Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city. But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer. As events escalate and […]
Spider, Spider by LC Winter
Young Nancy Ratcliffe is on the run. Her father had sought refuge for his family with the Brethren, led by the charismatic but dangerous Prophet. But now her father is gravely ill, and even the sooty streets of Victorian London hold less terror for Nancy than the brutality of Brethren Hall. Meanwhile, Spider is biding […]
Faith, flesh and fortunes in a Victorian sex cult
LC Winter writes about the Agapemonites, a faith community whose founder became deeply interested in ‘taking the flesh’ — and the fortunes — of female converts. It’s now probably remembered best as a Victorian sex cult and the cause of several scandals. It started with a sickly teenage boy reading the Song of Solomon with […]
The Cromarty Library Circle by Shona MacLean
We’re on the Black Isle, in 1831. As seagulls shriek and rise on the coastal winds, a circulating library in the bustling port town of Cromarty is meeting for the first time. Ostensibly united by a love of books, the demands of social convention have brought together a disparate group of people. Charlotte Mackenzie, the […]
The Night Hag by Hester Musson
Scotland in 1886, where Lil, a keen archaeologist, has arrived at Pitcarden to lead a dig on a Bronze Age burial mound. Having escaped the clutches of her mother, a famous medium, and committed herself to a life of rational enquiry, she is determined to unearth the treasures buried deep, despite growing protests from the […]
Review: Wuthering Heights – the film – and Catherine by Essie Fox
February, 2026 has given us the full Bronte with two retellings of Wuthering Heights. Kate Griffin, the author of several Gothic novels and lover of films set in the Victorian era, is the ideal person to review both the new film reimagining of Emily’s Bronte’s story and Essie Fox’s reframing in her novel, Catherine. There’s […]
Catherine by Essie Fox
With a nature as wild as the moors she loves to roam, Catherine Earnshaw grows up alongside Heathcliff, a foundling her father rescued from the streets of Liverpool. Their fierce, untamed bond deepens as they grow – until Mr Earnshaw’s death leaves Hindley, Catherine’s brutal brother, in control and Heathcliff reduced to servitude. Desperate to […]
Hard Streets by Jacqueline Riding
Charlie Chaplin rose from the hard streets of Victorian London to become one of the most beloved comedians of all time. With his threadbare jacket, baggy trousers and puzzled expression, Chaplin’s ‘Little Tramp’ alter ego was shaped by the city of his childhood — a place of ribald variety shows and hard drinking, radical politics […]