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Fabulous characters, twists and turns aplenty. Deliciously dark and very satisfying' REBECCA NETLEY
The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell | Carpe Librum Review: The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell | Carpe Librum
At first it is wordless, like crooning over a cradle, then it swells into a song. The singer is a woman. Mrs Dyer wants to prepare Jenny for theatre life and Shakespeare productions in particular. She pays for her to see Dr. Faustus at a local theatre. The actor playing Faustus is well renowned for being the best. But the performance becomes marred with tragedy when the actor dies on stage in a grisly and gory fashion. A small timepiece seems to be connected and Jenny feels distraught at what she’s witnessed. 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 ]
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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. A gothic tale set in the Victorian theatre. Full of chills, blood and sprinkled with horror. Another take on Faust, a pact with devil and everything it entails. This is a real gothic tale that kept me reading late into the night. Deep down, I was every bit as sentimental and self-deceiving as Mrs Dyer herself. For I wanted her to be the kind benefactor from a story-book, my fairy godmother. I wanted my happy ending.” The fourth in a series of posts in which we ask writers about the cultural influences on their work.
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The Whispering Muse is everything that Gothic horror should be. It’s haunting, eerie, and compulsive. A cautionary tale th Divided in five parts, like the five acts of the plays of yore, the book makes use of five plays - Macbeth, The Duchess of Malfi, Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, and Faust. Each of them cranks up the level of the tension in the story and the lives of the characters become more and more entangled with problems of both natural and supernatural origin. This is one of Purcell's novels where the supernatural is more present in the hints than it makes an actual appearance, but it is menacing all the same. I like how Purcell's books feature strong, complex and complicated female characters at a time when it was a man's world even more than it is today and how they fully manage to engage and capture the reader's imagination. She is also adept at world building, and the world of theatre comes alive in The Whispering Muse. As the curtains open on this disturbing Purcell play, your sense should be twitching as every single one is going to be 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.”
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She has been hired by the jealous Mrs Dyer to become the dresser to the theatre's lead actress, Lilith Erikson, but she has another below the radar task, that of spying on the beautiful and troubled actress in a theatre rife with superstitions and rumours of a curse. Her performances are remarkable, stunning in her powers to enter and possess the roles she plays, it is said that Lilith has made a pact with the tragic muse of Greek mythology, Melpomene, who seems to live in the watch that goes everywhere with her, to help her attain the heights of fame, of becoming the greatest stage actress. Jenny's relationship with the tragic and complicated Lilith, a mesmerising character who wants to makes her mark on the world, seeking love, she has truly suffered, her life unravelling, develops into a kind of friendship. It becomes clear little is as it appears, with strange, sinister and menacing events taking place. I know it's early days yet, but it's just possible that The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell has gone straight from being one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2023, to being one of my favourite reads of the entire year. I absolutely adored this! This is my first book by Purcell, but it’s safe to say it wont be my last. I’ve never quite felt as transported when reading historical gothic novels as I did with The Whispering Muse. Her atmospheric writing style wholly brings the theatre and the characters who inhabit it to life. Her use of the different parts of the book, each part focusing on a different play, was exceptionally done. Each part, and with it, each play seems to perfectly capture the atmosphere and feelings not only of the story but of the characters themselves, and the use of foreshadowing was just *chefs kiss.* I also enjoyed the mythological element. It was spooky without being outright fantasy, but had enough of the element to keep me on my toes, wondering whether the muse, Melpomene, was actually causing Liliths bizarre behaviours, or whether it was her obsession with needing to become a star so bright no one could ever forget her.
The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell - Fantastic Fiction The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell - Fantastic Fiction
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. 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 (THE POISON THREAD in USA), BONE CHINA and THE SHAPE OF DARKNESS (2020) 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? The offer was too good to be true, but Jennifer had to take it to be able to provide a better life for her siblings.
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PDF / EPUB File Name: The_Whispering_Muse_-_Laura_Purcell.pdf, The_Whispering_Muse_-_Laura_Purcell.epub Home » Iceland » Sjón » Argóarflísin (The Whispering Muse) Sjón: Argóarflísin (The Whispering Muse) As I watched her, washed in that red light, I almost believed that Melpomene was on her way. Every beat of the drum was a footstep. The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell is definitely a contender for book of the year. The plight of a young woman trying to make ends meet to care for her family. Their brother ran off with another man’s fiancée and stole from Jenny’s employer threatening to bring her record into disrepute. The story is told in Victorian London and let me tell you – I was right there. I imagined the cobbled streets, the smog, the costumes, the inequality. Laura Purcell has a way of transporting her readers into the heart of the tale with her strong narrative skills.
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Kyriazis, Stefan (1 August 2014). "The dirty lives of Georgian women". Express.co.uk . Retrieved 11 May 2023. It's official: I'm now on a Laura Purcell binge. I fear I may even be coming a fan of Victorian gothic! Sometimes the first person perspective does not always connect with me but I immediately empathised with Jenny and her siblings. The mystery of her brother and the allure of the theatre (and all of the intriguing characters within!) captivated me until the end! O’Donnell, Paraic (11 September 2019). "Bone China by Laura Purcell review – a homage to Du Maurier". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 11 May 2023. A tremor shook Lilith's frame. Her eyes flew open, fixed and staring at the gallery. The audience looked over their shoulders. Did she see something we couldn't?”
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Set at the Mercury Theatre in Victorian London, Miss Jennifer Wilcox accepts a job offer from Mrs Dyer, the wife of the Mercury's owner. Fallen on hard times - the cause of which is revealed later - Jennifer must provide for her family and despite being brought low by her circumstances, eagerly accepts the position of dresser. Jennifer will need to make and mend all of the costumes, style hair and organise the accessories for the leading actress at the Mercury. Laura Purcell excels in the territory she has claimed as her own, the dark, disturbing and the tragic in this, with her chilling, atmospheric Victorian gothic storytelling with its elements of horror, with its blood and gore, as she slowly immerses the reader in the drama laden world of the characters that inhabit the Mercury Theatre in London's West End. The narrative is structured around 5 plays that echo the themes and issues of the characters, whilst simultaneously driving the storylines onwards. It soon becomes apparent that it is no accident that the plays include Dr Faustus and Macbeth. Jenny Wilcox is a desperate woman, drowning in a precarious situation exacerbated by her brother Greg, leaving her solely responsible for her family. So when she is made a job offer that she cannot refuse, she accepts, the pay is generous, there is a house and includes much needed essential medical treatment for a sibling, but will she live to regret her decision? Hardyment, Christina. "Review: The Corset by Laura Purcell". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 11 May 2023. Reading The Whispering Muse put me in mind of City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert but I suspect that's only because I haven't read too many novels set in a theatre. The books are set in different countries and eras - 1940s New York and Victorian London - however the leading lady there (Celia) was just as awful as Lilith. In fact, my favourite quote from City of Girls works perfectly for Jennifer and Lilith too! Would you ever make a deal with the devil to save someone you love? How much will you be willing to pay to satisfy your ambition? Would you risk everything for a brief moment of fame and renown?
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