Come Like Shadows

A young assistant and a junior actor at the famed Stratford Festival encounter the centuries-old curse that haunts "the Scottish play".

Recommended age: 14 and up.

Kinny is thrilled when she gets a summer job as an assistant to the director of a play at the Stratford Theatre Festival, but things go wrong almost from the start. The director is strange, the actors hostile, and one woman is killed in a freak accident during the very first rehearsal. Could it be that the play, Macbeth, really has a curse on it? Asked to find a mirror for use as a prop, Kinny finds an ancient one in a junk shop. The mirror has mysterious powers over both Kinny and her actor friend Lucas. Mesmerized, Kinny sees visions in it of a horrible old hag, while Lucas believes he sees the real King Macbeth of ancient Scotland, noble and great despite Shakespeare's later depiction of him. The two friends can't stay away from the mirror, however hard they try. Troubles mount on troubles as two mysterious women join the cursed production, women who seem to wield great power over Kinny especially. It becomes Lucas's task to protect Kinny from the two women and the third in the mirror, while Kinny tries desperately to keep Lucas away from the mirrored face he sees. In this carefully researched thriller steeped in the history of the real Macbeth, Shakespeare's Macbeth, and the modern-day productions of Shakespeare's play, it is a race against time before ancient hatreds can destroy both Lucas and Kinny when the two faces in the mirror confront each other at last.

Some Comments About Come Like Shadows:

"...Cleverly and subtly achieved."
-- American Library Association Booklist, Dec. 1, 1993

"...A wonderful, compelling book."
-- Windsor Star, May 15, 1989, May 22, 1993

"...Masterfully blends time travel, history, Shakespeare and intrigue."
-- Calgary Herald, May 22, 1993

"...A literate and satisfying thriller."
-- Kirkus, Aug. 15, 1993

"Dear Welwyn. I just finished reading Come Like Shadows a few days ago and wanted to let you know what a wonderful book I think it is."
--Janet McNoughton, Canadaian author. Letter March 28, 1996

Hardcover edition, Viking, Toronto/New York, 1993. ISBN 0-670-84861-1.
Softcover edition, Penguin, 1995. Out of print.
New Softcover Edition, Coteau Books, Regina, 2000. ISBN 1-55050-170-4.

Out of print, but autographed copies may be ordered from the author. Our Prices $9.95 (PB) and $15.95 (HC). Go To Order Page

Return to the Home Page