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 […]
Dangerous by Essie Fox
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 […]
When fiction is fatal – Byron and vampires
Vampires in Venice? In her new Gothic thriller, Dangerous, Essie Fox imagines what could happen if fiction appears to become fatal fact when Lord Byron is living in the water-bound city. Here she writes about the two incidents from Byron’s life that inspired her novel. Most of us know of Bram Stoker‘s Dracula, published in […]
Christmas reading 2024 – top historical books to give or to treat yourself to
We asked eight much-loved authors to each recommend a couple of historical books for Christmas 2024 to give, receive, or treat yourself to — fiction and non-fiction. There are ideas for history-loving children and teens as well. We hope these suggestions help to inspire your Christmas reading. Sharon Bennett Connolly For fiction, it has to […]
The Fascination by Essie Fox
Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn’t grown a single inch since she was five. Coerced into promoting their father’s quack elixir as they tour the country fairgrounds, at the age of 15 the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’. Theo is an orphan, […]
The Fascination by Essie Fox
Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn’t grown a single inch since she was five. Then at the age of 15 the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’. Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather. Resenting his grandson for his daughter’s death […]
Dr Kahn and the Victorians’ fascination with anatomy
Essie Fox writes about the Victorian obsession with human anatomy — often as grotesques — and the bizarre tale of one museum owner whose success resisted scandals and attempts to close his establishment for years. It’s part of the background to The Fascination, her latest book. My new novel, The Fascination, is a Victorian gothic […]