Ritchie, Gayle (7 November 2021). "Seances, shadows and secrets: Laura Purcell's latest gothic thriller oozes menace". The Courier . Retrieved 11 May 2023. Nolan, Tom (14 June 2019). "Mysteries: The Phrenologist and the Seamstress". Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 11 May 2023. Once inside the theatre, Jenny discovers that this is going to be more than just a simple job of dressing and reporting activities to Mrs Dyer. Whilst Lilith is not the kindest of people Jenny soon finds herself ‘bewitched’ by her and wonders if she has fallen in too deep. As more and more tragedy befalls the theatre Jenny begins to question who the enemy really is and is the curse of Melpomene true?

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No one does modern gothic literature quite like Laura Purcell. Just like Laura’s other novels, this too is richly imagined and dark with supernatural elements thrown in for good measure.The theatre setting worked so well for this story, with the Greek mythology perfectly woven through. Throw in some murders and you have a chilling good time. Unable to refuse and eternally grateful for the position of dresser to Lilith Erikson, Jennifer soon learns there's more to the situation. Mrs Dyer explains that her husband has been bewitched by the woman, and Jennifer is to keep a close eye on her. The reader is thrust straight into the social politics of the theatre, and additional meaning and nuance is communicated in the different plays the characters stage throughout this historical fiction masterpiece. Jenny is struggling to get to get by and keep her family together after being disgraced from her last job and her older brother abandoning her to look after the rest of the family on her own. Her brother Greg stole the money meant for her brother’s operation and a woman’s ring and then fled to America. ARC provided by Ben at Bloomsbury Books. Thank you for the copy! All quotes used are taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication. Fortunately, Caeneus comes to the rescue whenever the book threatens to degenerate into a drily whimsical exercise. His tales dredge up primal passions of lust, jealousy and revenge. His argonaut adventures mingle Greek and Scandinavian myths, showing the common wellsprings of these violent, troubling narratives. Christianity and the horrors of the second world war are fed into the mix, too, as the book tries – with an elusive logic typical of Sjón – to unify its disparate themes. Caeneus speaks of his "restorative" crucifixion at the hands of Jason, and also revisits his adolescence, when he was incarnated as a nubile female called Caenis. The description of Caenis's rape by Poseidon (which Haraldsson tut-tuts as "a little on the racy side") is grotesquely evocative: "I tried to scream for help but he forced my teeth apart with his blue fingers and spat a mouthful of raw wet seaweed inside … the shark oil oozing from his hair into my eyes."

The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell Download [PDF] [EPUB] The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell Download

However, something far worse than Lilith’s tantrums and Mrs Dyer’s dangerous jealousies lurks in the theatre, whispering in the shadows. A dark force is draining the life out of the theatre and the leading lady. What is the mystery of the silver watch? And what is the price of greatness on the stage? In The Whispering Muse, Laura Purcell has crafted a totally immersive take on the Faustus myth - dark and disturbing, but with so much heart. Her best yet.

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Once again, this is an excellent story from Sjón, mixing myth, distorted myth and reality, with some political views thrown in, to give us an excellent tale, beautifully told. Some critics feel that it is not as good as his other novels translated into English but I disagree, as I think this one works very well, whether you know the Jason and the Argonauts story or not. Haraldsson is deliberately not an endearing character but even he changes as a result of his voyage. We get Sjón’s usual myths, in this case two known myths but somewhat retold, we get his surrealistic touch at the end of the book and we get the characters round the captain’s table, who enable us to see Haraldsson in a somewhat different light, quite a lot for a short book. Publishing history She is the author of the horror novels The Silent Companions and The Shape of Darkness and served as lead writer on the historical horror podcast series Roanoke Falls which was executive produced by John Carpenter and Sandy King. [1] Bibliography [ edit ] Set in Victorian England we are introduced to the world of theatre and all the superstitions it holds. After her elder brother abandons them our protagonist Jenny is struggling to provide for her younger siblings. She is desperate and wants to create a better life for them all so when Mrs Dyer makes her a generous offer, Jenny finds it hard to say no. Jenny has a hard life, like many families during Victorian London. Jobs are low paying and living conditions are harsh, but she makes do. After her brother leaves them in disgrace, Jenny is made to step up, to become head of the household. Her brother, Bertie needs an operation to correct club foot. They’d almost saved up enough but then her brother took that too. Jenny is invited to The Mercury theatre by its owner’s wife, Mrs Dyer, she fears its to recompense them for all her brother stole. It appears she wants to offer her a position at the theatre of dresser to their leading lady, Lilith. She is paid handsomely, however, there is a catch, of course there is. People always said there was a fine line between genius and madness. Lilith had been walking it like a tightrope for too long. Perhaps I'd pushed her off the edge.”