If you haven't read Rebecca and you enjoy a comtemporary gothic read you'll likely enjoy this one. If you've read Rebecca you may find it irritatingly similar.

I'm glad I read Rebecca first, for there are many nods to that tale in The Lantern. An absent first wife whose presence overshadows this new marriage, a husband who is very tight-lipped about his first relationship, and a big old house where they are isolated from their friends & families...but there's more to this one as well. Including a marvellous setting in the south of France, in a house which has a long history before the arrival of our two characters. I loved the descriptions of the landscapes, and the scents and colours that seem to permeate the story. I also loved the ghostly elements that add some spooky intrigue. If you don't take the comparisons to Rebecca too seriously, seeing it more as an inspiration, this book stands on its own fairly well. Full Review at Indextrious Reader http://indextrious.blogspot.ca/2011/09/lawrensons-lantern.html

http://hardcovernudity.blogspot.com/2011/09/lantern-novel-by-deborah-lawrenson.html

Agree it's nothing as good as Rebecca. But some great descriptions, especially of scents and I did like the interweaving of past and present.

I was ten years old when I read Rebecca for the first time, and it has been one of my favorite books since. My curiosity was naturally piqued when I read that The Lantern is inspired by Rebecca. Unfortunately, The Lantern is not as engrossing nor as memorable. The tension is absent and the characters mostly insipid. I love descriptions of nature and rather enjoyed the slow unfolding of the two plots as Lawrenson devotes pages to lush descriptions of lavendar fields and woods and the French countryside. Lawrenson moves smoothly between present and past, and vice versa. However, Eve's story is predictable and Benedicte's is only slightly more interesting. The book does not live up to the high expectations the comparison with du Maurier's great book raises.