The Ghost Tree: Gripping historical fiction from the Sunday Times Bestseller

The Ghost Tree: Gripping historical fiction from the Sunday Times Bestseller
Barbara Erskine

Before you follow the path into your family’s history, beware of the secrets you may find…The new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author.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 the diary and letters written by her ancestor from the eighteenth century, Thomas Erskine.As the youngest son of a noble family now living in genteel poverty, Thomas always knew he would have to make his own way in the world. Unable to follow his brothers to university, instead he joins first the navy and then the army, rising through the ranks, travelling the world. When he is finally able to study law, his extraordinary experiences and abilities propel him to the very top and he becomes Lord Chancellor. Yet he has made a powerful enemy on his voyages, who will hound him and his family to the death – and beyond.Ruth becomes ever more aware of Thomas as she is gripped by his story, and slowly senses that not only is his presence with her, but so is his enemy’s. Ruth will have to draw upon new friends and old in what becomes a battle for her very survival – and discover an inner power beyond anything she has imagined.

Copyright (#u9320a8f9-f8fa-5911-b5c5-a3f41d6e7018)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018

Copyright © Barbara Erskine 2018

Jacket design by Holly Macdonald © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018

Jacket images © Shutterstock.com (http://Shutterstock.com)

Barbara Erskine asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008195816

Ebook Edition © August 2018 ISBN: 9780008195830

Version: 2018-07-09

Dedication (#u9320a8f9-f8fa-5911-b5c5-a3f41d6e7018)

for

Thomas Owen and Alexander James Erskine

the new generation

Contents

Cover (#udfaecece-7f6e-596e-b219-581023f363ab)

Title Page (#u59686946-4b87-57ee-b7b4-12300c9f2d84)

Copyright

Dedication

The Erskine Tree (#ub8c61333-b02b-5c28-ad84-45d1a2eb22a9)

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20