Thorn Abbey

Thorn Abbey
by Nancy Ohlin
New York: Simon Pulse
2013
295 pages


The title of this new teen horror book reminded me of Gothic horror favorites, alluding to Thornfield in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. But the story is essentially a remake of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, one of my all-time favorite books. Could this book live up to it? Well, not really because the goal is too high, but it is an entertaining story nevertheless.

Tess is a shy, insecure, mousey, and very ordinary girl who transfers to Thorn Abbey, a prestigious boarding school. Her new roommate, Devon,  seems friendly at first, until the mention of Max de Villiers comes up. Max was her former roommate, Becca Winters', boyfriend, but Becca died tragically and Max is heartbroken so leave him alone.

Of course, there is an instant connection between Max and Tess and despite Devon's dire warnings, they begin to date. But weird things start to happen to Tess. She hears crying in her dorm room when no one is crying. Someone tries to burn her at the bonfire. The girls' lounge is vandalized. And Max is moody and won't talk about Becca. Tess feels uncertain about his feelings and thinks he is broken up about Becca, who was seemingly perfect in every way.

Thorn Abbey might be like Fettes College,
a prestigious boarding school in Edinburgh, Scotland

The original Rebecca in the Daphne Du Maurier haunts Manderly more figuratively and "gets her revenge" on Max from beyond the grave through a set of circumstances and the mind of a crazy housekeeper. But I she is not an actual spirit walking the halls. Becca Winter, however, is portrayed here as a real ghost with revenge in mind on Max and the school, possessing her former roommate, Devon, and causing her to carry out her deadly schemes from the afterlife.

I think I found the original story far more disturbing. We can easily imagine the young Mrs. de Winter -- young, naive, happy to leave a life of servitude but frightened of the grandiose life she now finds herself thrown into. Everywhere she goes she hears about the perfect Rebecca, the dead wife of her new husband who won't talk about her. How could anyone live up to that? Rebecca doesn't have to do anything at all to be disturbing to us, but having Mrs. Danvers around to emphasize the new wife's inadequacies compared to her beloved Rebecca makes the story even creepier.

Thorn Abbey is a readable story that hangs together well enough, although I found the ending rather silly, like a B horror movie ending. One possession was enough for me. I think teens 14-16 will enjoy the boarding school premise, as well as the ghostly occurrences, even if they haven't read the original classic.