Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful history, it's the modern people I want gone...
Review: I bought and read this book when I was 13 and visited London. At 13 I adored it passionately. At much older than 13, I find it a bit laughable.First, I agree with several reviewers who object to the "strong, independent" heroine being raped and abused, and finding her "happily ever after" with one (!!!) of her rapists. His excuse was that he was hypnotically regressed to King John at the time. Oh, well, of course. The historical parts of the book are outstanding, detailed and well-researched, and they win 100% of the three stars that I give this book. Readers of Sharon Kay Penman's _Here Be Dragons_ will find this an excellent companion piece. In fact, if you love medieval Welsh history, I highly recommend getting this book and just flipping the pages whenever the modern characters appear. The original cover art I have from my British edition reads, "Fascinating, absorbing, and original." The first two are subjective, but as many reviewers have pointed out, it is hardly original; Anya Seton's _Green Darkness_ and Mary Luke's _Nonesuch Lure_ played the same themes at least 20 years before _Lady of Hay_ was published. But it became even less original when Barbara Erksine began searching out abused women in British history and did the same thing over and over again, injecting historically inaccurate feminism along the way. _Lady of Hay_ is definitely the best of her efforts in the past-life regression genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Lady of Hay...Loved it!!
Review: I bought Lady of Hay used a few years ago and didn't pick it up again for a few months. I've always been fascinated with past lives but usually the way it is portrayed is unbelievable. This book, on the other hand, is fantastic. Imagine been put under hypnosis and having a past life emerge? For the author to actually use a real person from history is great...it made me think and I even looked her up. I read this book again every few months just for pure enjoyment.
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Summary: The most UNPUTDOWNABLE book I have ever come across
Review: I bought this book some years ago and must have read it at least 8 times since then. It has also been around the world as everyone in the family has taken it on holiday - all read it within 2 days !! It's the story of Jo Clifford, an investigative journalist who is debunking all the modern myths including reincarnation only to find out when undergoing hypnosis that she has lived before. The story then switches between a love affair being carried out amidst the brutality of 12th Century Wales and the exasperating time Jo is having trying to get over a broken relationship whilst keeping up a successful career in the 20th Century. To add further spice to the story, there were three men who loved the 12th Century Matilda and each has been reincarnated in the 20th Century but who is the handsome Earl of Clare? and who is the arrogant King John?
The story becomes more and more enthralling as Jo discovers more and more about her past life through the regression sessions and the past and present become increasingly entwined until it seems that the tragic events of the past are destined to repeat themselves
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant - could not put down (or my Mum or best friend!)
Review: I have read every book Barbara Erskine has published. I love her style and characters. If you like her books you will also enjoy Elizabeth Harris's books (e.g. Herb Gatherers). They are the type of books you don't put down until you have finished! Keep it for a rainy day that you have all to yourself. Waiting anxiously for more from Barbara Erskine.
Rating: 
Summary: What a let-down!
Review: I love anything to do with time travel and approached this highly recommended book with great anticipation. The sections in the past although interesting suffered from some material from the viewpoint of characters other than the woman who had been hypnotized and was living this twelfth century life. How could that be? I would also have liked to know that some of the characters besides King John were historical BEFORE I read the book. Besides that, the modern woman, Jo, suffered from monumental stupidity. If two men are plaguing you with violence, including rape for heaven's sake you CHANGE THE LOCKS! Especially when one of the men has a key to your flat! The book was also about 200 pages too long since multiple scenes accomplished the same purpose, especially the modern day sequences.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: I loved this book! I bought it on a whim several years ago in Scotland and could not put it down once I started reading it. The historical detail combined with the emotions the characters aroused made it a fascinating read. I am constantly looking for more books written by Barbara Erskine, in the hope that she will again write one similar to this one.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing, enthralling, enchanting... a real page-turner!!!
Review: I picked this book up and couldn't put it down. It really moves and enchants us with a little "love story" and a lot of historical fiction and adventure. I really really enjoyed this book. It took my mind off everything else that needed to be done in the weekend, until I finished it on a Sunday morning while enjoying a cup of tea.
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Summary: An Extraordinary Story of Time Travel At Its Best!
Review: I read this book in 1986 on the advice of a friend and from that time onwards I seek out all of Ms. Erskine's books on a regular basis. This particular book was real find if you want to become entranced with a modern day independent woman who was made to realize she had lived before many centuries ago in a time when women were sold off in marriages made of convenience for money, power, property. The parallels of the past life haunt the present life of the central character as she "sees" how the three men in her present life draw distinct parallels to the men in her past life. To say anymore would be unfair! READ IT, SAVOR IT, YOU WILL LOVE IT!! Then follow up reading this book with the book that followed this one,Kingdom of Shadows, which takes place in Scotland.
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Summary: Historical and contemporary fiction all in one
Review: If you love historical and contemporary fiction as I do, this is the book for you. This particular novel is two stories in one. One, is the story of Lady Mathilda of 12th century Wales. While the other story, parallel to that of Mathilda is about Jo Clifford, reporter. Note the definitive word: "parallel"; because Jo and Mathilda are one and the same person in different incarnations, along with the people with whom they interact in their respective lifetimes. This book has all the elements of a good story... beautiful visuals of the 12 century Welsh landscape and castles, not to mention murder, suspense, mystery and romance. Another page-turner to be sure.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable - but I should have read it earlier!
Review: It's an interesting idea - hypnotically regressed to a former life and forced to relive it - along with your friends - to make up for the mistakes made. I quite enjoyed this book, but I have to say I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had not recently read Diana Gabaldon's superb 4 book set beginning with Outlander (Cross Stitch in Australia).
These similarly themed (albeit time travel rather than hypnosis) and far far superior novels dampened my enjoyment of the quite well written Barbara Erskine novel. A comment on Lady of Hay - I found that each time Jo regressed, it took me a little while to work out "where" she was. Often there was a gap of a number of years between the year in one regression and another, even though the regressions occurred within a day or so of each other. I understand that Jo herself did not know "where" she would be until she went back there and 'relived' it, but I'm sure my enjoyment would have been greater if there was some guideline as to the date or year that she was in at the time. Perhaps this could have been done without Jo herself knowing, as a chapter heading or such. I recommend this book - but read it before the Diana Gabaldon books - AND THEN READ THEM!!!
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