Description

‘A shimmering, sexy, thrilling tale of intrigue and desire, and the dark paths we walk to keep our secrets safe. Bell has written a shining debut’ Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Dance Tree

‘A powerful, atmospheric debut’ Sunday Times

Everyone connected to the court of Louis XIV has something to hide. For the Baroness Marie Catherine, it is the pleasures she seeks outside of her unhappy marriage, indulging in a more liberated existence of decadent salons and discussions with writers and scholars. At the centre of her illicit freedom is her lover Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti, the androgynous, self-assured countess.

When Victoire’s devotion results in an act of murder to save Marie Catherine, the pair must escape from the clutches of Paris’ overzealous chief of police. As they attempt to outwit him, they are led to the darkest corners of Paris and Versailles, discovering lies, mysticism, and people with secrets they too would kill to keep. Fast-paced, opulent and hypnotically absorbing, Celia Bell’s debut is a love story to die for.

Publisher Review

There's a deliciously hothouse feel to Celia Bell's slow-burn, smouldering debut. Intrigue a-plenty .... beautifully detailed ... [a] beguilingly dark fairytale * Daily Mail * The writing has the quality of velvet about it, so lusciously rich that it folds you into a thrilling love story ... Beautifully researched. -- Sally Gardner Historical storytelling at its most captivating ... I couldn't put it down. -- Lisa Appignanesi, author of Everyday Madness A hothouse atmosphere in which depravity, sensuality, and duplicity reside side by side, and Marie Catherine's plight builds in suspense as the noose tightens around her ... a bold and inspired mix of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Crucible. * Publishers Weekly starred review * The Disenchantment is filled with rich and beautiful detail that brings 17th Century Paris to life. Marie Catherine's struggle to remain true to herself despite the restrictions she faces is depicted with understated power, and hers is a story that will stay with me for a long time. -- Elizabeth Lee, author of Cunning Women Gripping, filled with a quietly persuasive tension that kept me turning the page and beautiful, moody description, both evocative and authentic -- Crystal Jeans, author of the Inverts An authentic, stylish and absorbing portrait of 17th century Parisian courtly life, and a compelling meditation on the ingenuity and resilience of women... A masterly rendition of all that's right with historical fiction. -- Laura Carlin, author of Requiem for a Knave Skulduggery, sorcery, and a sapphic storyteller under suspicion... an opulent, unsettling journey through a world as beautifully brutal as Marie Catherine's fairy tales. Scheme with the servants and you shan't regret it! -- Nat Reeve, author of Nettleblack While this compelling portrayal of aristocratic life in 17th century France is rich with detail, it is the timeless female struggle to find and sustain a self able to withstand the metamorphoses and disguises required for survival which captivates the reader. A combination of history and fairy tale, The Disenchantment exposes unsuspected relationships and ambiguous boundaries as it follows its characters through a dream world of sorcerers and blue-stockings, servants and savants. -- Susanna Moore, author of In the Cut and Miss Aluminium: A Memoir As rankly sensuous as a twilit Parisian street in winter, Celia Bell's The Disenchantment is a rare historical novel that gets under your skin not only for its period details but for its swooning falls, without narrative safety nets, into the eternal now of deceit, desire, and the violent weather of love... Celia Bell practices both black and white magic in this remarkable first novel. -- Brad Gooch, author of Rumi's Secret A powerful, atmospheric debut * Sunday Times * In this bewitching work of historical fiction. . . . Bell elegantly balances the passion of a romance with the tension of crime fiction, all while conjuring a Paris rich in sensuous detail. . . . An astonishingly accomplished debut that brings a past full of intrigue and ardor to life on the page. * Kirkus Reviews, starred review * There are so many things to love about Celia Bell's debut novel, The Disenchantment-drama in the royal court! murder! intrigue! historic gays! I could keep shouting, that's how much I adored this enthralling story of love and scandal in seventeenth century Paris. I can't wait to see what Celia does next! -- Lindsay Lynch * Parnassus Musings * We love historical lesbian romances, and The Disenchantment by Celia Bell satiates our hunger for more. . . . The novel explores witchcraft, female scholars, and characters who defy traditional gender norms, giving us everything to appease our desire for historical feminist stories. * Women.com * The Disenchantment is a rare find in queer historical fiction. . . . a very good suspenseful story. [Bell] has a fine eye for detail, capturing Paris and its intrigues. * The Montecito Journal * Ghosts and shadows infuse Bell's enigmatic tale with elements of the supernatural, while Marie Catherine's allegorical fairy tales tell of feminist self-determination. . . . This is a tightly plotted, atmospheric and moody read, full of dark malevolence and a tangled web of complex relationships. . . . A riveting debut. * Historical Novel Society * [The Disenchantment] explores the court of Louis XIV in 17th century France, where two noblewomen fall in love amongst dark magic and intrigue. From the most elite salons to the grittiest quartiers, Bell weaves a tale that is complex and compelling. -- Tom Hall * WYPR * This debut novel stuns with both romance and thriller elements. . . . Crime, passion, deception, and black magic all intertwine in this captivating, atmospheric story of two noblewomen, sure to leave you breathless. * Bookstr * From its very first pages, the novel is rich with the darkness that made the original fairy tales so compelling, and Ms. Bell's lush, gorgeous writing is a stirring tribute to those early and bleak cautionary tales ... a thrilling cat and mouse game * Pittsburgh Post Gazette *