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Hungerstone : a novel
2025
Where is it?
Fiction/Biography Profile
Genre
Fiction
Feminist
Witchcraft
Horror
LGBTQ+
Mystery
Saga
Women sleuths
Topics
Existentialism
Sexual awakening
Vampires
Upper classes
Marriage of convenience
Suspicious accidents
Rage
Desire
Womanhood
Greed
Industrial revolution
Plagues
Setting
London, England - Europe
Large Cover Image
Trade Reviews
Publishers Weekly Review
Dunn (Dangerous Remedy) offers a moody and triumphant retelling of Carmilla, the 1872 gothic novella by Sheridan Le Fanu, about a married woman in Victorian London who experiences an existential and sexual awakening at the hands of a female vampire. Lenore Crowther, 30, a restless aristocrat, sleeps alone in the drafty mansion she shares with Henry, a steel mill magnate, whom she married for his money. When the couple witnesses a roadside carriage accident, they rescue the distraught victim, Carmilla Kernstein. As Carmilla recovers, Lenore realizes how much their new guest resembles a ghostly girl who's been haunting her dreams. Soon, Carmilla kindles a long-buried desire in Lenore and turns Lenore into a vampire like herself. Bodice-ripping and bloodsucking ensue, as Lenore discovers her independence. Dunn portrays the newly awakened Lenore as increasingly outspoken, empowered, and fearless, turning the novel into a meditation on womanhood, corporate greed, and queer desire, delivered in frank prose ("To be a woman is a horror I can little comprehend"). This revitalizes Le Fanu's classic tale without losing any of its appeal. Agent: Caitlin Mahony, WME. (Feb.)
Summary
The seductive reimagining of a Gothic classic--a repressed wife encounters a mysterious woman who awakens her desire in the "lesbian vampire novel we need." ( Them)

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * NPR Best Book of the Year * Goodreads Choice Award Finalist * Book Riot Best Book of the Year

It's the height of the Industrial Revolution, and ten years into Lenore's marriage to steel magnate Henry, their relationship has soured. When Henry's ambitions take them from London to the remote British moorlands, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into their lives. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night. Carmilla, who stirs something deep within Lenore.

Soon, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger, and Lenore begins to unravel. Torn between regaining her husband's affection and the cravings Carmilla has awakened, Lenore must confront a darkness that will place her at risk.

This immersive reworking of Carmilla , the queer novella that inspired Dracula , delivers a richly atmospheric look at feminine rage and the desires that feed our hunger.

"I didn't like this, I LOVED it." --Taylor Jenkins Reid
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