FOR those readers who enjoy the wild land and seascapes of Cornwall for their backdrop to a fictional tale then one book that may appeal is 'The Visitor' by Katherine Stansfield.

Cornwall in 1880. Pearl, Jack and Nicholas play among the fishing boats of Skommow Bay, not understanding the undercurrents beneath their games. As they grow older, the choices they make shape the pattern of their lives. 1936 and everything has changed. The fish have stopped coming and the Pilchard Palace is abandoned. Pearl, exiled in favour of holidaymakers, turns to the memory of her great love and her greatest loss. She's waiting for her own visitor. Will he come for her?

The sea's ghosts are stirring. The past can be more alive than the present...

The fictional village in which the novel is set is based on St Ives. 'The Visitor' is a novel steeped in the coast and people of Cornwall. 'It shivers and flashes with visions as elusive as the fish at the centre of its story', say its publishers Parthian Books.

ISBN 97819098 44094, price £8.99.