A Curse as Dark as Gold 10/25/08

A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce

Upon the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Charlotte struggles to keep the family's woolen mill running in the face of an overwhelming mortgage and what the local villagers believe is a curse, but when a man capable of spinning straw into gold appears on the scene she must decide if his help is worth the price.

With definate undertones of the fairytale "Rumplestiltskin", Bunce creates a suspensful and readable story. Teens that like historical fiction will love this book as it explains the way cloth was weaved in the late 1700's or what is called the Industrial Revolution. The author does a good job in writing this novel as it is narrated by an English girl. I find most American's who try to write books set in Britain usually fall short with their character's conversation's, their settings and the way the story is layed out. Bunce's creation of an English countryside is wonderful.