The Whispering Muse

Author Laura Purcell
Narrator Sheila Atim
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Run Time 10 hours and 2 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Crime and mystery fiction, Historical crime and mysteries, Horror and supernatural fiction.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Bloomsbury presents The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell, read by Sheila Atim.

The perfect gothic, dark tale to curl up with this winter

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'Laura Purcell, a skilful purveyor of gothic tales, has created another darkly twisting narrative in The Whispering Muse' Sunday Times

'Spooky, atmospheric, brilliant... I think I love it the best out of all Laura's books. Watch out for it – but beware...' Bridget Collins, author of number one bestseller, The Binding

'Deliciously creepy, riveting and full of heart with compelling characters and brilliant twists ... glitteringly dark and mesmerising' Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne and Elektra
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Be careful what you wish for... it may just come true.

At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse.

It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.

What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. On stage, it's as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the Muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders if the rumours are true, and fears that when the Muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.
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'Gloriously gothic' Erin Kelly
'Immersive' Beth Underdown
'Fantastic' Rebecca Netley
'Darkly seductive and artfully realised' Susan Stokes-Chapman

Critics Review

Laura Purcell, a skilful purveyor of gothic tales, has created another darkly twisting narrative in The Whispering Muse

Sunday Times

Laura Purcell has done it again. An actress sells her soul for fame and success. Dripping in atmosphere, gloriously gothic‘

Erin Kelly, Sunday Times bestselling author of He Said/She Said

Darkly seductive and artfully realised, this is a novel which in true Purcell style weaves a menacing net of intrigue that makes it very hard to put down. Undoubtedly her best Gothic tale yet!

Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of number one bestseller, PANDORA

Emotional and physical ferocity … fills these colourful pages

Literary Review

Spooky, atmospheric, brilliant … Think I love it the best out of all Laura’s books. Watch out for it – but beware…

Bridget Collins, author of number one bestseller, THE BINDING

Atmospheric, gripping, absorbing – The Whispering Muse is another Gothic triumph from Laura Purcell. It’s deliciously creepy, riveting and full of heart with compelling characters and brilliant twists. The theatrical setting and use of the tragedies on stage that are woven expertly into the unfolding story is glitteringly dark and mesmerising

Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of ARIADNE and ELEKTRA

For those who like to scare themselves silly, there’s a new book from the queen of gothic chillers

Good Housekeeping

In The Whispering Muse, Laura Purcell has crafted a totally immersive take on the Faustus myth – dark and disturbing, but with so much heart. Her best yet.

Beth Underdown, author of THE WITCHFINDER'S SISTER and THE KEY IN THE LOCK

Dripping with atmosphere and mounting dread, The Whispering Muse will haunt you long past the final page. Laura Purcell is a master of her craft. I still have goosebumps!

Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS

A gothic masterpiece. Gripping, atmospheric and with an absolutely sensational ending, I loved every single page of this wonderful book

Elodie Harper, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf Den Trilogy

Every bit as sinister and macabre as we’ve come to expect from a novel by Laura Purcell

Rosie Andrews, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Leviathan

Another fantastic outing for Laura Purcell in this gripping, theatrical drama – fabulous characters, twists and turns aplenty. Deliciously dark and very satisfying

Rebecca Netley, author of THE WHISTLING

Another triumph for Purcell

Woman & Home

Deliciously creepy and vividly told, this gorgeous Gothic tale is already one of my favourite books of the year.

JJA Harwood, author of THE SHADOW IN THE GLASS

I have rarely read anything that burns so vividly, so fierce and bright – it is profoundly affecting. I felt it all – the agonising passion of creation and the sacrifice of everything for the sake of it. I read it feverishly throughout a plane journey and got my luggage with one hand while holding the book in the other, inhaling the last pages. The Whispering Muse is a sinuous, dark spell of a story that left me reeling

Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street

A sumptuous piece of gothic theatre set in a theatre populated by the beautiful and the damned. Something wicked very much this way comes. Fabulous

Sarah Pinborough, author of Behind Her Eyes

Wonderful… I stayed up into the wee small hours finishing it, and absolutely loved it. I am generally a slow reader but this was one of those rare books I kept finding myself called back to, or unable to stop reading even though it was way past lights out

James Oswald, author of the Inspector Maclean series

Her darkest and most delicious yet. A chilling Faustian tale of rumour, obsession and ambition set in the shadowy world of London theatre in the nineteenth century. Laura Purcell gets better and better with every book

Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl

Welcome to the Mercury Theatre where jealousy and ambition tread the boards and tragedy steals the limelight. The Whispering Muse is deftly written, wonderfully atmospheric and just a touch gruesome. I devoured it

Sonia Velton, author of Blackberry and Wild Rose

The Whispering Muse is a delightful gothic treat packed with drama, mystery and dread. I couldn’t get enough of the spooky events at the Mercury Theatre; Laura Purcell really is a master of the unsettling ghost story

Jen Williams

A tale of jealousy, betrayal and supernatural horror that will grip you to the very end

Gazette & Herald

A gothic tale full of twists and turns

Belfast Telegraph

Eerie throughout and surprisingly gory at times, this book is not for the fainthearted

PA Media

Eerily atmospheric, this novel heads into the theatrical heartland of Victorian London, presenting a deliciously gothic tale of cursed watches, acrimonious jealousies and illicit love

Mail on Sunday

Both haunting and tragic, this is an unputdownable gothic fever-dream dripping in deadly drama

Fantasy Hive

Laura Purcell has been writing excellent gothic horror novels for a while, but her fifth foray into the genre — The Whispering Muse — might possibly be her masterpiece.

Books & Bao

Swirling storytelling in the backstage machinations of the Mercury “tragic-play” Theatre Company

The Australian Women's Weekly

It is a gothic masterpiece, as dramatic as the theatrical world where it is set, and absolutely perfect fireside reading

Historia

Filled with the spooky atmosphere and period detail that Laura Purcell is known for, this is a darkly compelling and engaging story

Essex Life

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