The Whispering Muse: The most spellbinding gothic novel of the year, packed with passion and suspense

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However, something far worse than Lilith’s tantrums and Mrs Dyer’s dangerous jealousies lurks in the theatre, whispering in the shadows. A dark force is draining the life out of the theatre and the leading lady. What is the mystery of the silver watch? And what is the price of greatness on the stage?

The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell | Waterstones

Really creepy gothic horror finds its perfect setting in a Victorian theatre, full of superstition, ambition and dramatic exits! The year before, I had traveled to Greece to be at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games, in Athens, where Björk sang the song that she and I had written for the occasion. The lyrics had been inspired by the Greek myths, with their cycles of metamorphosis and their complicated interactions between man and the superior powers that surround him, and so I made a point during my stay to visit the ruins of the great Temple of Poseidon, at Sounion. There, I discovered that Poseidon had never left the dilapidated temple, that in fact he still lay, in his magnificent blueness, at the bottom of the cliffs that supported this structure that men had so long ago built in his honor. With the memory of that year’s Indonesian tsunami fresh in my mind, I knew that, although he was calm and beautiful on the day of my visit to his temple, Poseidon remained an uncontrollable, unpredictable force. He and his fellow gods from Mount Olympus had not forsaken us, even if we had forsaken them. Though this is my first novel by Purcell, I can clearly see why she is highly praised as the master of haunting tales. This was an absolutely delicious read.

It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her. Contemporary Gothic is my favourite genre and nobody does that better then Laura Purcell. I’m a massive fan of her previous novels – especially The Silent Companions (2017) and The Shape of Darkness (2021) – and now I can add The Whispering Muse to the list. Jenny Wilcox is a character you immediately feel sympathy towards, she is desperate, selfless and therefore easily manipulated. Her life has clearly not been easy, abandoned by her father and left in debt by her brother, Jenny must provide for her younger siblings, one of whom has a disability. With very little choices in life for an unmarried woman, she makes do with whatever coin she can earn. It’s easy to see why she agrees to Mrs Dyer's offer, even when her requests become increasingly immoral. Lilith, though more complexly flawed, brazen and more ambitious than Jenny, also comes across as desperate. The way Lilith clings to the idea of Melpomene and her promise of all her desires coming true, shows us that she is desperate too but not just for wealth. Lilith is lonely and is seeking love and adoration by any means necessary. In Victorian London, Jenny is forced to take on a job at The Mercury Theatre, her brother’s erstwhile employer, to secure a better life for her siblings. Dressing new leading actress Lilith is the less challenging part of the bargain; she must also be the theatre owner’s wife’s spy. I love that the story is so immersive, which is down to a clever plot but more importantly believable characters that evolve over the course of the novel. None of the characters are sugary sweet, they all have an agenda which is tested in different ways as the cost of loyalty is tested.

The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell | Carpe Librum Review: The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell | Carpe Librum

As the curtains open on this disturbing Purcell play, your sense should be twitching as every single one is going to be The wife of the owner of London’s Mercury Theatre offers Jennifer money and a job as a dresser in exchange for a bit of spying on the lead actress. The Whispering Muse isn’t necessarily creepy or scary like The Silent Companions, although there definitely are a few moments, but it’s dark, gothic and unashamedly unsettling. Each story has its particular charm. In the first, he describes how happy and honored his countrymen were to see him again after all his years away; in the second, he is captivated by the traditional costumes and rhymed poetry of the Setes Valley people, their pale skin color, ruddy cheeks, and fine body postures; and, in the third, he is more occupied with the inside of the ship than anything that happens outside it—even when he steps ashore, in Morocco, and visits one of its Grand Bazaars, the narration falls flat compared to his enthusiastic descriptions of his cabin. It was this third story that caught my eye as possible material. Its “anti-narration” had the flavor of modernist writing in its main character’s insistent refusal to engage with what is supposed to be noteworthy in a story. Yet it wasn’t enough to sustain a whole novel. Kyriazis, Stefan (1 August 2014). "The dirty lives of Georgian women". Express.co.uk . Retrieved 11 May 2023.My great-grandfather died in 1959, having completed his magnum opus, “ Síldarsaga Íslands” (“The History of Herring Fishing in Iceland”). It is said that Hrafn Valdimarsson spent his last years in Greenwich Village. Caeneus is eternal and flying around the world on his seagull’s wings.