This is a tightly plotted, atmospheric and moody read, full of dark malevolence and a tangled web of complex relationships.

Baker’s intriguing historical novel explores how the strain of wartime living can tip the balance between sanity and delusion, and how forging friendships can be a lifeline. With a tendency toward gentle thoughtfulness and philosophical rumination, tales such as “Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros” and “Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel” prove timeless in their quiet yet profound exploration of Jewish faith, friendship, family, and fellowship. I also appreciated the storytelling that took place throughout the novel, as it shows you exactly how the Baroness and Victoire could have gotten into the situation they found themselves in. In Bell’s transporting novel, the unhappily married Baroness Marie Catherine finds ease in salon discussions with broad-minded thinkers and comfort in the arms of Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti. She has fallen in love with another woman, Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti and her eyes have opened to what love can really feel like.Serpent’s Tail has scooped a historical fiction debut and three works of translated fiction amid a raft of acquisitions for its main and classics lists, publishing in 2023 and 2024. She had poisoned some men, she had played some clever tricks with the scriptures, but what about them - the men and women who came to her, and then sat in confession on Sundays?

But when Victoire's passion results in a shocking act of murder to save Marie Catherine, the pair must escape from the tight clutches of Paris' overzealous chief of police.Instead of the simplistic contrition she is expected to feel by the counsellors, the protagonist arrives at her own complex understanding of remorse, rehabilitation and dignity. it could have done much more with the lesbianism and the court intrigues and the thrill of danger and discovery. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms - but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation.

It is known (probably from my review of The Empty Room) that I'm not the biggest fan of omniscient POV in novels. The atmosphere was intense, as we were pulled along on these clandestine meetings, on this investigation of sorts. As people secretly consort with fortune tellers and priests who perform black magic, those associated with the court of King Louis XIV are enveloped in darkness and intrigue. There's a romance at the center of it--between Marie Catherine, a noblewoman and mother trapped in a miserable marriage, and the gender-fluid young relative of the king, Victoire, Mademoiselle de Conti--but this is not a romance, and no one is assured of a happy ending. I would recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction, who is queer, and who likes a little bit of poison on the side, as a treat.However, there is also an undercurrent of darkness racing through Parisian nobility: rumours of witchcraft, deliberate poisoning, and fraud abound, and the voracity of the rumour mill means no one is completely safe. even if her storyline had to end in the way it did, i just wish we'd gotten a more nuanced look at her.