Product Description

It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3551 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-22
• Released on: 2005-03-22
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Amazon.com
A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother’s death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls’ academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left wi! th the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy. (Ages 12 up) –Patty Campbell

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Libba Bray's new Gothic tale of a Victorian girls school with a deadly secret (Delacorte, 2003) is brought to life in Josephine Bailey's nuanced reading. At 16, Gemma must leave the only home she's known–colonial India–when her mother kills herself under bizarre circumstances and Gemma is both confused and intrigued by the details. Although she longed to see London while her family lived abroad, Gemma is disappointed to find that she's being packed off to finishing school there. At school, she stands up to the very circle of girls who seem to hold the most power, while also dealing with weird hallucinations and the furtive presence of the young man she first saw in Bombay on the day of her mother's death. The school and its administration hold fast to a secret about the class of 1871, which passed through it nearly a quarter century before Gemma's stay. As friendships develop between Gemma and three of the other students, and several of her teachers reveal interesting personal sides of themselves, the plot and the reader both tug the audience into the creepy depths beneath a cave on the school grounds. There the living girls find a pleasurable world populated by goddess figures–and Gemma's dead mother. How all this ultimately connects with that mysterious class of 1871 will delight Gothic fans and inspire those new to the genre to taste such classic writers in it as Daphne du Maurier. The audiobook is further enhanced with an afterword spoken by the author–a young Texas woman who describes how she researched the background details she needed to realize a story set in a place and time so far from her own daily experiences. Highly recommended for all collections serving high school students.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
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From AudioFile
On her sixteenth birthday, Gemma Doyle's mother dies violently. Her father retreats into an opium haze, and she is whisked from her home in India to England. At Spence Academy, where, twenty years earlier, a tragic fire claimed three lives, Gemma discovers a diary recounting the events leading to the tragedy. Thus begins a forbidden and dangerous journey for Gemma and her friendly enemies, Felicity, Pippa, and Ann. Josephine Bailey's performance is especially poignant as Gemma struggles with her awakening sensuality and with a growing awareness of her magical powers. Bailey transforms Libba Bray's arcane facts about girls' schools, the role relegated to women, hypocrisy, and expectations in Victorian England into a plausible excursion into supernatural realms. This coming-of-age story will captivate both older teens and adults. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

A terrible great read!!!!
I was finishing up with the Twilight series and wanted more. I bought this book a long time ago and was waiting to read it. I was hooked from the start! I love English history as well so I knew I'd enjoy it, but if it's mixed with mystery, magic and suspence as well as a bit of romance I ended up reading it hungrily and aching to start the second one. I LOVED it!! I have been telling all my friends that if they miss twilight they should read the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. I hope they make a movie of this one as well!! It would make a really exciting film! You should read this book! I didn't want to stop reading it!! :)

Enchanting
Libba Bray's style of writing is beautiful and descriptive, making it easy to get lost in the pages. This is a spell-bounding story that takes you on a mysterious journey with Gemma and a trio of her closest friends. With romantic undertones of a love affair brewing and questions left unanswered, you'll be eager to delve into the next installment of the trilogy.

Funny and Smart
This was a very, very enjoyable book and I look forward to the sequels. Though this is set in the Victorian era (nice change for once) the subject of finding one's place in life, finding happiness, finding good qualities in those around us and compassion was refreshing. The characters were funny, smart and brave and they didn't compromise themselves during the process. Highly recommend!