Phoebe Wynne

Phoebe Wynne's Madam is a riveting, modern gothic debut with shades of The Secret History, The Stepford Wives, and a dash of Circe, set at a secretive all girls’ boarding school perched on a craggy Scottish peninsula. They want our silence... They want our obedience... Let them see our fire burn For 150 years, high above rocky Scottish cliffs, Caldonbrae Hall has sat untouched, a beacon of excellence in an old ancestral castle. A boarding school for girls, it promises that the young women lucky enough to be admitted will emerge “resilient and ready to serve society.” Into its illustrious midst steps Rose Christie: a 26-year-old Classics teacher, Caldonbrae’s new head of the department, and the first hire for the school in over a decade. At first, Rose is overwhelmed to be invited into this institution, whose prestige is unrivaled. But she quickly discovers that behind the school’s elitist veneer lies an impenetrable, starkly traditional culture that she struggles to reconcile with her modernist beliefs--not to mention her commitment to educating “girls for the future.” It also doesn’t take long for Rose to suspect that there’s more to the secret circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of her predecessor--a woman whose ghost lingers everywhere--than anyone is willing to let on. In her search for this mysterious former teacher, Rose instead uncovers the darkness that beats at the heart of Caldonbrae, forcing her to confront the true extent of the school’s nefarious purpose, and her own role in perpetuating it. A darkly feminist tale pitched against a haunting backdrop, and populated by an electrifying cast of heroines, Madam will keep readers engrossed until the breathtaking conclusion.

A Novel

Madam

A suspenseful, feminist Gothic coming-of-age tale with shades of Patricia Highsmith, REBECCA, and ATONEMENT, pitched against the sun-soaked backdrop of a summer holiday on the French Riviera. Welcome to the Chateau des Sètes, a jewel of the Cote d’Azur, where long summer days bring ease, glamour, and decadence to the holidaymakers who can afford it. Ruby Ashby adores her parents’ house in France, but this August, everything feels different. Unexpected guests have descended upon the chateau––friends of her parents, and their daughters—and they are keen to enjoy the hot, extravagant summer holiday to its fullest potential. Far from England, safe in their wealth and privilege, the adults revel in bad behavior without consequence, while the girls are treated as playthings or abandoned to their own devices. But despite languid days spent poolside and long nights spent drinking, a simmering tension is growing between the families, and the sanctuary that Ruby cherishes soon starts to feel like a gilded cage. Over two decades later the chateau is for sale, its days of splendor and luxury long gone, leaving behind a terrible history and an ugly legacy. A young widow has returned to France, wanting to purchase the chateau, despite her shocking memories of what transpired that fateful summer. But there is another person who is equally haunted by the chateau, and who also seeks to reclaim it. Who will set the chateau free––and who will become yet another of its victims? With riveting psychological complexity, The Ruins captures the glittering allure of the Mediterranean––and the dark shadows that wait beneath the surface.

The Ruins

Layne Fargo

Tori Bovalino

J.T. Ellison

Olivie Blake

Kate Weinberg

Paul Kane

Helen Grant

David Bell

Marie O’Regan

James Tate Hill

M.L. Rio

 Susie Yang

 Kelly Andrew

Urzekający i mroczny zbiór opowiadań napisany przez mistrzów gatunku Dark Academia (wśród nich Olivie Balke i M.L. Rio!). Mimo że charakteryzują się one podobną estetyką, każda z historii tworzy unikalny świat skrywający własne tajemnice. Bez względu na to, czy jesteś już wytrawnym znawcą i miłośnikiem nurtu Dark Academia, czy też dopiero zaczynasz swoją przygodę z jego mrocznymi klimatami, historie zebrane w tej antologii pozwolą ci zatracić się w intrygujących, niepokojących i rozpalających wyobraźnię światach prywatnych szkół i kampusów. Droga studentko, drogi studencie! Właśnie zaczyna się rekrutacja! Przeczytajcie, jak rozpustnego wykładowcę dosięga zemsta, poznajcie mroczną prawdę o zaginionym profesorze i przekonajcie się, jak zdradzona kochanka może odpłacić pięknym za nadobne podczas seansu spirytystycznego. A to zaledwie początek! Mamy tu jeszcze obrazoburczy romans, który przeradza się w obsesję, dwoje studentów odkrywających sekrety naukowca samotnika, okropności, do jakich dochodziło na mało znanym wydziale i krwawy rytuał inicjacyjny… Dwanaście historii, dwanaście tajemnic, dwanaście mrocznych opowieści znakomitych autorów: Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio, David Bell, Susie Yang, Layne Fargo, J.T. Ellison, James Tate Hill, Kelly Andrew, Phoebe Wynne, Kate Weinberg, Helen Grant, Tori Bovalino. Całość zebrali i zredagowali Marie O’Regan oraz Paul Kane.

W tych szacownych murach. Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio i inni

'I was completely transported by The Ruins. Phoebe Wynne has evocatively rendered a beautiful, doomed French chateau while creating immersive, almost dream-like atmospherics. I loved this novel' SARAH PEARSE, bestselling author of The SanatoriumAmidst the glamour of the French Riviera lies the crumbling fa ade of Chateau de Setes, a small slice of France still held by the British aristocracy. But this long since abandoned chateau is now up for sale, and two people are desperate to get their hands on it despite its terrible history.Summer, 1985: Ruby has stayed at the chateau with her family every summer of her twelve years. It was her favourite place to be, away from the strictures of her formal childhood, but this year uninvited guests have descended, and everything is about to change...As the intense August heat cloaks the chateau, the adults within start to lose sight of themselves. Old disputes are thrown back and forth, tempers rise, morals loosen, and darkness begins to creep around them all. Ruby and her two young friends soon discover it is best not to be seen or heard as the summer spirals down to one fateful night and an incident that can never be undone...Summer, 2010: One of the three young girls, now grown and newly widowed, returns to the chateau, and in her fight to free herself from its grip, she uncovers what truly happened that long, dark summer.With riveting psychological complexity, The Ruins captures the glittering allure of the Mediterranean, and the dark shadows that wait beneath the surface.

A suspenseful, contemporary Gothic coming-of-age tale with shades of Patricia Highsmith and Atonement, pitched against the sun-soaked backdrop of the French Riviera.

Phoebe Wynne

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