Frost Hollow Hall: 'The Queen of Historical Fiction at her finest.' Guardian

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With classics such as Ted Hughes's The Iron Man and award-winners including Emma Carroll's Letters from the Lighthouse, Faber Children's Books brings you the best in picture books, young reads and classics. So perhaps it was unsurprising when, on the hottest day of the year so far, she decided to read the most wintry-named book she could find: Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll.

This is such a beautiful book and a superior piece of writing that I will be eternally grateful that I've read it. There are small clues scattered throughout the book to answer these questions and the big reveal at the end is absolutely worth it. As soon as she becomes fascinated with Kit and how he came to drown, however, she takes up a place as a housemaid at Frost Hollow Hall so that she is able to find out more about him. She believes that this vision is responsible for saving her life, and quickly attributes the vision to that of Kit.

For those who aren’t fans of ghost stories, this one isn’t as scary, as much as it is life-affirming. He appears to be pleading for her help and Tilly is determined to uncover some secret that will allow him to be at peace. Whilst she is on the lake, she heeds no warning from Will to steer clear of the thinner ice, and finds herself underwater: ‘Slowly, gently, the lake closed over my head and all went quiet but for the blood pounding in my ears. When Will, the butcher’s boy, dared Tilly to go skating on the ice at Frost Hallow Hall she was anxious.When Tilly was excited, (despite all of the other maids being terrified) I was excited, when she was scared, I was scared for her. It’s all about the dead here, she’s told, and in the heart of the house she soon discovers all manner of dark secrets . Tilly might feel all alone at Frost Hollow Hall with its dark secrets and grief-stricken mistress, but in the background there is Will’s loyalty, humour and bravery – and set against Tilly’s impoverished family life and the eerie circumstances she finds herself in, that’s kinda cool. I also really liked the direction the book went with Tilly's family relationships, and I appreciated some of the historical elements: this is definitely a very approachable historical fiction (not in a bad way!

Faber Members get access to live and online author events and receive regular e-newsletters with book previews, promotional offers, articles and quizzes. There is something of Conan Doyle’s Baskerville Hall and Joan Aiken’s Willoughby Chase in Carroll’s Frost Hollow Hall. I haven't charted out my visits for the summer term, but I'm sure there are several in the south) and thanks so much for being so fantastic!Tilly takes part in a 'dare' from friend Will and ends up nearly drowning in Frost Hollow Hall lake while ice skating. I like how Will started off almost arrogant and annoying but throughout the story we see kindness in his actions and it becomes clear that he really does care for Tilly. The great house had been in mourning ever since the young heir, Kit Barrington, had drowned in its lake some ten years earlier, and there was talk in the village of ghosts and strange goings on.

I do wish we'd seen more of Kit in the story though as he was the driving force behind everything that happens but we only encounter him properly that one time and in Tilly's dreams.

Told in Tilly's unique voice, it is a tale of love and loss, and how forgiveness is the key to recovery.