Gothic Fiction: An Evening with Laura Purcell and Stuart Turton

Blackwell’s Bookshop at Westgate is delighted to invite you to an evening with authors Laura Purcell and Stuart Turton on Thursday 29th November at 7pm. Join us to eavesdrop on a conversation about gothic fiction, mystery and horror. Following the discussion, Laura and Stuart will sign copies of their books.

The Corset by Laura Purcell

A new Victorian chiller from the author of Radio 2 and Zoe Ball ITV Book Club pick, The Silent Companions.

Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain? Dorothea and Ruth. Prison visitor and prisoner. Powerful and powerless. Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder. When Dorothea’s charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted to have the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person’s skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. But when she meets teenage seamstress Ruth, she is faced with another theory: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread. For Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches.

The story Ruth has to tell of her deadly creations – of bitterness and betrayal, of death and dresses – will shake Dorothea’s belief in rationality, and the power of redemption. Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Gosford Park meets Groundhog Day by way of Agatha Christie and Black Mirror – the most inventive story you’ll read this year.

Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed … Again It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed. But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot. The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath…

Laura and Stuart will be in conversation for an hour with time for questions from the audience. They will then sign copies of their books.

Tickets are £4. For further information, please call 01865 980380 or email westgate@Blackwells.co.uk. Alternatively, visit Blackwell’s Westgate and speak to a bookseller.