This is a wonderful timeless story by Dorothy Macardle. I own a hard back copy of this and try to read it at least once every couple of years. There is a light and breezy feel to this book and it would be the perfect summer read if you are tired of the run-of-the-mill.

Roderick and his sister Pamela leave the hustle and bustle of modern London looking for that perfect house on the English coast. What they find is the beautiful Cliff End. From their first meeting with the sweet and lovely young Stella Meredith who's grandfather owns the house we know there is a larger mystery here. This is a good novel that slowly unfolds as we learn of Stella's mother Mary and the beautiful Spanish girl Carmel who was seduced by Stella's father.

Who is the appiration that appears at the top of the stairway and why does the sickening cold always precede it? Why are there moans of anguish coming from the room that used to be the nursery? What is the real mystery of Mary's death? What about that Mimosa scent that comes with the moaning?

This all slowly unfolds as Roderick and Pamela attempt to solve this maddening riddle to an otherwise wonderful house they don't want to leave. Why do things get more stirred up every time young Stella is there? Roderick has fallen for the sweet Stella and must find out.

What makes this such a good book is it treats this in a straightforward story of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances. There are the diversions of colorful friends who try to help including the use of a "spelling glass" in a seance. This all takes place in an entertaining day to day life in the English countryside kind of way which makes this what it is, the finest English mystery/ghost story/romance ever written.

Go out to your garden or your patio and pull up a chair in the shade with a big glass of iced tea and enjoy something truly origional. This is a great light summer read.

For some reason, exceptional ghost stories are almost always found in short story form. Neither M.R. James, F. Marion Crawford, nor Sheridan Le Fanu-all contenders for all-time best writer of ghost stories-ever wrote a satisfactory book-length ghost story. Perhaps the strict form of this genre is too difficult to maintain beyond a certain length. Examples of ghost novels that do not disappoint are few, and they include such masterpieces as Richard Matheson's "Hell House," Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House," and Stephen King's "The Shining." Dorothy MacArdle's "The Uninvited" is on a level with these books, and it predated them all. With its classic English setting, generational mystery, and engaging characters, it is the perfect book for curling up by the fireside on a winter's night. And don't miss the terrific 1940s movie version starring Ray Milland.

The Irish Republic by Dorothy Macardle. Published by Wolfhound Press. Price #40 hardback. "Whether the Irish Republic ever existed has been disputed not only by jurists and not only with words. For the Irish people the Republic was, for a few tense years, a living reality which dominated every aspect of their lives. its existence was a fact of human history, if not of logic or of law." With these eloquent words, Dorothy Macardle begins her monumental work on the history of the Irish struggle for freedom between the years 1916 and 1923. Its republication this week is an event in itself and is long overdue. The Irish Republic is a book which has been neglected for over 30 years, last reprinted in 1968 and frowned upon ever since by 'revisionist' historians. You will not find this book on most academic bibliographies. Because it views events from a frankly republican standpoint it was deemed out of bounds by the anti-republican historians who dominated history writing and history teaching. Yet the same historians used this book in the quiet of their university libraries as an invaluable source of information not to be found elsewhere. The great value of Dorothy Macardle's book is its attention to detail and its strict chronological approach. Add to that the 32 documents and speeches in its appendices and its biographical notes and you have by far the most comprehensive survey of the period. The book was written soon after the events it describes with the benefit of the author's personal experience and wide circle of friends and acquaintances who were centrally involved. The book, and Macardle's reputation, have suffered because of de Valera's association with it. De Valera wrote the preface and the book has been described by Tim Pat Coogan as a "hymn to de Valera". But to drag down this book along with the reputation of de Valera would be a travesty. It is not an apologia for any one person but is the testimony of a people in struggle. Dorothy Macardle was an independent-minded feminist republican. She played her own part in the national struggle, was for long an admirer of de Valera but, like so many others, became disillusioned with his regime in the 1930s. She was among the prominent republican women who publicly deplored the anti-woman 1937 Constitution and urged de Valera to change it. He ignored their demands. This book, the major achievement of Dorothy Macardle's writing life, deserves to be reclaimed and rediscovered. For anyone interested in Irish history it is essential reading. The cult of Michael Collins has distorted the view of the Civil War period and this book is especially important in understanding the republican perspective of that time. But equally, its carefully documented account of the Home Rule crisis, the 1916 Rising, the growth of Sinn Fein and the Tan war has to be read for a thorough understanding of those revolutionary years. All public and school libraries should be encouraged to obtain it. Hopefully a more accessible paperback edition will follow fairly soon so that many more people can add it to their personal libraries. By Micheal MacDonncha

This is a solid play of a good novel, but it is unlikely that any viewer can see it without having first seen the film version with Ray Milland. The surprises and twists are all there and the dialogue works well. A solid play.

I first read this book at about the age of ten, after watching the 1944 film on late night on television (I was enthralled). There are sub-plots and characters which weren't included in the movie version, but Macardle's fluid writing style keeps one's interest until the last page. The story is about strange ghostly disturbances at "Cliff End" (in the movie, the Georgian house was re-named "Windward"). There are wonderful characters: the Fitzgeralds (Pamela and Roderick) who are siblings, Stella Merideth, the young moonstruck girl who's enchanted by the dangers which lure her into her mother's past. Commander Beech is gruff and Miss Holloway is cold and rather heartless (especially towards Stella; her supposed mother was an "intimate friend" of Holloway's). The Spanish Gypsy - Carmel Casada - whom Llewellyn used as a model for his paintings holds the key to the puzzle....Macardle uses plenty of exclaimation marks throughout the book and her writing style is a wee bit dated - but this story has an ingeniously unique twist in which readers of the ghost genre should appreciate. The Irish Ms. Macardle also wrote THE UNFORESEEN, (about a woman with "second sight") DARK ENCHANTMENT (about witchcraft in France) and a non-fiction book entitled THE IRISH REPUBLIC.

Saw the movie when I was a kid - read the book at the library, then finally bought the republished edition from Amazon. Characters are beautifully drawn, and the love story is great. A great English mystery novel.

With a similarly spooky theme, and nice, fluid writing style, this promised to be a great read since Macardle's ghost story "the Uninvited" is a particular favorite of mine.

Unfortunately, this novel is a real let down. The story concerns a woman who seems to have the gift of pre-cognition, but sees things that aren't always pleasant. This lead character acts so preposterously that I lost all patience with her and Macardle. It's okay if you don't use her previous book as a standard.