Published May 2nd, 2024 by Abacus
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Happy Publication Day to this haunting and mesmerising novel. Thank you to Niamh at Little Brown Book Group for the sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘I was blown away by this dark, enchanting story of witchcraft, power and injustice. ..nothing short of brilliant’ Mary Chamberlain
Erzsébet Báthory, whose infamous place in history characterises her as the ‘Blood Countess’, was accused of the murder of over 600 peasant girls in Hungary, 1610. The Nightingale’s Castle tells the story of a woman fighting for her survival and the complicated, often cruel, household over which she presides.
Praise for The Nightingale’s Castle
‘Moving, fascinating and haunting.. A mesmerising combination of gothic horror and elegant restraint’ Francesca De Tores, author of Saltblood
‘Gripping… a fascinating exploration of women’s struggle to have their truth heard’ Louise O’Neill
In 1573, Countess Erzsébet Báthory gave birth to an illegitimate child. The infant, a girl, was swiftly bundled up and handed to a local peasant family to be brought up in one of the hamlets surrounding the Castle. Many years later, 15-year-old Boróka reluctantly leaves the safety of the only home she has ever known in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Trusted members of the countess’s household have been sent out to gather new serving girls, and the kindly old man who has taken care of Boróka for almost all her life knows that it is dangerous to turn them away.
Boróka struggles to find her place at Cachtice Castle: she is frightened of the countess’s reputation as an alleged murderer of young girls, and the women who run the castle are terrifyingly cruel. When plague comes into the heart of the castle, a tentative bond begins to form between Boróka and the Countess Báthory. But powerful forces are moving against a woman whose wealth poses such a threat to the king: can the countess really trust the women who are so close to her? And when the show trial begins against the infamous ‘Blood Countess’ where will Boróka’s loyalties lie?
********
MY REVIEW:
“I’ve heard that the girls who go to Čachtice Castle never return.”
The Nightingale’s Castle is a mesmerising tale of witchcraft, myth, murder, power and injustice. A harmony of historical fiction, gothic horror and dark fairytale, fact and fiction seamlessly blend to tell the story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory, the woman who currently holds the Guiness World Record for being the most prolific female serial killer of all time and was believed to have murdered over six hundred girls and bathed in their blood to preserve her youth.
When the Countess’s servants come to her home in the Carpathian Mountains looking for girls to work for the Countess at Čachtice Castle, 15-year-old Boróka is reluctant to leave her home and confused by her father’s insistence that she go with them. Terrified of the Countess’s fearsome reputation for allegedly murdering young servant girls and the cruel women charged with managing the servants, Boróka struggles to fit in. But things are changing and there are those who will do anything to destroy a woman whose wealth is a threat to the king. Can Countess Báthory really trust the women closest to her? And what is the truth behind the rumours of murder that surround her?
“The nightingale is still the bird of darkness and mourning, even though its song is sweet.”
Sometimes you can tell from just looking at a book that you are going to love it. This was one of those times. Haunting, luxurious and beguiling, the story between the covers is every bit as luxurious as its cover. This isn’t a story you simply read, it’s one you get lost in and has that intoxicating combination where I want to take my time to soak in every word, and never want the story to end. But, ultimately, I devoured this book whole, unable to bear being away from it for longer than necessary. I was already a fan of Sonia Velton’s writing after loving her debut Blackberry and Wild Rose, but she blew me away with this one. Evocatively told, intricately woven and complex, it is a rich tapestry laced with history, infused with malevolence and threaded with the supernatural. Velton’s meticulous research is evident on every page as she reminds us of the vulnerable and precarious position women of that time were forced to live in. Because, at the heart of this book, is a story about how dangerous it is to be a woman in a patriarchal world, of women’s fight to have their voices and truth heard, and of men abusing their power.
“The countess is impossible to predict. Her moods are like opal stones constantly shifting their colours. She is at once caustic and kind. One minute dismissive and the next, like now, if they say the wrong thing, or presume too much, they might find themselves crushed like an insect under the countess’s pointy pink-satined toe.”
Merging fact and fiction is no easy task, but Velton pulls it off with finesse. Čachtice Castle came alive around me and she breathed life into every character. Countess Erzsébet Báthory is intimidating, imperious, acerbic and self-assured. Her murderous reputation precedes her, surrounding her with a chilling air that strikes fear in many of the people she meets. Boróka is gutsy, likeable and easy to root for, and I really enjoyed her scenes with the countess. I’ve never read anything about Countess Báthory before so, like Boróka, I found myself unsure what the truth was about the countess which kept me on tenterhooks as I read. Dorka and Ilona Jó, the two women in charge of the servant girls, sent shivers down my spine and I was sure of their cruelty from the start. Ficzkó was a more complex character with his heartbreaking backstory and alarming personality ‘quirks’. But every one of them, and the many background characters, were expertly written and fascinating.
Heady, dark, unsettling and absorbing, The Nightingale’s Castle is an absolute masterpiece. It is one of my favourite books of this year and a must read for fans of gothic or historical fiction.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
********
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Sonia Velton has been a solicitor in Hong Kong, a Robert Schuman Scholar in Luxembourg and spent eight years being an expat Mum of three in Dubai. She now lives with her children in Kent. Her writing has been short-listed for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, long-listed for the HWA Debut Crown and optioned for film. Her new book, The Nightingale’s Castle, is a fresh look at the legend of Countess Bathory, the sixteenth century ‘Blood Countess’.
********
BUY THE BOOK:
Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links
********
Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx