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Bluebeard's Castle
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Samantha Hydeson
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
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Bluebeard's Castle
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Publisher's Summary
Bluebeard gets a feminist Gothic makeover in this subversive take on the famous French fairy tale—from the acclaimed director of The Love Witch, and for fans of Jane Eyre
When the successful British mystery writer Judith Moore meets Gavin, a handsome and charming baron, at a birthday party on the Cornish coast, his love transforms her from a bitter, lonely young woman into a romance heroine overnight. After a whirlwind honeymoon in Paris, he whisks her away to a secluded Gothic castle. But soon she finds herself trapped in a nightmare, as her husband’s mysterious nature and his alternation between charm and violence become increasingly frightening.
As Judith battles both internal and external demons, including sexual ambivalence, psychological self-torture, gaslighting, family neglect, alcoholism, and domestic abuse, she becomes increasingly addicted to her wild beast of a husband. Why do women stay in abusive relationships? The answer can be found in the tortured mind of the protagonist, whose richly layered fantasy life parallels that of the female Gothic romance reader. Filled with dark humor and evocative imagery, Bluebeard’s Castle is a subversive take on modern romance and Gothic erotica.
What the critics say
“Impressively original, inherently fascinating and vividly brought to life with the narrative storytelling skills of Samantha Hydeson.”—Midwest Book Review
"Bluebeard's Castle [is] … a stylised retelling of the old fable that mixes self-reference and gaudy excess. Its heroine, Judith, a gothic-romance novelist, shacks up in a crumbling castle with a brooding husband; the sex, death and pricy cognac are of a wildly enjoyable piece."—Cal Revely-Calder, Best Fiction Books of the Year, Telegraph
"Both a fantasy and a nightmare ... [Biller] casts a chilling light on the kinds of real-world fairy tales we are all still so often encouraged to believe."—Elizabeth Dearnley, Times Literary Supplement