Rebecca James‘ modern gothic novel, The Woman in the Mirror, hits shelves in the USA today (St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books).
It’s been called a “dark treat” by Kate Riordan, author of The Stranger, and received a Starred Library Journal Review, which concluded that James “pens a delectably creepy tale…If Charlotte Perkins Giman’s The Yellow Wallpaper and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre had a baby, it would be this well-crafted Victorian gothic mystery.” It was chosen as one of “Palm Beach Post’s Most Anticipated Reads of 2020“.
Haunting and moving, The Woman in the Mirror is a tale of obsession tinged with suspense…
For more than two centuries, Winterbourne Hall has stood atop a bluff overseeing the English countryside of Cornwall and the sea beyond.
In 1947, Londoner Alice Miller accepts a post as governess at Winterbourne, looking after Captain Jonathan de Grey’s twin children. Falling under the de Greys’ spell, Alice believes the family will heal her own past sorrows. But then the twins’ adoration becomes deceitful and taunting. Their father, ever distant, turns spiteful and cruel. The manor itself seems to lash out. Alice finds her surroundings subtly altered, her air slightly chilled. Something malicious resents her presence, something clouding her senses and threatening her very sanity.
In present day New York, art gallery curator Rachel Wright has learned she is a descendant of the de Greys and heir to Winterbourne. Adopted as an infant, she never knew her birth parents or her lineage. At long last, Rachel will find answers to questions about her identity that have haunted her entire life. But what she finds in Cornwall is a devastating tragic legacy that has afflicted generations of de Greys. A legacy borne from greed and deceit, twisted by madness, and suffused with unrequited love and unequivocal rage.
Early reviews have been brilliant:
“Atmospheric and gloomy … The thrilling gothic endeavor keeps the pages turning with tense scenes and lush depictions.” Booklist
“Haunting … Readers will be eager to see what James does next.” Publishers Weekly
“An innovative take on Henry James’ Turn of the Screw.” Palm Beach Post
The Woman in the Mirror was published in the UK by HarperCollins / HQ last year, and we have huge confidence that it will be loved by American readers, too.
Rebecca James grew up in Northamptonshire. She studied English and Media at Sussex University, and then worked as an editor in publishing before leaving to write full-time. She is the author of eight bestselling novels under a pseudonym, and lives in Bristol with her husband and two young daughters.
