Gothic Delights at the Book Festival

I’ve had a fantastic couple of days at the Book Festival, listening to some terrific authors and discovering lots of books to go on my wish list. Looking at my ticket stubs, I realise I’ve had a bit of a gothic theme going on…

First came Michelle Paver and Susan Fletcher, talking about their respective ghost stories, Wakenhyrst and House of Glass.  I’m reading Wakenhyrst at bedtime just now – not my best ever choice, since it’s certainly not a book to lull one into a peaceful sleep… I’m loving it!

Next was Joseph O’Connor on his latest novel, Shadowplay. I can’t wait to read this: it’s a fascinating mix of fact and fiction, based on the relationships between Bram Stoker and legendary actors Sir Henry Irvine and Ellen Terry. And, of course, Dracula is always hovering in the background…

I have yet to read any of Jess Kyd and E S Thomson’s books, but am correcting that omission right now. I can’t resist the call of the Victorian gothic, and both writers have protagonists who sound irresistibly unusual in their latest books, Things in Jars and Surgeon’s Hall, set during that period of the 19th century when superstition and science collided and circus sideshows and anatomy lectures weren’t a world apart.

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