Rating: 
Summary: This one's a keeper
Review: I read this book in 1975 when I was 17 years old and was enthralled. Unfortunately I had to give the book back to its owner, but I never forgot the story. Years later I found it in a used book store and snapped it up. I have read it two or three times since then and even though I know how everything turns out, I never get tired of it. Warning! if you start reading this book make sure you have a few days to kill because you won't want to put it down!
Rating: 
Summary: A novel showing how reincarnation can affect a relationship.
Review: I read this book when I was twelve and interested in the idea of reincarnation and how actions from past lives might affect future lives. Twenty-six years later I've yet to find a novel that deals with past lives' effects on future lives as intelligently, AND include a love story. My only complaint is that the regression scenes are a bit sketchy,with the action focusing mostly on the Tudor period. There could be a bit more follow-up on how Celia's and Richard's marriage turned out. But the Tudor period scenes are wonderful. Celia's and Dr. Akananda's spirit journeys are interesting, with the 20th-century Celia acquiring inner peace and Dr. Akananda paying off his past-life debts. I just wish there were more novelists who would work with the subject of reincarnation.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant historical novel with a tragic love story
Review: I read this for the first time when I was about twelve - I must've read it at least three more times since then and I still love it best of all Anya Seton's books. It tells the story of the forbidden love between a monk and a young woman - a sequence of events still having repercussions for their reincarnated souls four hundred years later. It's a brilliant read.
Rating:
Summary: A book once read and never forgotten
Review: I was just recently discussing with a friend my all time favourite book - Green Darkness. After giving her a brief synopsis of the book and telling her that it was a 'must read', she asked to borrow it. I explained that it was a book that I had read over twenty years ago at the age of twelve. My mother had handed me an old paperback lent to her by a friend and said, with tears in her eyes, "you must read this". I started reading and did not put the book down until I had finished. I passed that old book on to a friend as well, and have not seen another copy since! At this, my friend asked if I had ever heard of Amazon and to look for it there. Now here I am, elated to have been reunited with an old friend.
Rating:
Summary: A haunting tale, beautifully written and constructed.
Review: I was sitting at my desk thinking about what book I would read when I finished my current one, and the words Green Darkness popped into my head. I can't express my disappointment that it is out of print. I doubt very much that our library has it! I think perhaps it's time for it to be reprinted and introduced to a new generation of readers. This one is a classic that, judging from the other readers' comments, is not easily forgotten. Please bring it back! I'd love to have a hardcover edition in my home library!
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant blend of history, psychology, and human emotions
Review: I was thrilled to see that Green Darkness is available through Amazon. For years, I have searched secondhand outlets, purchasing any copies I could find as gifts for friends. I am down to one tattered copy now. I recommend the book to anyone who wants to know more about the Tudor period while reading an intriguing story that becomes a haunting memory. The two main locales -- Ightham (pronounced "item")Mote and Cowdray in Midhurst -- are real places in England that can be visited today. I always advise friends to read the book first to maximize their experience when they see Ightham and Cowdray. And remember, I said it was a haunting story. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so. A guide at Ightham told me she never stays there after dark.
Rating:
Summary: I've lost track of how many times I've read Green Darkness.
Review: I've read most of Anya Seton's books, but this is the one I turn to again and again over the years. It is beautifully written, and the story and characters are memorable. You don't have to be a sentimental softie to be moved by Celia and Stephen's story. It grabs you almost from the start and doesn't let you go. It's easy to understand why Ms. Seton chose to tell it. I was in my early teens when I first read it (close to 30 years ago), and I love it as much today as I did back then. You might not know it by reading a lot of today's fiction, but plot, dialogue and characters still matter to a lot of readers. This book has them all.
Rating:
Summary: Green Darkness
Review: I've read this book two or three times in the last few years and have forced all of my friends to read it also. The book incorporates all of the elements of romance and intrigue. It deals with such topics as forbidden romance and the kind of love that is so intense and powerful that it is only temporarily hindered by death before it transcends into the next life. The character Celia is the perfect mixture of innocence and seductiveness. The story line follows her as she grows into womanhood and you fall witness to her falling in love for the first time with the one man whom she can never have. The novel is set in England during the 1500s whose own tale of royalty, deceit and religious turmoil makes for a fascinating story unto itself. The novel is a little lengthy but well worth the effort. You'll never be able to put it down once you begin to read and it will leave you with a story that will haunt your dreams and that you will never forget.
