The Poisoned House: A Ghost Story by Michael Ford

Ford, Michael.  Chicago, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 2011.  $8.99.  ISBN: 978-0-8075-6590-2.  Horror/Historical Fiction.  Age/Grade Level: Teen 9+ (high school and+)  Format: Book

This book was a bit disappointing.  It seemed like a good choice, but it was very slow in getting to the action.  It tells the story of Abigail (Abi) Tamper, who truly existed in 1850’s London (and changed her name to Abigail Merchant) and this story is loosely based on her life, but it is made more of a story and told through Abi’s perspective in this book.  Her mother is killed, and she begins to be haunted by her mother’s ghost.  Abi has never known of her father, but has always served as a maid in Lord Greave’s household, Greave Hall.  Sam, or Master Greave, son of Lord Greave returns back from the war, loses his leg and Abi nurses Sam back to health.  (True part of Abi’s real story.)  Then the book takes a twist with Abi and Sam both being fathered by Lord Greave, which makes the story interesting, but was never actually proven historically.  Shortly after Abi’s mother’s death, Lord Greave falls progressively into madness and he does through most of the story, until he is killed.  It is later found out that Sam accidently poisoned Abi’s mother, while trying to kill Lord Greave, his father, and eventually Sam smothers Lord Greave in his sleep, all because Sam found it abhorrent that his mother fell in love with Abi’s mother (Sam’s own nursemaid) and to add insult to injury for Sam, Lord Greave leaves Greave Hall to Abi merely days after Abi’s mother’s death. (Abi’s inheritance was real, and it was suspected Sam killed his father.)  It was highly predictable, how the story would go, once it was revealed that the murderer of Abi’s mother was not the horrible Mrs. Cotton, housekeeper and sister to Lord Greave, so I found that disappointing.  However, I did like how as a sort of epilogue, they give Abi’s real life obituary from the London Times newspaper, and explain how everything truly went.  I would not recommend this book to a reluctant reader, but definitely to someone who has the patience to read through chapters before the story picks up.  It was an alright story, though I’d rather read something more factual about this Abi Tamper and her life.

Reviewed by Sarah