I have just learned that there’s a name for the types of books I’ve been writing, the ones that go back and forth between two time periods: they’re called “time slip” novels. (Which you would think has something to do with time travel, but doesn’t.)
If you like time slip novels, you’ll probably like….
— Kate Morton’s four novels, The House at Riverton
, The Forgotten Garden
, The Distant Hours
, and The Secret Keeper
, all of which fluctuate between past and present;
— Rachel Hore’s A Place of Secrets
, which goes back and forth between the present and the 18th century;
— Lucinda Riley’s The Orchid House
, which spans the present and World War II;
— Susanna Kearsley’s Season of Storms
, in which the life of a long-dead actress and her modern namesake collide, as well as her beloved first novel, Mariana
, in which the seventeenth century and the present are entangled;
— Anya Seton’s Green Darkness
, which goes back and forth between the sixteenth century and the 1960s;
— Barbara Erskine’s Lady of Hay
, which goes back and forth between the twelfth century and the present;
— Barbara Taylor Bradford’s blockbuster, A Woman of Substance
, which goes back and forth between the (then) present and the eponymous woman of substance’s meteoric rise from Edwardian chamber maid to department store magnate;
— and The Ashford Affair
, which hops back and forth between our modern heroine, in 1999, and the tumultuous life of her grandmother, from a childhood in an Edwardian great house through World War I and the Jazz Age.
What are your favorite time slip novels?
Whiskey Island by Emilie Richards is another one. I read it a while ago, but I remember it being good.
Yes, another Emilie Richards book that is quite good is Iron Lace….the story goes back and forth from the 1960’s to the past in old New Orleans.
I am in the middle of first timer Bee Ridgway’s The River of No Return, and so far it is wonderful! A combination of historical romance and sci-fi/fantasy.
I highly recommend Kimberley Freeman’s Wildflower Hill and her newest release which I just read and loved, Lighthouse Bay.
I’ve read all of Kate Morton’s and Barbara Taylor Bradford’s novels. They’re all wonderful, but “A Woman of Substance” was absolutely incredible and is one of my all time favorites.
There are so many on your list that I haven’t read, so thank you for that – I am off to reserve them at the library!
Oooo good list, probably my favorite book niche, not really big enough to qualify as a genre.
I’d add Ciji Ware’s time slip novels,”A Cottage by the Sea”, “Midnight on Julia Street”, and “A Light on the Veranda” to Kearsley, Morton, and yours. The first is set in Cornwall and the other two in New Orleans.
The Legacy by Katherine Webb. Very good!
How about “Before I Met You” by Lisa Jewell, “The Last Letter from Your Lover” by Jojo Moyes and “Love Always” by Harriet Evans ?
“Sepulchre” by Kate Mosse, “The Tenth Gift” by Jane Johnson and “Juliet” by Anne Fortier.
The Rossetti Letter by Christi Philips reminded me very much of the Pink books.
Two of my favorite ‘time-slip’ books are Mary Stewart’s Touch Not the Cat, and Katherine Neville’s The Eight.
Very interesting – I’d never heard of the term. But most books in that style are very intrigueing. Absolutely loved Kate Morton’s “Forgotten Garden”.
I finished reading The Ashford Affair last night and dreamed about it all night! I loved it – many congratulations.
The first time-slip novel I thought of was Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart, which hilly mentions. I like this type of book so must know others, but it’s too early in the morning yet.
Hope Ashford continues to do as well as it deserves i.e. super well!
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier.
One of my favorite novels, it travels back and forth between nowadays and 16th-century France.
Congratulations on your last novel, Lauren. It is truly exceptional!
The one that really sticks out in my mind is The Toymaker by Kay Springsteen. It is one of the BEST Christmas stories I have ever read and a nearly-perfect ‘time-slip.’ It is impossible for me to write a short synopsis of it here but I will offer a link to my review.
http://chiklitmanfan.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/the-toymaker-by-kay-springsteen-tate/
I was about to say this is trope I generally don’t like and can’t think of one and then I remembered
one of my favorites of all time!
Divine Secrets of the YAYA sisterhood. Goes back and forth from the 90’s (present) to Vivi’s life in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s.
Overseas by Beatriz Williams and Sea Change by Karen White are both excellent time-slip novels.
I love the time slip in all your novels!
Lately, I’ve been reading lots of time slips. A happy recent discovery! Thanks for the list!