The Silent Companions A Novel [Paperback]

“[An] extraordinary, memorable and truly haunting book.” —Jojo Moyes, #1New York Timesbestselling author

Laura Purcell's latest novel,The Poison Thread, is now out from Penguin!

Some doors are locked for a reason.
                 
When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But pregnant and widowed just weeks after their wedding, with her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her late husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure—a silent companion—that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of the estate are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition—that is, until she notices the figure’s eyes following her.

A Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear,The Silent Companions is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect—much like the companions themselves.“A perfect read for a winter night . . . An intriguing, nuanced, and genuinely eerie slice of Victorian gothic.”
—The Guardian

“If The Silent Companions lands on your night table, don’t plan on leaving your bed anytime soon. Immersive, meticulous, and reminiscent of the masters of gothic fiction—not only a compulsively readable ghost story, but a skillful, loving ode to the entire genre.”
—Lyndsay Faye, bestselling author of Jane Steele

“Purcell crafts a virtually flawless work of Gothic fiction with this deeply atmospheric, foreboding story. . . . In invil#d