Published in paperback 2nd May 2019 by Bloomsbury/Raven Books.
From the cover of the book:
Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain?
Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder.
When Dorothea's charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she finds herself drawn to Ruth, a teenage seamstress - and self-confessed murderess - who nurses a dark and uncanny secret. A secret that is leading her straight to the gallows. As Ruth reveals her disturbing past to Dorothea, the fates of these two women entwine, and with every revelation, a new layer of doubt is cast...
Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?
************************************
This is my third Laura Purcell, after her cracking debut The Silent Companions, and her last chilling thriller Bone China, and she has now confirmed her place in my "auto-buy" list of authors, because I have loved every single one - and this, her second book, is my favourite of the lot so far!
As with all Laura Purcell's books, I have treated myself to reading them alongside listening to the wonderful audio book productions - call me strange, but I think you really do get more out a book this way. This particular audio was narrated by Nathalie Buscombe, and it is a corker.
In The Corset we have the entwined stories of Dorothea, pampered and privileged, but not without her own trials and tribulations in the shape of a controlling father, and the poor, mistreated Ruth, who is awaiting trial on murder charges.
The story unfolds as doer of good works Dorothea, intent on collecting evidence to support her theories on phrenology, visits the newly established women's prison to provide succour and spiritual guidance to the poor wretches imprisoned there - and to get a good feel of their cranial lumps and bumps while she is at it. During one of her visits Dorothea meets the ill-fated Ruth, who she is convinced she can lead towards redemption before the consequences of her crimes catch up with her, but as Ruth begins to relate her dark and fantastic history, Dorothea's theories are put sorely to the test. Can Ruth's tale be true, or is she playing games with Dorothea?
As Dorothea goes back and forth to the prison, we get to hear more and more of Ruth's tale, interspersed with details her own life and it becomes clear that not is all rosy on that front either. What really happened to cause the death of her own mother? What are her father's intentions? And how can she ever be free to marry her secret love, a lowly member of the constabulary?
As ever, Laura Purcell weaves her considerable skill to draw us into the stories of both these young women, showing us that even though they have come from very different backgrounds there are shocking similarities to be drawn from their experiences. One thing that always strikes me about Purcell's books is the magical way she walks the line between what is believable and what is not, bringing in just enough of a supernatural undercurrent to make you question exactly what is going on - and she keeps you on tenterhooks all the way through this one, until the absolutely glorious and breath-taking ending. It's superb!
If you like your historical fiction on the dark and Gothic side, then I can highly recommend any of Laura Purcell's books for your delectation - make sure you put aside a chunk of time if you choose to read them though, because I promise you are not going to be able to put any of them down once you begin.
I cannot wait to get to Laura Purcell's upcoming novel The Shape Of Darkness, which is coming in January 2021, so watch this space dear reader for more spellbinding story telling from her enchanted quill!
The Corset is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer, or from Bookshop.org HERE.
About the author:
Her first novel for Raven Books The Silent Companions won the WHSmith Thumping Good Read Award 2018 and featured in both the Zoe Ball and Radio 2 Book Clubs. Other Gothic novels include The Corset (US title The Poison Thread ), Bone China (US title The House of Whispers) and The shape Of Darkness (2021).
No comments:
Post a Comment