The Visitors

Our Review

The Visitors is the second book I have read by Rebecca Mascull, and like The Wild Air, it was clearly thoroughly researched, and it made me want to know more.

Adeliza Golding is born in Victorian England on a hop farm. When she is a very young baby, she loses her hearing to an infection and cataracts mean she loses her eyesight. Her mother retreats to her bedroom after this event and sees Adeliza only infrequently.

Adeliza’s life is lonely. Her father adores her, but she is sometime alone for long periods because he has to tend to his hop farm and his workers. Nanny steps in when he is not around but she and the other staff are unable to handle Adeliza’s lack of communication, ‘strange’ ways and her frequent outbursts of temper.

Adeliza’s most frequent company are the strangers who visit her, often at night. Nobody else sees them but to Adeliza they are her ‘Visitors’. Are they more ‘blindisms’ or is she seeing ghosts?

One day Adeliza runs out into the hop fields in the midst of a tantrum and a young hop-picker named Lottie starts tracing shapes on her hands. Liza calms very quickly after that and she is finally able to communicate.

Her friendship with Lottie and her brother Caleb opens up the world to her and transforms her life dramatically.

The Visitors is at turns heartwarming and tragic. An engaging and delightful story.

Our Final Rating...