Our Mother's House

Seven siblings try to keep their mother’s death a secret in this haunting gothic novel reminiscent of The Lord of the Flies and the works of Shirley Jackson.

Unforgettable, darkly whimsical, and mysterious, this “extraordinary book” is an offbeat classic of English literature (The New York Times).

“Mother died at five fifty-eight.” So begins this story of seven extraordinary children who, faced with the unknown terrors of being sent to the orphanage, decide not to report their mother’s death. They bury her in the garden and build a tabernacle over her grave. To the outside world they pretend she is ill and confined to her room.

Their problems begin immediately. Curious officials make inquiries, well-meaning neighbors offer assistance. The children themselves fall to quarrelling. Then a spellbinding stranger appears, claiming to be their father. He agrees to keep their secret—and from that point the story moves relentlessly to its incredible climax.

Julian Gloag’s first and finest novel, Our Mother’s House is a paranoia-drenched tale reminiscent of Lord of the Flies and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and is as thrilling as it is utterly haunting.