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Bone China

A gripping and atmospheric gothic thriller

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Bone China

By: Laura Purcell
Narrated by: Laura Kirman
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Bloomsbury presents Bone China by Laura Purcell, read by Laura Kirman.

'Du Maurier-tastic' GUARDIAN

'Deliciously sinister' HEAT

'A clever, creepy read' SUNDAY EXPRESS


Consumption has ravaged Louise Pinecroft’s family, leaving her and her father alone and heartbroken.

But Dr Pinecroft has plans for a revolutionary experiment: convinced that sea air will prove to be the cure his wife and children needed, he arranges to house a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease in the cliffs beneath his new Cornish home.

Forty years later, Hester Why arrives at Morvoren House to take up a position as nurse to the now partially paralysed and almost entirely mute Miss Pinecroft. Hester has fled to Cornwall to try and escape her past, but surrounded by superstitious staff enacting bizarre rituals, she soon discovers that her new home may be just as dangerous as her last…(P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Gothic Historical Horror Magic Medical Regency Regency Romance Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Scary Paranormal Romance Exciting Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

Deliciously spooky
Anyone familiar with Purcell’s previous novels will know she’s an expert at bone-rattling tension … and Bone China is just as eerie … Written with an atmosphere of real foreboding, this is a sensational late autumn read as the evenings close in
Du Maurier-tastic … Purcell has a sure storytelling touch, a command of atmosphere and a keen eye for the telling details of social history. Oh, and she stores up some satisfying and suitably macabre final revelations (Paraic O’Donnell)
A Victorian tale replete with laudanum, tuberculosis and possibly fairies … a clever, creepy read
[Laura Purcell] does creeping menace like no one else. With Bone China, once again, I'm sleeping with the lights on
A brilliantly atmospheric and chilling tale and I raced through the pages hardly daring to find out what would happen next! Laura’s characters and the world they inhabit are compelling, unsettling and richly drawn. A fabulous tale! (Ruth Hogan, author of 'The Keeper of Lost Things')
With a cast of mysterious characters, a beautifully written sense of foreboding, and something malevolent (possibly) lurking around every cover, Bone China is a deliciously sinister and chilling read for fans of superior scary fiction
If Charles Dickens and Emily Brontë had a love-child, it would be Laura Purcell. Bone China is a deliciously creepy novel full of rambling houses, storm-soaked nights, sinister secrets and hidden agendas that kept me turning the pages (Lorna Cook, author of 'The Forgotten Village')
So many books are hyped up as being the next Jamaica Inn or the next Rebecca, but Bone China really is, and I think Queen Daphne might have to hand over the crown to Queen Laura. The research was just exquisite ... A cut above anything else I’ve read this year (Natasha Pulley, author of 'The Watchmaker of Filigree Street')
I absolutely loved it. Sublime gothic atmosphere, completely gripping story and I honestly didn’t expect it to hit me so hard emotionally. It’s not just that I couldn’t put it down, I just couldn’t let go of those characters (Martyn Waites, author of 'The Old Religion')
Profoundly atmospheric and eerie … Full of compelling and beautifully crafted prose and a plot that will have you racing through the pages
This is an absolute treat, all wrapped up in Laura Purcell’s gorgeous and compelling prose. I would very happily be pixy-led for days through the pages of this book! (Alison Littlewood, author of 'A Cold Season')
Menacing, macabre and utterly gripping. Laura Purcell has done it again (Essie Fox, author of 'The Last Days of Leda Grey')
Brilliant, spine chillingly clever, a fabulously suspenseful tale that will seduce you utterly with its twists and turns (Professor Kate Williams, author of 'Rival Queens')
All stars
Most relevant
I can't stop thinking about this clever haunting story. Shifting between different scenarios and timescales this book tackles some griitty issues about love, loyalty, betrayal and loss. There's plenty of suspense to keep the reader intrigued and the central theme of the china is subtly and skilfully handled. I loved the complexity of the troubled central character who is desperate for acceptance but thwarted by her temper, her guilt and her dependence om alcohol. I seldom reread a book but i believe this one merits that, as there are so many layers to this gripping novel.

A spellbinding book that works on many levels

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All the characters are vividly drawn, the story is full of colourful detail, and I was really rooting for the protagonist, even though she is flawed and difficult.

Clever and gripping

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A really well-constructed, multi-layered story, beautifully narrated, and a seriously unexpected finale! Highly recommended!

Simply bautiful

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The characters were well drawn as usual with this author, but I couldn’t decide which story she was telling. Too many back stories and jumping between them. The result was that none of them felt finished or full enough.

Interesting idea. Wandering story.

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Not a book I would have normally chosen but, it intreagued me by the title and write up. It was a light readable book with a few dark issues a little like dark fairy tales but it was OK, but nothing to write home about.

Very unusual book

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