Fyneshade: A Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of 2023

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Everywhere are crows, hawks, hares ( the hare was believed to have mystical links with the female cycle and with the moon that ruled her. With Fyneshade, Kate Griffin has crafted not only a true dedication to the legacy of gothic fiction, but also a modern addition to that great canon.

Thankfully, Marta doesn’t have to rely on the unpredictable girl since she has her witchcraft to fall back on. Like the intrepid Gothic heroine she purports to be, Marta is a match for every locked door and secret passageway, but this is the only way she resembles such milk and water scaredy-cats. Tucked away in the heart of Derbyshire, I swear I could hear it’s walls thinking as Marta and Grace explored and exploited its secrets.This is a bit of a slow-burn, but the gorgeously atmospheric and tantalisingly psychological buildup will more than make up for it. There are also those Jane Eyre vibes to it with the house hiding secrets and a master of a grand house being hidden away. Towards the end, that’s precisely what it looks like is going to happen – and oh, how I didn’t want it to. Separated from her lover and discarded by her family, Marta has no choice but to journey to Pritchard’s ancient and crumbling house, Fyneshade, in the wilds of Derbyshire.

I got to the end, and there it was, one final little note from the author pointing me at Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. Marta is the anti-heroine you can't help rooting for: I was under her spell from the very first page.I highly recommend reading The Turn of the Screw, or at least a summary of it before starting this book. It’s been some weeks since I finished reading the book, and I still can’t decide if I warmed to her or not – but I do know I’d read more about her at the drop of a hat. One of my earliest memories is being taken to the top of The Monument by my father when I was about four years old.

She makes an effort with Grace when she discovers that Grace can be of help to her, but Grace, from the very beginning, seems to understand that Marta is not to be trusted. After her grandmother dies, Marta finds herself swiftly despatched to Fyneshade, a gothic hall in Derbyshire, to act as governess for a young girl.Grace, the little girl she is sent to look after is, in Marta’s eyes, a pathetic, unlikeable soul she makes very little effort to get to know. Marta as a main character and narrator is a head strong woman, who is capable of many things, ruthless and cunning being her main attributes. Secondly I know you shouldn't judge a book by its' cover however what a cover, absolutely delicious.