Moonflower announces The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond
As you may have seen in the news recently, our next hardback release will be a brilliant gothic thriller from the genius mind of debut author Louise Davidson. The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond is the deliciously creepy story of shamed governess Julia Pearlie, who takes a job as a companion to the mysterious young Olivia Richmond. It has everything you could want in a gothic novel: a creepy, crumbling mansion, illicit romance, seances, ghosts and visions, and a reluctant heroine fighting against forces she can’t quite identify and we can’t wait to bring it to the world.
Louise Davidson
Born in Belfast, Louise Davidson has always worked in the creative arts in some capacity – from assistant to theatre directors to teaching scriptwriting classes in prisons to teaching English and drama to A-Level students. Growing up in Northern Ireland backgrounded by the Troubles led to a fascination with history, and this combined with her love of all things gothic inspired her to write The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond.
Here’s what Louise, publisher and editor Christ Daugherty, and Louise’s agent Kate Nash had to say:
“I’m so delighted to be working with Moonflower on the publication of The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond. As a lover of Gothic fiction and a Victorian history enthusiast, I have always wanted to tell dark stories set in a world of gaslight and ghosts but, more than that, I wanted to explore the stories of the people living in that world and how they reflect our own anxieties today. Olivia is my first invitation to readers to enter this world with me, and I couldn’t be more excited!”
“From the very first page I adored The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond. This book has everything I love in a novel – a young, fragile heroine, a rambling, isolated mansion, and the long, dark winter just closing in. But Louise has given these elements a fresh, modern touch that makes it all feel new and thrilling. Her writing reminds me, in that way, of Donna Tartt’s – she has the same ability to take an old story and make it completely original. Lovers of gothic mysteries are going to devour this book.”
“I’ve been extremely privileged to work with Louise Davidson as a talented new voice, and I’m delighted that Moonflower Books will be launching The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond as their lead commercial title in 2023, an honour for a debut author but deserved because Louise’s writing stands with the very best Gothic tradition: as we turn each page we begin to see that terror from outside might, even more frighteningly, come from within.”
The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond will be released in special edition hardback on 26 October.
