story. Thrown in some villains, obstacles and romance, and you have a very entertaining story. Although this structure is repeated across all her books, it works. You know exactly what to expect from Erskine, and she delivers every time.

This was a fascinating story of the vague and mysterious historical figure Elen, as mentioned in the author’s footnotes. Erskine has reimagined her story and taken the reader back into Dark Age Britain, where the relationship between the native Britons and The Roman Empire has been established and is a fine political tightrope. Erskine pulls us into a Britain of myths, differing beliefs and identity and effectively and realistically creates a world of the past.

I was especially delighted to see Erskine incorporating the beginnings of Arthurian legend, and placing it firmly in Welsh heritage and the landscape. Many Arthurian symbols, places and characters are introduced, such as Caledfwlch (Excalibur), Vortigen and Avalon.

The Story Spinner was another book I devoured from a trusty and go-to author.

This is a classic Barbara Erskine time slip story - this time focused on Dark Ages Britain and the story of the Welsh Princess Elen who becomes the ancestress of King Arthur as well as the modern day story of Cadi, a poet fleeing from an abusive relationship that returns to terrorise her. The past and the present intermingle through a time portal near her house and both Elen and Cadi's lives play out in parallel. I loved this story and would highly recommend it.

A broken love affair, Britain at the end of the Roman occupation and vengeance all combine in this novel. A masterful tale

Barbara Erskine writes wonderful time slip historical fiction. The amount of research required for this book is mind blowing!
Cadi lives in a Cottage besides Camp Meadow with views towards the Bristol Channel. She is a poet who is currently writing a series of books based on The Mabinogion; Welsh myths and legends set around the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. The books are illustrated by Cadi's artist cousin Rachel.
But Cadi's life is unsettled by the matching feet she heard and by the news that a developer intends to build houses on her beloved meadow.
When her neighbour's dog disappears during a walk in the meadow and Cadi seems to have channelled a British princess linked with the meadow and is automatically writing Elen's history the story takes a darker turn.
I loved this book, as I have lived all of Barbara Erskine's previous books. Another triumph!

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It's been a while since I read a Barbara Erskine book and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. As always the timeslip aspect works perfectly and the historical aspect is so well researched its fascinating, add in a cast of great characters and you have a great book

The Story Spinner by Barbara Erskine

The Lady of Hay is one of my all-time favourite novels and I’ve read it multiple times, occasionally even in Hay! Barbara Erskine is the master of the time slip novel. In The Story Spinner we have another. In present day Wales, we have poet Cadi Jones who lives by, and protects, Camp Meadow. As she walks across it she can hear the sound of marching feet, of horses. In 382 AD, the princess Elen is promised in marriage to a great Roman general who has the greatest of ambitions. Despite dire warnings, the marriage must go ahead. But in the nearby meadow, these worlds collide and Cadi longs to tell Elen’s story. This is a truly atmospheric tale, full of wild flowers, animal calls and poetry. It is lovely. I did find it a little formulaic and romantic for my personal taste but I think fans of Barbara Erskine, and there are many, will love it.

A totally absorbing read. The literal spinning of the two tales from past and present were fascinating, blurring the past and present together at times in such a way to be impossible to put down. Great read. Drama, suspense by the bucketload and history, what more could you ask?

Thank you Netgalley

Absolutely 5 stars worth of I am not doing anything else until I have finished this book. I have, in the past, read Barbara Erskines books and thoroughly enjoyed them.
This is the story of Cadi, a poet, who is rewriting the stories of Welsh legend with her cousin. But Cadi is reliving those stories, no surprise as her uncle is some sort of Druid who I think has featured in other books by this author. Cadi lives alone having been through an abusive relationship. This fact is important to the whole story too.

Welsh queens, Druids, kind friends, new love, magic, an abuser who brilliantly gets his come uppance. What’s not to like!

I read the author's Lady of Hay series decades ago and was so pleased to get the opportunity to read a new story from her. Two tine lines with Elen, royal princess in 3rd century Wales and Cadi, poet and write in the present-day. Elen is married into the imperial Roman military as part of consolidating her family's status in a fairly stable, but conquered region, although she moves widely across the Roman Empire with her husband's military duties and ambitions. Cadi 'hears' Elan and starts to write her story. There are wormholes linking the two time lines and through which things can pass, there are seers in both timelines and there are personal stories in the present day. The descriptions are spot on and you can feel the jump from present-day pretty little village to fear, uncertainty and terror of the Roman times bringing in the transfer from Mithraic religion (Romans), druidic ('Welsh) and Christianity. The stories are based upon one of those in the Mabinogion (itself well worth a read), a 12-13th-(14th) century set of Welsh folk tales bringing to life that of Magnus Maximus, a legionary commander in Britain and gaining the title of Roman Emperor in the late 4th century, and his wife Elen. Excellent writing, as expected. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

