Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ), for the chance to read and advance copy of this wonderful book.

Utterly engaging, gory, mystifying, memorable, shocking and very real.

The story is set in one of the most evocative engaging and atmospheric depictions of Victorian England I've ever read.

Highly recommended, five stars.

First and foremost, I loved loved looooved this book. Absolutely devoured it and I was gutted when I finished it.

Laura Purcell's writing is so perfectly creepy and the book is dark, but not too dark I had to put it in the freezer. They're so much more to the characters and I found myself so invested I couldn't stop reading, even though I wanted to drag the book as long as possible! This was one of my top 2022 reads.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and Laura Purcell for the honour of allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Brilliant! This book is so good. The book offers a perfect historical setting of the theatre with all the myth and superstition that surrounds it and especially plays that should never be mentioned helps create a gothic and haunting atmosphere. In addition this book has a whole host of unique characters with all the traits you would expect from theatre darlings. This book never disappoints from beginning to end. A great read.

Another excellent read from Laura Purcell. Great world building, wonderful characters, and a creepy, atmospheric story that keeps you hooked all the way through.

I really enjoyed this possession tale from Laura Purcell. The theatre setting was atmospheric and the tension building worked very well with quite an amount of gore. The main character had guts and although persuaded to overlook her better judgements you would want her on your side. The tale is of betrayal and obsession, with the problems of a theatre owning family being left to solve by a ladies maid, who has herself been treated badly by her brother . She makes her way as a dresser. Paid to spy on the principal actor she learns the danger held by the other owner. But can she save theatre and her family at the same time.

Victorian England. Jenny has lost her job as a maid and finds herself in the unenviable position of supporting her orphaned siblings. Her brother has abandoned them all to run away with an actress and, with no reference, poor Jenny has neither hope nor prospects.

Her saviour arrives in the form of a wealthy theatre-owner, Mrs Dyer, who offers Jenny the role of dresser at The Mercury Theatre. Here we are introduced to the magical world of talented actors, dramatic backdrops and onstage illusions. The theatre is every bit as extraordinary as Jenny had always imagined it to be.

And yet there is also a dark side to the theatre. After Jenny witnesses a horrific scene, a mysterious and powerful object is brought into The Mercury. It promises much to those who possess it, but also threatens to rip their world apart.

'The Whispering Muse' offers a deliciously dark and intriguing slice of drama. Purcell entwines myth and magic with a twisted tale befitting a Shakespearean tragedy. This page-turner would be fabulous for fans of the theatre!

Laura Purcell’s books are a strange one for me. I first read ‘The Silent Companions’ a couple of years ago and found myself strangely drawn to this strange supernatural, out of the ordinary, yet ordinary world. ‘The Whispering Muse’ is the fifth of her books I’ve now read, and I’m still so drawn to the worlds she creates.

‘The Whispering Muse’ follows Jenny’s life as she becomes a dresser after the wife of the theatre owner sends her to spy on the new leading actress, Lilith. This book really makes your head spin with which characters you are meant to like and who you are meant to dislike. As with her other books, I find it so clever how Laura Purcell weaves the gothic into everyday stories and I think that’s why I enjoy them so much. They always have a heart racing moment and this one has a bit of Greek mythology too if that’s your thing, and whilst it’s not really mine, it does create a very spooky plot line…I did want a bit more from the ending but only because I wanted to know what happened next!

I was excited to read this book as I’m a fan of Laura Purcell’s gothic stories.

While I did really enjoy this one, I didn’t love it quite as much as previous books. I’m not sure why. I’d still recommend to those that like historical gothic reads.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #BloomsburyPublishing for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Laura Purcell and NetGalley for a copy of the The Whispering Muse.

I absolutely loved reading the book and enjoyed it from the start to the end. I felt that we really get to know all of the characters and feel like we're a part of it all.

Would highly recommend it!

A dark, atmospheric, creepy story, disturbing at times and always gripping.
There's a lot going on in this book and there're powerful and well plotted female characters like Lilith and Jenny.
I couldn't help feeling for Lilith, the artist and the misunderstood woman and I felt for Jenny who's involved in a story that it's not hers.
The theatre is background but it's also a sort of non human characters.
Laura Purcell delivers another great story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Whispering Muse is an absolutely top-rate historical horror which makes some trenchant points about women's lives being bent out of shape by the society - and especially the men - around them. As I've come to expect from Purcell, we're given nuanced, layered horror, deeply coiled around human lives and circumstances - but also, moments of shocking, scary climax as those human lives crumple and break. It's a heady mixture, making every page both a 'must read' and a 'dare I read?'

Jenny is trying to hold together her family - comprising only her younger brothers and sisters, as their parents are both dead - and is desperate for any work she can get. An offer of a role as a dresser at the Mercury Theatre comes as welcome news, but it will soon bring Jenny face to face with divided loyalties, the prospect of ruin, and indeed utter terror when the company embark on a production of 'The Scottish Play'.

