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

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Paull, Emily (7 February 2021). "Book Review: The Shape of Darkness reinforces Laura Purcell as a master of building suspense". The AU Review . Retrieved 11 May 2023. Once again, this is an excellent story from Sjón, mixing myth, distorted myth and reality, with some political views thrown in, to give us an excellent tale, beautifully told. Some critics feel that it is not as good as his other novels translated into English but I disagree, as I think this one works very well, whether you know the Jason and the Argonauts story or not. Haraldsson is deliberately not an endearing character but even he changes as a result of his voyage. We get Sjón’s usual myths, in this case two known myths but somewhat retold, we get his surrealistic touch at the end of the book and we get the characters round the captain’s table, who enable us to see Haraldsson in a somewhat different light, quite a lot for a short book. Publishing history Mrs Dyer is an interesting character, on the surface she appears the victim, an unloved wife whose husband frivolously spends her wealth, a woman scorned who desperately wants to protect her daughter and seeks a confidant in Jenny. Though her actions are not quite genuine, her jealousy permeates and her generosity towards Jenny only signals manipulation, her kindness causing Jenny guilt and a sense that she owes Mrs Dyer a great debt. Mrs Dyer claims that Lilith is the deceiver, the thorn in her side, yet Mrs Dyer is also Jenny’s thorn. Mrs Dyer is ruthless and is arguably more akin to Lady Macbeth than Lilith is. Yet perhaps in a patriarchal society these three women need a touch of Lady Macbeth in them just to survive. The threat and presence of Melpomene – well I didn’t know much about this but I did wait until after the novel to research it and wow, so much to learn and investigate. I feel Laura must have had some fun researching all of this. 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.

The Whispering Muse by Sjón – review | Sjón | The Guardian

Okay, let's start with the main character, Jenny. She is just such a delight. It may feel at first like a familiar story, a Victorian orphan having to work in service to look after her younger siblings, including a handicapped brother, Jenny has lost her position and fallen on hard times after her older brother ran off with anything of value he could get his hands on. She does what she needs to do to look after her family, with such a fiercely protective instinct. But what I love most about Jenny is her attitude. She takes absolutely no shit off anybody and it is such a joy to watch. She's sarcastic, cutting, mean even, but somehow never comes across as an unpleasant or unsympathetic character. She's just someone who stands up for herself and tells people what she thinks, and for someone in her position in society, with so much at risk, that comes across as incredibly brave and bold. It also doesn't feel anachronistic, and that may be due in part to the theatre setting, typically outside of societal norms, and also because she's very clever about it. She knows when to toe the line, and is often careful about what she says to Mrs Drury in particular, when she holds power over her, but also knows when she can get away with flashing her attitude.Fun, fun, fun! I was enthralled by the world of The Whispering Muse as soon as I started it. A fading Victorian theatre, a reputedly cursed actress, a suspicious (and highly melodramatic) wife: could there be a better setup for a spooky historical mystery? Purcell doesn’t put a foot wrong here, and it’s always easy to understand why narrator Jenny can’t extricate herself from this tangled web of obsession and betrayal. A thoroughly enjoyable gothic confection, filled with great characters and vivid scenes.

The Whispering Muse – Laura Purcell The Whispering Muse – Laura Purcell

Laura Purcell excels in the territory she has claimed as her own, the dark, disturbing and the tragic in this, with her chilling, atmospheric Victorian gothic storytelling with its elements of horror, with its blood and gore, as she slowly immerses the reader in the drama laden world of the characters that inhabit the Mercury Theatre in London's West End. The narrative is structured around 5 plays that echo the themes and issues of the characters, whilst simultaneously driving the storylines onwards. It soon becomes apparent that it is no accident that the plays include Dr Faustus and Macbeth. Jenny Wilcox is a desperate woman, drowning in a precarious situation exacerbated by her brother Greg, leaving her solely responsible for her family. So when she is made a job offer that she cannot refuse, she accepts, the pay is generous, there is a house and includes much needed essential medical treatment for a sibling, but will she live to regret her decision? The theatre setting worked so well for this story, with the Greek mythology perfectly woven through. Throw in some murders and you have a chilling good time.The Whispering Muse is everything that Gothic horror should be. It’s haunting, eerie, and compulsive. A cautionary tale that you should never underestimate a woman’s ability to exact revenge.