Publication Date: February 4, 2025
The legendary figure of notorious seventeenth-century Italian poisoner Giulia Tofana, thought to be the first female serial killer in history, is brought to life in this feminist retelling.
Palermo 1632: Giulia is thirteen when she learns her mother greatest secret: Teofania makes an undetectable, slow-acting, lethal poison—Acqua Tofana—which she uses to free the broken and abused women of Palermo. Now Teofania wants to pass her recipe on to her daughter, and Giulia soon realizes that in a time when women have no voice, justice is sometimes best served in a cup of wine or broth.
Rome, 1656: Years later, within the alleys and shadows of the Eternal City, Giulia forms her own circle of female poisoners, who work together under the guise of an apothecary shop to sell poison to women in need.
But even in a time of plague, when death looms over the city, it doesn’t go unnoticed that the men of Rome are starting to fall like flies. And with the newly elected pope determined to rid the city of witches and heretics, Giulia is more vulnerable than ever. How far is she willing to go to continue her mother’s legacy?
Weaving together the stories of the women Giulia helped, the men she killed, and those who wanted her dead, this is a tale of magic, secrets, vengeance, and sin in the back streets of Rome—and, ultimately, a fight for power.
Poison has traditionally been thought of as a woman’s method for murder. Dating back to the 17th century in Italy, Acqua Tofana serves as a last resort for broken and abused women.
Author Cathryn Kemp delivers A Poisoner’s Tale, based on the life of Giulia Tofana. According to legend, she is thought to have poisoned 1,000 men. This retelling emphasizes the time period when women were oppressed and subjugated, along with an independent woman who sought change using her own resources.
However, the 17th century wasn’t exactly known as a period of enlightenment. A newly elected pope targets those deemed to be witches, which includes Giulia.
Told in first person, the story delves into the challenges faced by women, regardless of social status. The danger of discovery is always high, but Giulia’s determination overcomes her fears.
A Poisoner’s Tale poses an interesting ethical dilemma, pitting a woman with a lethal gift against a culture known for tolerating abuse.
Cathryn Kemp is a Sunday Times bestselling ghost writer and author with a prolific career writing celebrity, inspirational, true crime, and nostalgia titles. Her personal memoir, Coming Clean, won the Big Red Read Prize for Nonfiction. For A Poisoner’s Tale, her first foray into historical fiction, she was awarded a foundation grant by the Society of Authors to pursue the research for this book, reaching into the state archives of Palermo and the Vatican’s secret Holy Office of the Inquisition. She lives on the south coast of England.
