The Vanishing Point: A NovelHoughton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006 M06 2 - 385 pages An Englishwoman searches for her sister in colonial America in this historical tale of dark suspense, love, and betrayal for fans of Philippa Gregory. Bright and inquisitive, Hannah Powers was raised by a father who treated her as if she were his son. While her beautiful and reckless sister, May, pushes the limits of propriety in their small English town, Hannah harbors her own secret: their father has given her an education forbidden to women. But Hannah’s secret serves her well when she journeys to colonial Maryland to reunite with May, who has been married off to a distant cousin after her sexual misadventures ruined her marriage prospects in England. As Hannah searches for May, who has disappeared, she finds herself falling in love with her brother-in-law. Alone in a wild, uncultivated land where the old rules no longer apply, Hannah is freed from the constraints of the society that judged both her and May as dangerous—too smart, too fearless, and too hungry for life. But Hannah is also plagued by doubt, as her quest for answers to May’s fate grows ever more disturbing and tangled. This e-book includes a sample chapter of Illuminations. Praise for The Vanishing Point “An authentically detailed period piece with elements of gothic suspense thrown in for good measure.” —Booklist “A passionate, spell-casting story. The world Mary Sharrett creates is vivid, intimate, evocative. I was unable to put this book down.” —Sandra Gulland, author of the Josephine Bonaparte trilogy “A truly captivating novel. It wears its history lightly, in the best tradition of great historical fiction.” —Katharine West, author of The Little Women |
Contents
III | |
A Fish on Land | |
The Bed of Skins | |
The Crack in the Cradle | |
Rabbit Skin | |
Near Drowning | |
The pact | |
V | |
At the Sign of the Mortar and Unicorn | |
The Vanishing Point | |
Afterword | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Adele Adele's Anne Arundel Town arms asked baby bark belly blood body breath bullwhip canoe carved Cassie chest child cinchona clothes cold corn mush cornbread couldn’t creek Daniel dead dogs dress eyes face Father father’s feet fingers fire flowers forest foxglove furs Gabriel garden girl gone grave hair hands Hannah Powers head heart heartsease held husband indentured servants inside Joan kissed knife land laughed leave letter lived looked Lucy maize master May’s Mearley midwife Mistress Powers mother mouth Nathan never night Patrick Flynn physick Plantation Planter's wife planters Port Tobacco pulled remembered Richard Banham river Rorich servants ship shook sister skin skirt sleep smile spoke tears tell thing throat tobacco told took traps trees trencher trestle table tried trunk turned voice Walburga walked wanted Washbrook wedding whipped woman wondered words young