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Essie Fox
Essie Fox is the author of The Somnambulist and Elijah's Mermaid, both of which are dark Victorian novels.
Before taking up writing, Essie worked as an illustrator designing greetings cards, gift wrap and decorative ceramics. Before that she worked in a Dickensian office in Bloomsbury's Museum Street, employed as an editorial assistant by the publishers, George Allen & Unwin. So, in a way, it almost feels as if she has come full circle, returning to her very first love, which is the world of books.
Born and raised in Herefordshire, Essie now divides her time between Bow in East London and Windsor.
Before taking up writing, Essie worked as an illustrator designing greetings cards, gift wrap and decorative ceramics. Before that she worked in a Dickensian office in Bloomsbury's Museum Street, employed as an editorial assistant by the publishers, George Allen & Unwin. So, in a way, it almost feels as if she has come full circle, returning to her very first love, which is the world of books.
Born and raised in Herefordshire, Essie now divides her time between Bow in East London and Windsor.
Genres: Literary Fiction
Novels
The Somnambulist (2011)
Elijah's Mermaid (2012)
The Goddess and the Thief (2013)
The Last Days of Leda Grey (2016)
Elijah's Mermaid (2012)
The Goddess and the Thief (2013)
The Last Days of Leda Grey (2016)
Essie Fox recommends
The Sultan's Wife (2012)
(Moroccan, book 3)
Jane Johnson
"Imagine the darkest 'Arabian Tale' combined with Tremain's glorious Restoration."
The Sacred River (2013)
Wendy Wallace
"Exquisitely written. A haunting and mystical story of three women who search for freedom, whether in Victorian England or the tombs of ancient Egypt."
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley (2017)
Hannah Tinti
"Exceptional... a tender work of art exposing the universal needs of men to survive, to love, and grieve - whether their fate is cast in stars, or submerged beneath the surface... a sure-fire hit with characters I came to love."
Exquisite (2017)
Sarah Stovell
"Sarah Stovell writes beautifully. In her latest novel she combines that skill with a thrilling dramatic narrative. Exquisite in every way."
The Silent Companions (2017)
Laura Purcell
"Compelling and claustrophobic. The pages all but turn by themselves."
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock (2018)
Imogen Hermes Gowar
"Beautifully written...As seductive as any siren's song, this remarkable, glittering Georgian tale has a heart of purest gold."
The Coffin Path (2018)
Katherine Clements
"Oozing with gothic symbolism, this brooding and beautiful ghost story is guaranteed to haunt your dreamslong after the cover has been closed."
Wrecker (2018)
Noel O'Reilly
"With echoes of Du Maurier, this compelling Cornish drama weaves a tangled web of fallen faiths, of sins, seductions and deceits."
Miss Marley (2018)
Vanessa Lafaye
"A moving companion piece to the classic A Christmas Carol, with all the traditional echoes of the Dickensian festive season woven through, and with tragedy and joy in equal measure. A delight."
The Doll Factory (2019)
Elizabeth Macneal
"With strong echoes of John Fowles' The Collector, The Doll Factory is at once a vivid depiction of a morally dubious world, and a page-turning psychological thriller, with a truly compelling villain."
The Lost Ones (2019)
Anita Frank
"For fans of Henry James and Susan Hill, this chilling supernatural mystery is written in the classic mould. Intriguing, moving and assured."
The Unforgetting (2020)
Rose Black
"This haunting Victorian novel weaves a spellbinding web of deluded dreams and dark deceptions."
Perfect Kill (2020)
(DI Callanach, book 6)
Helen Fields
"Perfect Kill is a compelling breathless read. Unflinching, brave and so well researched and considered."
The Last House on Needless Street (2021)
Catriona Ward
"This immersive modern gothic reads like a timeless classic as it lures you hook and sinker into its world."
Born of No Woman (2021)
Franck Bouysse
"One of the most disturbing yet lyrically exquisite novels I’ve read in a long time. The poetic and pastoral beauty of the nineteenth-century French countryside is vividly contrasted with the often-brutal treatment of breeding livestock on the farms—which in its turn mirrors the treatment of the fourteen-year-old Rose when she is sold by her poor father to the master of a manor. Once enslaved in her new home, Rose is tormented and abused, soon forced to contemplate the horrors concealed within some hidden chambers where she discovers the true fate of her master’s absent wife. Brave, sometimes horrific, Born of No Woman is one of the most compelling novels I have read in many years. Infused with lurid elements of the most gothic fairy tales, it explores the darkest realms of human sexuality."
The Key in the Lock (2022)
Beth Underdown
"Reads as if a classic. Eerie, immersive and compelling. This is a book to savour."
The Gifts (2022)
Liz Hyder
"Bewitching. Lovers of Neo-Victorian fiction will be spellbound by this tale, taking flight on the wings of Hyder's addictive words."
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