Join us for a very special evening with two fantastic writers, Anna Mazzola and Essie Fox. They'll be discussing their latest books, The Book Of Secrets and The Fascination, and the magic and dark secrets that sparkle throughout both. 

Date:
Thursday 25th July 2024

Venue: 
Max Minerva's, 28-30 High Street, Portishead

Time: 
Doors at 19:00. Discussion at 19:30. Finish at 20:45.

Tickets: 
£5.00 ticket only
£9.99 ticket with The Fascination (paperback).
£18.99 ticket with The Book Of Secrets (hardback).  
£25 ticket with both books.
£1 Pay What You Can
(Please only choose the PWYC tickets if you need to, they are limited and intended for those who really need them.)

You don't need to bring your ticket with you, we will have a list of names on the door. Books will be available to buy on the night, priced £16.99 (The Fascination) and £18.99 (The Book of Secrets).

ABOUT THE BOOK OF SECRETS (ANNA MAZZOLA)

A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work
THE TIMES

Rome, 1659. Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth. To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures.

Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out. Stefano's investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters.

He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished... The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.

ABOUT THE FASCINATION (ESSIE FOX)

Deliciously dark, full of twists and surprises
LIZ HYDER

Victorian England. A world of rural fairgrounds and glamorous London theatres. A world of dark secrets and deadly obsessions…

Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn't grown a single inch since she was five.

Coerced into promoting their father's quack elixir as they tour the country fairgrounds, at the age of fifteen the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’. Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather, Lord Seabrook, a man who has a dark interest in anatomical freaks and other curiosities … particularly the human kind. Resenting his grandson for his mother’s death in childbirth, when Seabrook remarries and a new heir is produced, Theo is forced to leave home without a penny to his name.

Theo finds employment in Dr Summerwell’s Museum of Anatomy in London, and here he meets Captain and his theatrical ‘family’ of performers, freaks and outcasts. But it is Theo’s fascination with Tilly and Keziah that will lead all of them into a web of deceits, exposing the darkest secrets and threatening everything they know…

ABOUT ANNA MAZZOLA

ABOUT ESSIE FOX

Essie Fox grew up in rural Herefordshire, and now lives in Windsor. She studied English Literature at Sheffield University and then moved to London to work in magazine and book publishing. Later, she worked in commercial art design ~ before she followed her dream and started writing novels.

Essie is a member of the Historical Writers Association, and The Historical Novelists Association. She has talked on the inspiration and research for her novels at the V&A museum, the National Gallery in London, and the Westminster Library ~ as well as taking part in many UK literary festivals

Find Essie online at
https://essiefox.com/
https://www.instagram.com/essie_fox_author/
https://twitter.com/essiefox
https://www.facebook.com/essiefoxauthor