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A Novel
by Susan Stokes-Chapman
On an isolated estate in late-eighteenth-century rural Wales, a young English doctor uncovers dangerous secrets that may threaten his own life in this spellbinding Gothic tale from the bestselling author of Pandora.
Dismissed from his post at a prestigious London hospital, Dr. Henry Talbot has little choice but to accept a mysterious offer of employment as a private physician from an inscrutable lord in rural Wales, Lord Julian. Arriving at Plas Helyg, the isolated estate, Henry can't speak the language and finds himself treated with hostile suspicion by superstitious villagers, whose beliefs in myths and magic he's inclined to dismiss. But when he discovers that his predecessor died under peculiar, inexplicable circumstances, his determination to uncover the truth leads him down a path fraught with danger—made all the more perilous by his headstrong, reluctant ally Linette, Lord Julian's cousin.
Linette has lived a lonely life as Plas Helyg's unconventional mistress: Julian treats her with disdain, her father is long dead, and her mother, long plagued by strange spells and believed by everyone around her to be deeply unwell, spends most of her time locked away in her rooms. Fiercely self-reliant, Linette refuses to wear women's clothes, has no interest in marriage, and takes an interest in the welfare of the men working in Lord Julian's mines, against his wishes.
Linette has always suspected something is not quite right in the village, but it is only through Henry's dogged investigations that the dark truth about those closest to her will come to light—a truth that will bind hers and Henry's destinies together forever in ways neither thought possible.
"An engaging work of historical fiction that is a love letter to Welsh culture as well as a gripping and atmospheric mystery pitting scientific reason against the supernatural. A gripping and unsettling gothic novel steeped in Welsh history and folklore." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A haunting gothic mystery, set in the lush landscape of Georgian Wales... . The evocation of time and place is just astounding in this novel ... a stunning, transporting novel, full of dark magic, which keeps you completely gripped as the sinister mystery unfolds." —Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den
"A mesmerizing maze of a gothic Georgian mystery. Enter an eerie and liminal world steeped in superstition, Welsh folklore, and pagan cults. Gloriously atmospheric from the first dark page to the last." —Essie Fox, author of The Fascination
"A novel to read under the covers with a flashlight. I adored this deliciously dark and romantic journey to Georgian Wales, and stayed up far too late uncovering its secrets. Gloriously Gothic, and lovingly and carefully researched, The Shadow Key is an instant classic." —Kate Heartfield, author of The Embroidered Book
This information about The Shadow Key was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Susan Stokes-Chapman is a writer based in North Wales. She grew up in the Georgian city of Lichfield, before spending four years in the town of Aberystwyth and graduating with a BA in Education and English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing. Her debut novel Pandora was an instant #1 bestseller in the UK, was shortlisted for the 2020 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, and longlisted for the Bath Novel Award.
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