The story of the Whispering Muse is told by Jennifer, a young woman who, through no fault of her own, is left to raise her young siblings and deal with the shame of her older brother’s act of thievery that caused her to lose her job in service to a wealthy family. Her brother flees to America, leaving the orphaned young family in dire straits. Seemingly out of the blue Jennifer is offered a position as a costumier and dresser in a well-known theatre owned by a wealthy Lady. At first Jennifer cannot believe her luck. The position is well paid, and her new employer provides her and her family with all they need to live a good life out of poverty.
But Jennifer quickly finds out there is a high price to pay, and unfortunately the price only increases the deeper Jennifer becomes involved with the Lady and her company of actors. Superstitions are rife even in today’s theatres. This menacing, macabre tale takes us back to a time when thespians were said to make deals with the devil or come by powerful amulets, somehow using the supernatural to enhance their acting prowess to achieve fame at any cost.
Jennifer has to make choices in order to keep her family from destitution. Choices that are against her better judgement, pushing her further and further until delusion and madness surround her.
This is a tale of obsession and power, beautifully written, exquisitely menacing and utterly gripping. The author has an obvious talent for Gothic fiction, at no time did the narrative even teeter on the edge of the unbelievable. I enjoyed this book immensely.
Reviewed by Alison Logie
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Purcell is a former bookseller living in Colchester, Essex with her husband and pet guinea pigs.
She began her career with two historical novels about the Hanoverian monarchs, Queen of Bedlam and Mistress of the Court before her break-out Gothic ghost story The Silent Companions.
The Silent Companions won the WHSmith Thumping Good Read Award in 2018 and was shortlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell. It was selected for both the Radio 2 Book Club and Zoe Ball’s ITV Book Club.
The Shape of Darkness won a Fingerprint Award for Historical Crime Book of the Year 2022 and was shortlisted for both an Edgar Award and a Dead Good Readers’ Award.
Laura’s short stories have been published in a number of collections including the Sunday Times best-selling The Haunting Season. She recently worked as lead writer on Roanoke Falls, a Realm podcast executive produced by John Carpenter and Sandy King Carpenter. It won a silver Signal Award for Best Scripted Fiction.
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