I bought and read this book when I was 13 and visited London.  At 13 I adored it passionately.  At much older than 13, I find it a bit laughable.
First, I agree with several reviewers who object to the "strong, independent" heroine being raped and abused, and finding her "happily ever after" with one (!!!) of her rapists.  His excuse was that he was hypnotically regressed to King John at the time.  Oh, well, of course.
The historical parts of the book are outstanding, detailed and well-researched, and they win 100% of the three stars that I give this book.  Readers of Sharon Kay Penman's _Here Be Dragons_ will find this an excellent companion piece.  In fact, if you love medieval Welsh history, I highly recommend getting this book and just flipping the pages whenever the modern characters appear.
The original cover art I have from my British edition reads, "Fascinating, absorbing, and original." The first two are subjective, but as many reviewers have pointed out, it is hardly original; Anya Seton's _Green Darkness_ and Mary Luke's _Nonesuch Lure_ played the same themes at least 20 years before _Lady of Hay_ was published.  But it became even less original when Barbara Erksine began searching out abused women in British history and did the same thing over and over again, injecting historically inaccurate feminism along the way.  _Lady of Hay_ is definitely the best of her efforts in the past-life regression genre.
I bought and read this book when I was 13 and visited London. At 13 I adored it passionately. At much older than 13, I find it a bit laughable. First, I agree with several reviewers who object to the "strong, independent" heroine being raped and abused, and finding her "happily ever after" with one (!!! ) of her rapists. His excuse was that he was hypnotically regressed to King John at the time. Oh, well, of course. The historical parts of the book are outstanding, detailed and well-researched, and they win 100% of the three stars that I give this book. Readers of Sharon Kay Penman's _Here Be Dragons_ will find this an excellent companion piece. In fact, if you love medieval Welsh history, I highly recommend getting this book and just flipping the pages whenever the modern characters appear. The original cover art I have from my British edition reads, "Fascinating, absorbing, and original. " The first two are subjective, but as many reviewers have pointed out, it is hardly original; Anya Seton's _Green Darkness_ and Mary Luke's _Nonesuch Lure_ played the same themes at least 20 years before _Lady of Hay_ was published. But it became even less original when Barbara Erksine began searching out abused women in British history and did the same thing over and over again, injecting historically inaccurate feminism along the way. _Lady of Hay_ is definitely the best of her efforts in the past-life regression genre.