Description: Harris' early novel, never before published in the United States, is a powerful, darkly Gothic evocation of Victorian artistic life. An illicit love draws a controlling artist's wife into a dangerous world of intrigue, blackmail, and revenge.
Brief description:
Joanne Harris is the author of seven previous novels--Chocolat, Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange, Coastliners, Holy Fools, Sleep, Pale Sister, and Gentlemen & Players; a short story collection, Jigs & Reels; and two cookbook/memoirs, My French Kitchen and The French Market. Half French and half British, she lives in England.
Review Quotes:
"[Harris's] prose reads like poetry, and it is a physical experience to fall into her imagery." - Philadelphia Inquirer
"Dark and haunting . . . will resonate with both gothic romance readers and fans of [Harris's] later work." - Library Journal
"Intense, complex . . . spellbinding . . . powerfully Gothic in atmosphere, it evokes the parlours, graveyards, brothels, and back alleys of 19th century London." - Quicksilver (UK)