Rating:
Summary: Read this!!!
Review: In the 1960's, young Celia Marsdon travels to England to visit the ancestral lands of her husband, Richard Marsdon. Once they get there, things get strange--Richard begins acting like an utter jerk, while Celia begins to have strange fits and visions. Celia's mother has befriended a Hindu guru, Dr. Akananda, and it is he who figures out what's wrong with the young couple. The troubles of the present time can only be solved by revisiting a tragedy from the past. And so the older story begins, in the reign of Edward VI, as lovely young Celia de Bohun and her loving aunt take up residence with a grand family as "poor relations". Celia is a fascinating and "real" character, full of contradictions and human failings. She is headstrong and impulsive; dreaming of true love but entranced by male flattery; innocent but coquettish. She creates a scandal when she falls in love with the family chaplain, Stephen--who in turn desires Celia but does not want to break his vow of chastity. They part--but never forget each other. Time passes; Edward's persecution of Catholics gives way to Mary's persecution of Protestants; the family fortunes rise and fall; sympathetic characters harden into detestable ones (I weep for you, Magdalen!). Anya Seton draws us deeply into her world, filled with schemes, ambition, and lies; and with ghosts, madwomen, superstitions, and a particular, notorious Celtic witch. And when Celia and Stephen finally meet again, nothing can stop the power between them. It ends tragically, and we cry; we've been so sucked into the Tudor story that we forget we're headed back to the 1960's to resolve it all. One gripe: It always gets on my nerves when authors of historical fiction insert modern beauty standards into their novels. I didn't like the treatment of the overweight girl, Mabel. This story is supposed to be taking place in a time when "pleasingly plump" was a compliment and not a euphemism. Had Mabel really lived, I doubt she would have been thought of so derisively. However, this gripe is sort of offset by the kudos I must give to Seton for having a sympathetic gay character in her novel--especially considering the date of publication. Even current romance writers (who should know better) still tend to assign homosexuality to the most depraved of villains. So, I grumble about Seton's treatment of the overweight, but I'm impressed with her treatment of the gay man in the story. Overall: An enthralling story. Starts slow, but by the time you get to the halfway point, you won;t be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: A Tragic, Enthralling Romance
Review: In the 1960's, young Celia Marsdon travels to England to visit the ancestral lands of her husband, Richard Marsdon. Once they get there, things get strange--Richard begins acting like an utter jerk, while Celia begins to have strange fits and visions. Celia's mother has befriended a Hindu guru, Dr. Akananda, and it is he who figures out what's wrong with the young couple. The troubles of the present time can only be solved by revisiting a tragedy from the past. And so the older story begins, in the reign of Edward VI, as lovely young Celia de Bohun and her loving aunt take up residence with a grand family as "poor relations". Celia is a fascinating and "real" character, full of contradictions and human failings. She is headstrong and impulsive; dreaming of true love but entranced by male flattery; innocent but coquettish. She creates a scandal when she falls in love with the family chaplain, Stephen--who in turn desires Celia but does not want to break his vow of chastity. They part--but never forget each other. Time passes; Edward's persecution of Catholics gives way to Mary's persecution of Protestants; the family fortunes rise and fall; sympathetic characters harden into detestable ones (I weep for you, Magdalen!). Anya Seton draws us deeply into her world, filled with schemes, ambition, and lies; and with ghosts, madwomen, superstitions, and a particular, notorious Celtic witch. And when Celia and Stephen finally meet again, nothing can stop the power between them. It ends tragically, and we cry; we've been so sucked into the Tudor story that we forget we're headed back to the 1960's to resolve it all. One gripe: It always gets on my nerves when authors of historical fiction insert modern beauty standards into their novels. I didn't like the treatment of the overweight girl, Mabel. This story is supposed to be taking place in a time when "pleasingly plump" was a compliment and not a euphemism. Had Mabel really lived, I doubt she would have been thought of so derisively. However, this gripe is sort of offset by the kudos I must give to Seton for having a sympathetic gay character in her novel--especially considering the date of publication. Even current romance writers (who should know better) still tend to assign homosexuality to the most depraved of villains. So, I grumble about Seton's treatment of the overweight, but I'm impressed with her treatment of the gay man in the story. Overall: An enthralling story. Starts slow, but by the time you get to the halfway point, you won;t be able to put it down.
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