All Jenny's problems trace back, in one way or another, to the men around her. Formerly a lady's maid, she lost her place because of the feckless behaviour of one of those men. Another of them, the manager of the theatre. seems to be taking too close an interest in one of the actresses, but inevitably things go wrong and he demands Jenny's help in managing the situation. Meanwhile, his wife also expects Jenny to break up the relationship (or else). And just when it seems things can't get any worse, another man from Jenny's past turns up threatening to break up her little family.

I loved just how complicated things became for Jenny, but particularly her relationship with that actress - Lilith - to whom she's appointed as dresser. The two women have very different outlooks - Lilith daringly Bohemian, ambitious, willing to flout Victorian morality (but, if she wants her career to progress, does she have any choice?) Jenny more conventional, perhaps, as shown when she's told to turn round three times, spit, and swear because she said 'Macbeth' - and she can't bring herself to do it.

The most moving moments of the book, in counterpoint to the gothic horror, are those when these two women are learning to trust one another, to get to know each other. That doesn't always turn out well, indeed little in this book turns out well, but possibilities open then, experiences are shared and alternative futures open up.

Those moments of respite never last long, though - there is a drumbeat in The Whispering Muse and it is a drumbeat of terror, horror stalking the theatre and its unfortunate cast and crew. What seems at the start like theatrical whimsy and self-indulgence - I thought of the Blackadder parody of that spitting-and-turning round thing - comes back to claim a price, as events grow progressively darker. That darkness is only pointed up by a sort of disjointed reaction from the wider world to the horror taking place. There is a prurient interest in what happens (not going to spell out what that is because spoilers) but a distinct lack of concern, of empathy, with those affected by it. (An attitude I think sadly true to life, not only of the Victorian era but of those since and up to the present day - it would be easy to imagine the cursed Lilith racking up huge numbers of social media followers, rather than stage door Johnnies, all to abandon her as she crashed and burned).

In the end though, and despite The Whispering Muse deploying quite the tide of gory horror (it features productions of both Faust - in two different versions - and MacBeth) I think it's actually in may respects hopeful book, both showing ways in which solidarity and fellowship can defeat, or at least elude, power, and celebrating human companionship and love.

"well this one is a monster sent to torment me. I won't shelter it inside me any longer. Can't you see? I'm suffocating here. I'll shrivel away. And there will be nothing left except this damned whispering inside my head."
Laura Purcell writes her usual impeccable style about a Victorian London family that has lost almost everything until good fortune comes their way.
Jenny is given a chance that almost seems too good to be true to work in the theatre dressing the leading lady by the theatre manager's husband. Several terms are placed upon employment, how far will Jenny go to keep her family from the poor house? And is the manager's wife all she seems too?
It didn't take long for me to feel at home within jenny's world. The writing was beautiful, I found myself sympathetic to the characters which is always something I struggle with, and I found myself eager to find out how the story would play out.

A tale of obsession and betrayal in this enthralling page turner.

When it comes to chilling, atmospheric reads, Laura Purcell shines. The vivid setting intwined with the constant undercurrent of whether something sinister was at play or just superstition was haunting and made for a compelling read. While I wasn’t captured by all the characters, other elements of the story held more weight for my enjoyment of this book.

This was a lush, decadent and completely over the top Gothic story centred around the leading lady in a theatre and a cursed watch...and I really enjoyed it! I thought Laura Purcell did a fabulous job of bringing the theatre setting to life and really fleshing out all of the people involved, given that the book is fairly short. There are some grizzly moments, which I really appreciated and the characters of Jenny and Lilith were fantastic. The development of their friendship was fascinating to witness and I thought that the plot was compelling. My only criticism is that I felt the ending was really abrupt, but other than that, this was a definite win!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am so sorry Ms Purcell but I did not enjoy it.
I expected to love this book after reading the description and having read all of her previous novels, but I found myself rather disappointed.
I loved the idea of a spooky theatre and unusual goings on, but in all honesty I found this dragged and I simply did not care about the characters. I know I'm going against the tide, as so many people have loved it, but I found it hard work to finish. I don't know if my expectations were too high because I've loved the author's previous books, but I had hoped for so much more. Sorry

How can you possibly improve a Laura Purcell novel…….you give it a theatre setting. I know I say it after every one of her novels, but this one is my favourite. After the first few chapters, it was with a sense of foreboding that I read on. It was as unsettling and dark as I’ve come to expect from Purcells books. And by the tragic end, I was a grown women believing in the superstitions of the theatre, the evil of a Greek Muse and a cursed watch!

Blurb;
At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse. 

It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.

