Kate Williams' first novel, "The Pleasures of Men", is a gothic thriller with a splash of brutal murder. Spitalfields, 1840. A murderer nicknamed The Man of Crows. A heroine with a mysterious past and a vivid imagination. Catherine Sorgeiul lives with her Uncle in a rambling house in London's East End. When a murderer strikes, ripping open the chests of young girls and stuffing hair into their mouths to resemble a crow's beak, Catherine is fascinated, and devours news of his exploits. As the murders cause panic throughout the city, she comes to believe she can channel the voices of his victims and that they will lead her to The Man himself. But she's already far closer than she realises - and lurking behind the lies she's been told about her past are secrets more deadly and devastating than anything her imagination can conjure. Dark and compelling, "The Pleasures of Men" marks Kate Williams as a stunning new voice in historical fiction. "Wonderfully imaginative and gripping". ("The Times"). "Intense, intelligent and hugely entertaining". ("Guardian"). "Intoxicating and disturbing...Shows a soaring talent let loose". ("Independent on Sunday"). "Fans of Sarah Waters will love this".
("Good Housekeeping"). "A spine-tingling and seductive thriller". ("Woman & Home"). Kate Williams is an academic and historian who specialises in social history. Her first two historical biographies, "England's Mistress", and "Becoming Queen", were widely acclaimed and the "Independent" called her 'one of our finest young historians'. She discusses history regularly on TV and radio, including "Newsnight", "BBC Breakfast", "The One Show" and the "Today Programme", covered the "Royal Wedding" for the BBC and presented a "Timewatch" programme on Queen Victoria. She is the social historian on Restoration Home with Caroline Quentin. Kate has a DPhil from Oxford and two MAs from London, and teaches on the MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway.
Industry Reviews
Pitch-perfect . . . This intoxicating and disturbing novel is properly thrilling and extraordinarily well-written * Independent on Sunday *
A dark story of murder and obsession * Elle *
An eerie murder mystery set in the corrupt heart of Victorian London * Marie Claire Good Book Club pick *
Part-bodice-ripper, part-slasher, the book's elaborate plot moves along at a brisk clip with a nod to the likes of Sarah Waters and Peter Ackroyd * Daily Mail *
A sure-footed evocation of seamy Victorian London * The Sunday Telegraph *
A sinister picture of a country, and protagonist, on the brink of hysteria * Psychologies *
As crowded with sensation as a Victorian parlour with furniture * The Scotsman *
A spider's web of a plot and a spine-tingling atmosphere of menace and suspense * The Times *
Mesmerising, elegant and compelling * The Lady *
