''Lost'' is a 2001
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
by American author
Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many ...
. Unlike many of Maguire's other adult novels, ''Lost'' is set in the real world. The novel's concept is that the protagonist is a distant relation of the man who inspired
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
' character of
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge () is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghost of ...
.
Plot summary
Winifred Rudge is an American writer who travels to London to visit a distant cousin, and to research a new novel about a woman haunted by the ghost of
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
. When she arrives, she discovers that her cousin has vanished, his apartment (once owned by a common ancestor of theirs: a man who was supposedly the inspiration for
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge () is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghost of ...
) is being renovated, and strange sounds are coming from the chimney. It seems the apartment is now haunted by a supernatural presence.
Although the plot of the novel revolves around Winifred trying to chase down the ghost in her cousin's apartment, along the way a deep mystery that exists between Winifried and her cousin, John Comestor, is revealed. While trying to solve the mystery Winifried is forced to face the ghosts of her own past and examine her choices and motivations.
Critical reception
Ara Taylor, writing for the ''
Bellingham Herald
''The Bellingham Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Bellingham, Washington, in the United States. It was founded on March 10, 1890, as ''The Fairhaven Herald'' and changed its name after Bellingham was incorporated as a city in 1903. ''Th ...
'', found the novel's plot too convoluted but the concept intriguing. "Author of the delightful ''Wicked'' and the even more resplendent ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister,'' Gregory Maguire has climbed out on a thematically tricky limb here. It doesn't work as well as he might have hoped it would, but to be just, only an ingenious writer would even tackle such psychic fare." Cara Doup Muller, writing for the ''
Orlando Sentinel
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
'', agreed that the plot meandered too much. "There is a genuinely affecting explanation for the haunting and for Winnie's odd detachment from her life. The hints are there from the beginning -- two wonderful scenes in the Boston area about a carpool lane accident and a meeting of a support group for adopting parents. But wending our way back to them through the rest of the novel is a more arduous task than it should be." She also criticized the Jack the Ripper subplot and the quotations from Rudge's novel (quoted at length throughout the book) as distracting and disruptive to the narrative's pacing.
Molly Bettiga of the ''
Charlotte Observer
''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...
'' was more positive. Bettiga was impressed that Maguire created a character of his own rather than using one from literature. She found the novel's literary allusions, however, to be its strong point: "Maguire's book is cleverly written and filled with mentions of childhood poems, stories and passages that remind you of watching a movie with many movie-star cameos. These appearances add depth to the story and character, rather than star-power."
Rob Thomas, writing for the ''
Capital Times
''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a digital-first newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. The ot ...
'', was highly laudatory. Also pleased with Maguire's creation of an entirely original character, Thomas found Maguire's novel to be "his most mature, subtle and entertaining. It weaves a spooky ghost story with a very human tale of regret and grief. ... You may physically put this book down, but it haunts your imagination until the last page is turned." An unidentified reviewer in ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' had equally high praise for the book, saying that it "brilliantly illuminates how life exacts a cost in ghosts."
["Selected From Books Recently Reviewed in the Globe." ''The Boston Globe''. November 18, 2001.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lost (Novel)
2001 American novels
A Christmas Carol
American mystery novels
Novels by Gregory Maguire
Novels about writers
Novels set in London