Laura Purcell has created three great female characters, Ms Jenny Wilcox, Mrs Dyer and of course Lilith Erikson. Jenny is a well grounded, dependable narrator and it was a pure study in writing to watch how the author passed back and forth the baton of kindness and cruelty between Mrs Dyer and Lilith, and gosh, there were some cruel moments

As I found with so many of Laura Purcells stories, the location becomes a fully formed character of itself, and The Mercury Theatre held its own. Great atmospheric prose brought it to life with all its costumes, props and characters, Mrs Nettle, Horace the stage manager and of course Eurydice the poodle feeling like pieces of the set.

For me Purcell is the queen of Victorian gothic storytelling and this one in particular with all its wonderful references to the great tragedies will be hard to beat for my favourite book in 2023.

The Whispering Muse is set in the gothic Mercury Theatre in London's West End and revolves around Mrs Dyer, the wife of the owner of the theatre, the leading actress, Lilith Erikson and Jenny Wilcox, her dresser. Greek myths and superstition are at the heart of this book. The women are all well developed as the main players. There are gory scenes but they add to the horror of the story. The writing is richly descriptive. A terrific, very highly recommended read.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ), Raven Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Bloomsbury for approving me for an ARC of this book. I first came across Laura Purcell when I listened to the audio, The Shape of Darkness, since then I have been collecting her books and couldn’t resist reading this one. I read this with my lovely friend Bex via Storygraph.

Set in Victorian England we are introduced to the world of theatre and all the superstitions it holds. After her elder brother abandons them our protagonist Jenny is struggling to provide for her younger siblings. She is desperate and wants to create a better life for them all so when Mrs Dyer makes her a generous offer, Jenny finds it hard to say no.

Once inside the theatre, Jenny discovers that this is going to be more than just a simple job of dressing and reporting activities to Mrs Dyer. Whilst Lilith is not the kindest of people Jenny soon finds herself ‘bewitched’ by her and wonders if she has fallen in too deep. As more and more tragedy befalls the theatre Jenny begins to question who the enemy really is and is the curse of Melpomene true?

However, there’s still a show to put on and the different plays matched the behind-the-scenes action perfectly. Learning about the superstitions and seeing the fear in the other workers and performers only added to an already haunting read. Laura Purcell is the queen of gothic stories that chill you to the bone. With complex and morally corrupt characters, haunting settings and spine-tingling prose, this needs to be on your reading pile.

A brilliant read, completely engrossing, I loved it. Women are firmly at the centre of this story, how they deal with the situations in which they find themselves, how they come together or not in some cases. Dark and gothic it is an insight into the lives of those in the theatre world of Victorian London. What money can do for you in various situations and also your place in society. Jenny is poor and her brother has disappeared, taking with him any money the family did have. She must earn money to keep her brothers and sisters and becomes engaged as a dresser to the lead actress. However, the theatre owners wife has actually engaged her as a spy, she wants to know what is going on between the leading lady and her husband. The plot races along and you really feel as if you are in that theatre. Supernatural elements and quotes from the classics all blend into a fabulous read, highly recommend.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing U.K. Raven Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Whispering Muse’ by Laura Purcell.

Laura Purcell is a must read author for me and I have read her previous Gothic novels and all have impressed me. So I was very excited for her fifth historical Gothic thriller, especially as it was set in the rich world of the theatre during the late Victorian period.

Miss Jennifer (Jenny) Wilcox is summoned to a meeting with Mrs Dyer, the wife of the owner of The Mercury Theatre in London’s West End. Jenny is concerned as recently her brother, who had been employed at the theatre, had absconded with one of the theatre’s actresses leaving Jenny and their siblings in dire financial straits.

Mrs. Dyer offers Jenny employment at The Mercury as the dresser to their new leading lady, Lilith Erikson. In addition to her regular duties, the jealous Mrs Dyer offers Jenny extra money and benefits to spy on Lilith for her.

Soon Jenny becomes aware of strange happenings as well as Lilith’s erratic behaviour. In the already superstitious atmosphere of the theatre rumours are circulating of a curse associated with
Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology. Could Lilith have made a pact with the muse to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage? If so, what cost might there be?

This novel is structured in five acts; each associated with a tragic play: Macbeth, The Duchess of Malfi, Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, and finally Faust, Part One.

Laura Purcell has established herself as the Queen of Gothic haunted objects from her wooden silent companions, corsets, a china dinner service, and silhouette portraiture. Here she draws on the rich traditions of theatre and an object (no spoilers) that appears to house a malevolent spirit. I adore the Muses of Greek mythology so this theme was even more appealing.

I found Jenny a very relatable lead with a powerful sense of loyalty to her family. I enjoyed how Purcell demonstrated her shifting relationship with the volatile Lilith as well as her sense of being trapped between the actress and the increasing demands of Mrs. Dyer, like navigating the strait between Scylla and Charybdis.

Overall, I loved ‘The Whispering Muse’ finding it a completely immersive experience. It is bound to please Laura Purcell’s many existing fans and attract new ones.

Highly recommended.