Synopsis
'Haunting and seductive . . . I drank in this wonderfully sapphic, gothic tale with a sense of ever-deepening dread'
Francesca May, author of This Vicious Hunger
Chilling, gothic and utterly gripping, The Brides is a stunningly original reimagining of Bram Stoker's Dracula – with a devastating sapphic romance at its heart.
'Come to me, and be mine for eternity'
1884. When Mafalda journeys to Budapest to care for her grieving aunt, her secret love, Lucy, hurries from London to comfort her, with chaperone and lady’s maid in tow.
But lady’s maid Alice, blessed and cursed with the Sight, is tormented by terrifying visions. When chaperone Eliza falls prey to a disturbing wasting illness, the women hope to seek the healing waters of Transylvania. At a nobleman’s invitation, they set out for Castle Dracula.
In the depths of the forest, miles from civilization, their host reveals his true intentions; a monstrous ambition which will tear the women apart.
And not all of them will survive.
'Dracula's worthy successor . . . chills and delights in equal measure'
Johanna Van Veen, author of Blood on Her Tongue
Perfect for fans of Hungerstone by Kat Dunn and The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
Details
19 March 2026
9781035059300Reviews
The Brides is Dracula's worthy successor: a gothic, sapphic epistolary novel that thrills, chills, and delights in equal measure. I loved every page!
Haunting and seductive, The Brides held me in its thrall and I drank in this wonderfully sapphic, gothic tale with a sense of ever-deepening dread
An epistolary gem. Part homage, part reinvention, here the titular brides of Dracula are rich, vivid characters with needs and hungers of their own, saturated with the atmosphere and tragedy of the gothic. A deft, heartbreaking successor to Dracula's bloody legacy.
A beguiling and intricately woven novel glistening with bloody suspense, flush with mounting dread, Charlotte Cross's debut The Brides is an accomplished successor to Stoker's gothic masterpiece. The story sank its teeth into me and wouldn't let me go.