As a long-time fan of Barbara Erskine’s writing. It was a pleasure to receive this book for review. The story has two interwoven timelines, one in the present day where Cadi, a writer herself is battling with local authorities who want to grant permission for the ancient meadow behind her home to be turned into a housing estate. The other time line is towards the end of the Roman era in Britain and centres on Elen, a Welsh princess, and her husband Magnus, one of the Roman emperors and a megalomaniac too. The two stories are linked by a ‘wormhole’ in Cadi’s meadow, where characters can disappear and reappear by magical means. It took a little while for the story to really take off and grab the reader’s attention, but once fully underway it was absolutely gripping and completely entrancing. Barbara Erskine’s research into the Roman way of life is exhaustive and both the historical and present day elements always ring true. This is a book that will leave the reader bereft when it finishes - I could have followed the story for much, much longer! Very highly recommended in spite of the slow start.

I've been reading Barbara Erskine's books for many years. I love the dual time aspects of the characters. His one is set in Roman Britain in Wales. The story of a Welsh princes, a Roman general and a wise woman
In the present time Cadi is a poet who is rewriting some Welsh folk tales using historical research to help. Her cousin, Rachel provides the illustrations and the current story is about Elen and Maximus. Elen has a servant who is a seer.. She is recovering from an abusive marriage to Ifan but is rebuilding her life. The story centres around a meadow next to her house on which planning permission is being applied for. This starts a chain of events as the village opinion divides on whether this should happen.
Packed full of history, mystical, time shifting. I raced through this tale.

An epic timeslip novel, impressive in its background research and immersive detail. I enjoyed the earlier parts more than the later chapters, but the story carried me along and had plenty of drama as well as mystery and mysticism.
Interesting characters, especially Elen and Branwen, and as a Welsh woman I appreciated the grounding in Welsh locations, history and mythology.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC which I received in exchange for an honest review.

Elen is a Welsh princess in 38AD. She is promised in marriage to Macsen, AKA Flavius Magnus Maximus, a Roman General who has been posted to Wales. Elen has a maid, a wise woman, she is fearful, says the General bears the mark of doom on his forehead.
Cadi is the modern day link, she is a poet and writer, translating legends into modern tales. She lives near Camp Meadow and hears the sound of marching feet at night. Her cottage is small, peaceful and gives a sense of calm which is essential for her to concentrate upon her work, so she is distraught to hear that the land has been sold for a housing development. Local legend has it that there lies beneath the meadow the remains of a Roman villa, if this can be proved or found, then perhaps the meadow can be saved and the mystery of the marching feet can be discovered.
The novel moves between two time periods, Roman rule in Wales and present day Wales. Cadi finds herself looking into the life and times of Elen, a princess who disappeared into the mists of times, Cadi wants to bring her story out of mythology and into a substantive person.
There are many lovely characters in this story, Uncle Meryn makes a welcome return, a man of learning and strong beliefs in myths and legends.
We meet a lovely dog, a former lover seeking revenge, and the story of Excalibur and King Arthur gets given a new twist. Echoes of the past, myths , legends, fate and fortune make for a wonderful story. There are realistic and sympathetic characters, some feisty, whilst obeying conventions of their particular time zone. Both women face threats from men, and both know that resilience is to be their watchword. The undercurrent of fear and tension was well described and the whole story felt so real.
My only gripe was having to stop so frequently to look up unfamiliar words and locations, a task that will be easier in book form rather than my Kindle.
I loved this story. A five star read.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HarperCollinsUK for my advance copy, freely given in return for my honest review. I will post to Goodreads and Amazon UK upon publication.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my copy of The Story Spinner by Barbara Erskine.
I have loved this author ever since Lady of Hay. The attention to detail and the way she weaves the story between two time zones is magical. Every book is a treat.

Well Barbara Erskine has done it again. I have loved her books since I was a teenager and read The Lady of Hay. Her novels are what started my obsession with time-slip stories.

Cadi lives in Wales in a cottage that she received in her divorce settlement. She lives on her settlement and the royalties she makes from her poetry that centers around Welsh mythology.. Cadi lives next to an ancient meadow known as Camp Meadow as it was thought to have been a Roman Centurion camp. Then Cadi learns that the meadow has been sold and is scheduled to be the site of a new estate of houses. Cadi is appalled as this will totally destroy the lovely village that she lives in. At night Cadi can hear the ghostly marching of a Roman army so she knows there is more to Camp Meadow than meets the eye.

Elen is a Welsh Princess in the time of Rome’s rule over Britain. She is married to a Roman general Macsen or Maximus Magnus and must navigate all that comes from being the wife of a Roman in Britain during those turbulent times, Then Cadi and Elen’s lives overlap and that is what makes Ms. Erskine’s novels so enjoyable, The historical and supernatural storytelling . I found myself looking up the historical characters to see how their lives turned out.

The back and forth between the present and the past was well done and as a fan of history I enjoyed reading about an unknown to me part of Roman and British history.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher Harper Collins UK and the author for the chance to read and review this ARC.