Editorial Content for The Taxidermist's Daughter
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
St. Mark's Eve. I have to confess that I was unfamiliar with this eerie date and had to do some research. It was a custom of many English villages from the 17th through the 19th centuries to sit in complete silence in a church from 11pm until 1am. The belief was that, on this night, the ghosts of those who were about to depart in the year to come would appear to all who had gathered inside the church. Needless to say, this bit of English folklore is quite creepy and unsettling.
It is the St. Mark's Eve tradition that plays a major role in Kate Mosse’s latest historical/supernatural thriller. Mosse always excels at literary novels that focus on ancient history or folklore, but never has she gone to the dark side like she does in THE TAXIDERMIST'S DAUGHTER. The essence of St. Mark's Eve is apparent here --- not overtly, but conceptually. Death, memory and loss are all at play, and the result is a very moody, atmospheric read.
"THE TAXIDERMIST'S DAUGHTER is not for those who are easily unnerved as this story gets under your skin, while Mosse manipulates the narrative like a skilled taxidermist wielding her precision blade."
The setting is the small fishing village of Fishbourne (Sussex UK) in the year 1912. The village locals tend to shun and veer from the broken-down mansion known as Blackthorn House. The inhabitants are Mr. Gifford, who has made his living as a taxidermist, and his 22-year-old daughter, Constantina. In this time, Connie was considered a spinster as she was unwed and unattached to any man. As she dabbles in her father's odd profession, she spends much of her time looking back. She has many unanswered questions regarding events in her life, and her despondent and weary father is not much help.
Connie keeps reverting back to the night of “the accident” and her life as two separate parts before and after. She suffered a head blow at the age of 12 and still bears the scars from it. She lost most memory of this event, but has always had a creeping feeling that it involved someone named Cassie. Connie recognizes that her father could have the answers, but may never get him to divulge this information.
Scattered throughout the book are passages from a box on taxidermy, along with writings from a journal. The author of the journal is not initially known --- all that can be surmised is that the writer is seeking justice of some sort. Strange things start happening in the town. Some of the villagers appear to have gone missing, while the body of a murdered young woman is discovered in a river bank.
As Connie begins her own personal investigation into the events in the village, as well as the identity of the woman named Cassie, she comes to a startling revelation. At the center of it all is a mysterious group known as the Corvidae Club, whose four members are represented as birds --- Jackdaw, Magpie, Rook and Crow. The Crow particularly stands out for Connie, who needs to identify the person symbolized by this bird. She shudders as she realizes that a group of crows are referred to as a “murder of crows.”
As Connie's memory of her vanished period begins flooding back, the story moves towards an eventual showdown. With a brutal storm wailing outside and hammering the village, a final confrontation is at hand.
Kate Mosse pulls no punches and keeps things mysterious, dark and brooding throughout. THE TAXIDERMIST'S DAUGHTER is not for those who are easily unnerved as this story gets under your skin, while Mosse manipulates the narrative like a skilled taxidermist wielding her precision blade.
Teaser
Twenty-two and unmarried, Constantia Gifford lives with her father on the fringes of town, in a decaying mansion cluttered with the remains of his once world-famous museum of taxidermy. When a woman is found dead, snippets of long-lost memories begin to tease through Connie’s mind. The answers are tied to a dark secret that lies at the heart of Blackthorn House, hidden among the bell jars of her father’s workshop --- a mystery that draws Connie closer to danger.
Promo
Twenty-two and unmarried, Constantia Gifford lives with her father on the fringes of town, in a decaying mansion cluttered with the remains of his once world-famous museum of taxidermy. When a woman is found dead, snippets of long-lost memories begin to tease through Connie’s mind. The answers are tied to a dark secret that lies at the heart of Blackthorn House, hidden among the bell jars of her father’s workshop --- a mystery that draws Connie closer to danger.
About the Book
A chilling and spooky Gothic historical thriller reminiscent of REBECCA and THE TURN OF THE SCREW, dripping with the dark twists and eerie surprises that are the hallmarks of Edgar Allan Poe, from the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of CITADEL.
In a remote village near the English coast, residents gather in a misty churchyard. More than a decade into the twentieth century, superstition still holds sway: It is St. Mark’s Eve, the night when the shimmering ghosts of those fated to die in the coming year are said to materialize and amble through the church doors.
Alone in the crowd is Constantia Gifford, the taxidermist’s daughter. Twenty-two and unmarried, she lives with her father on the fringes of town, in a decaying mansion cluttered with the remains of his once world-famous museum of taxidermy. No one speaks of why the museum was shuttered or how the Giffords fell so low. Connie herself has no recollection --- a childhood accident has erased all memory of her earlier days. Even those who might have answers remain silent. The locals shun Blackthorn House, and the strange spinster who practices her father’s macabre art.
As the last peal of the midnight bell fades to silence, a woman is found dead --- a stranger Connie noticed near the church. In the coming days, snippets of long lost memories will begin to tease through Connie’s mind, offering her glimpses of her vanished years. Who is the victim, and why has her death affected Connie so deeply? Why is she watched by a mysterious figure who has suddenly appeared on the marsh nearby? Is her father trying to protect her with his silence --- or someone else? The answers are tied to a dark secret that lies at the heart of Blackthorn House, hidden among the bell jars of her father’s workshop --- a mystery that draws Connie closer to danger...closer to madness...closer to the startling truth.
Audiobook available, narrated by Michelle Ford
