The fiercest, most powerful adult debut of 2025 - a brilliant feminist vampire novel: a story of ambition, female oppression and unstoppable hunger . . .
THE FIERCEST, MOST POWERFUL RETELLING OF 2025: A STORY OF AMBITION, FEMALE OPPRESSION AND UNSTOPPABLE HUNGER . . .
'Ravenous, righteous and utterly sublime' Bea Fitzgerald
'Intoxicating and vivid . . . Sensual and vicious' Hannah Kaner
'An extraordinary book' Jennifer Saint
FOR WHAT DO YOU HUNGER . . . ?
Lenore is the wife of steel magnate Henry, but ten years into their marriage the relationship has soured, and no child has arrived to fill the distance growing between them. Henry's ambitions take them from London to the Peak District, to the remote, imposing Nethershaw estate, where he plans to host a hunting party. Lenore must work to restore the crumbling house and ready it for Henry's guests - their future depends on it.
But as the couple travel through the bleak countryside, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into Lenore's life. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night, Carmilla who stirs up something deep within Lenore. And before long, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger . . .
As the day of the hunt draws closer, Lenore begins to unravel, questioning the role she has been playing all these years. Torn between regaining her husband's affection and the cravings Carmilla has awakened, soon Lenore will uncover a darkness in her household that will place her at terrible risk . . .
Set against the violent wilderness of the Peaks and the uncontrolled appetite of the Industrial Revolution, HUNGERSTONE is a compulsive sapphic reworking of CARMILLA, the book that inspired DRACULA: a captivating story of appetite and desire.
Everyone is devouring HUNGERSTONE . . .
'A fabulous Gothic feast of a novel. So gripping I genuinely struggled to put it down. Lenore is one of the most compelling and morally complex characters I have encountered in recent years' Elodie Harper
'A sumptuous delight, Hungerstone combines gothic thrills with a feminist exploration of what it means to become estranged from our desires, and what it might mean if we let ourselves be whole. I feasted on it' Jessica Moor
'Kat Dunn repaints the classic story of Carmilla in the boldest, bloodiest colours. Hungerstone is decadent, brilliant, triumphant and I devoured it' Sarah Underwood, author of Lies We Sing to the Sea
'Richly imagined and utterly compelling, this story's fierce heart beats like a drum, calling to every woman who has ever had to deny herself. A dark, gothic delight' Hester Musson
'Deliciously dark and atmospheric, Hungerstone throbs with the taste of the forbidden. I devoured this breathtakingly original novel' Emily Critchley
Industry Reviews
'With writing both evocative and enchanting, Hungerstone is a horrifyingly delectable novel. A celebration of female appetite and agency, Dunn's gothic reimagining of Carmilla is ravenous, righteous and utterly sublime.' - Bea Fitzgerald, Sunday Times bestselling author of GIRL, GODDESS, QUEEN
'Hungerstone is an intoxicating and vivid take on the gothic novel. Sensual and vicious, Lenore's devastating story of self discovery, betrayal and power feels like one for the ages.' - Hannah Kaner, Sunday Times bestselling author of GODKILLER
