Publication Date: July 16, 2024
In this dark, immersive tale steeped in atmosphere and drama, the author of Theatre of Marvels returns to Victorian London to tell the story of a young Black female doctor’s dangerous quest to find the truth that unearth the secrets of the past.
London, 1833.
Doctress Hester Reeves has been offered a life-changing commission.
But it comes at a price. She must leave behind her husband and their canal-side home in Kings Cross and move to Tall Trees—a dark and foreboding house in Fitzrovia.
If Hester can cure the ailing health of its owner, Gervaise Cherville, she will receive payment that will bring her everything she could dream of.
But on arriving at Tall Trees, Hester quickly discovers that an even bigger task awaits her. Now she must unearth secrets that have lain hidden for decades – including one that will leave Hester’s own life forever changed. . . .
How far would you go for the opportunity to change the course of your life, even if it means temporarily leaving your loved ones behind?
In House of Shades, author Lianne Dillsworth uses Victorian London to create a compelling tale about a black female doctor tasked with curing wealthy Gervaise Cherville.
Lured by the promise of success and equipped with herbal remedies, Hester is determined to earn the money necessary to give her troublesome sister a fresh start out of reach from the patient’s son.
However, she discovers a patient with both physical and emotional ailments. He’s haunted by his past as a slave owner in Honduras and seeks to make reparations.
As the secrets are unraveled, Hester learns of a personal connection that changes everything. Poverty and racism are common themes that get tangled up with atonement and accountability. Told in first person from Hester’s perspective, the tone of the story illustrates the mannerisms and speech patterns common to the time period.
House of Shades provides a haunting tale filled with darkness and shadows.
Lianne Dillsworth has MAs in Creative Writing and Victorian Studies and won a place on the London Library Emerging Writers Programme. She was first runner up in the 2020 SI Leeds Literary Prize for Black and Asian Women Writers in the UK. Lianne lives and works in London. Her debut novel, Theatre of Marvels, was published to high acclaim. House of Shades is her dazzling second novel.
