One of my fellow readers suggested that I pick up Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle (author of The Last Unicorn). Tamsin is a time slip novel in which the melancholy eponymous ghost takes the reader back 300 years to a foiled rebellion that cost her the love of her life.

Here’s the Goodreads blurb (because…well, yes, I’m feeling lazy):

Arriving in the English countryside to live with her mother and new stepfather, Jenny has no interest in her surroundings, until she meets Tamsin. Since her death over 300 years ago, Tamsin has haunted the lonely estate without rest, trapped by a hidden trauma she can’t remember, and a powerful evil even the spirits of night cannot name. To help her, Jenny must delve deeper into the dark world than any human has in hundreds of years, and face danger that will change her life forever. . . .

There are many facets to this book. There’s Jenny’s present day teen struggle to fit into a new family and new community; there’s the historical backdrop of Tamsin’s tragic life, pursued by “Hanging Judge” Jeffreys during the Monmouth Rebellion; there’s the developing friendship between Tamsin the ghost and Jenny; there’s the overlay of folklore and mythology with pooka and the Black Dog and the billy-blind and the Oakmen and the Wild Huntsmen.

Tamsin combines elements of folk lore as Tamsin features (among other creatures) a pooka, a shapeshifting creature of Northern Europe who can be helpful or destructive to humans depending upon its whim. Turns out, another way to spell pooka is puck. Puck or Robin Goodfellow of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one such being. Who knew? I didn’t make the connection at first.

Many readers will enjoy Tamsin. History fans will like the many allusions to the Monmouth Rebellion and the infamous Judge Jeffries. I was intrigued enough to do a little research on this time period–never a bad thing when you can get me learnin’ and such.

Tamsin is also a book for cat lovers. Two cats leave quite an impression on this novel although, since one of the cats is a ghost, the impression is less tangible.

Readers who like the melding of mythology and literature will find much to enjoy. This was the one area of the book that dragged for me. There were so many imaginary creatures, all of whom had their own agendas! I tend to like my manifestations ghostly. But then you knew that about me.