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‘It's a terrible story and one way to tell it is this: two girls in love and a fog of wasps cursed the place forever after…'
1902, Brookhants School for Girls: students Flo and Clara are madly in love with each other, as well as completely obsessed with The Story of Mary MacLane, the scandalous debut memoir by 19 year old MacLane. A few months later they are found dead in the woods, after a horrific wasp attack, the book lying next to their intertwined bodies. Within five years the school is closed. But not before three more people die on the property, each in a troubling way.
Over a hundred years later, Brookhants opens its doors once more, when a crew of young actresses arrive to film a high-profile movie about the rumoured Brookhants curse. And as past and present become grimly entangled, it's soon impossible to tell quite where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins…
For fans of Sarah Waters, Curtis Sittenfeld and Shirley Jackson, Plain Bad Heroines is by turns sharply witty and deeply unsettling: a modern gothic novel that is utterly immersive and hugely compelling.
Over a hundred years later, Brookhants opens its doors once more, when a crew of young actresses arrive to film a high-profile movie about the rumoured Brookhants curse. And as past and present become grimly entangled, it's soon impossible to tell quite where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins…
For fans of Sarah Waters, Curtis Sittenfeld and Shirley Jackson, Plain Bad Heroines is by turns sharply witty and deeply unsettling: a modern gothic novel that is utterly immersive and hugely compelling.
Author: Emily M. Danforth
Paperback Published 9 September 2022 500 pages
Originally published in trade paperback 21 October 2020
Read and Reviewed by Kae:
'A thick but insatiable read, this novel follows the mysteries, secrets, and toxic desires that penetrate several generations of Sapphic lovers, starting first with the elusively tragic death of two schoolgirls in the early 1900s. I am obsessed with how well the Gothic aesthetic of place, character, and plot unfolds throughout the book, serving us the Sapphic drama we all deserve.
Don't be intimidated by the size of this book- it is honestly one of the most engaging, surprisingly easy to get through books I've encountered in recent years.'
‘Brimming from start to finish with sly humour and gothic mischief, Plain Bad Heroines is a brilliant piece of exuberant storytelling by a terrifically talented author.'-SARAH WATERS
‘Full of Victorian sapphic romance, metafictional horror, biting misandrist humour, Hollywood intrigue, and multiple timeliness – all replete with evocative illustrations that are icing on a deviously delicious cake.' -O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE