Carrion Crow
A gothic exploration of control and identity
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Transworld Publishers Ltd
Published:27th Feb '25
Should be back in stock very soon
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback - Signed Edition£16.99(9781529938685-S)
In Carrion Crow, a mother’s protective instincts lead to her daughter’s confinement, igniting a complex struggle between love, control, and the yearning for freedom.
In Carrion Crow, the story unfolds within the confines of a Chelsea attic, where Marguerite Périgord is held captive by her mother, Cécile. Marguerite's existence is defined by the walls around her, her only companions being a sewing machine, a copy of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, and a nesting carrion crow. As she grapples with her isolation, she becomes increasingly aware of her own desires and the suffocating grip of her mother’s control. The attic becomes a prison, but also a space for introspection and rebellion as Marguerite's mind begins to fray under the weight of her confinement.
Cécile, on the other hand, believes she is acting for her daughter’s own good, fearing that Marguerite’s engagement to an older, financially unstable solicitor could tarnish their family’s reputation. Having clawed her way up from a lower status, Cécile is determined to protect what she has built, even if it means sacrificing her daughter’s freedom. The tension between the two women escalates as secrets and hidden intentions come to light, revealing the complexities of their relationship and the societal pressures they face.
As Marguerite's patience wears thin, the barriers of their understanding begin to collapse. Carrion Crow intricately weaves themes of motherhood, sexuality, and class, painting a haunting portrait of two women struggling against their own demons and each other. The narrative challenges readers to reflect on the lengths to which individuals go to protect their loved ones, even at the cost of their freedom and identity.
Carrion Crow, surely, will win awards . . . Every sentence oozes a crushed purple poetry, overripe with devastation and wretchedness . . . If you finish it feeling you might just skip dinner, then you also feel filled with awe for a writer so gifted at conveying this much ick in such luxuriant, refulgent style. * Observer *
Carrion Crow may be set in a fetid late Victorian London and couched in lightly brocaded prose, but what lurks within is unmistakably red in tooth and claw, a creature nearer in kinship to Kathy Acker than to Sarah Waters . . richly fecund and adult in every sense of the word. * Guardian *
Carrion Crow is a worthy entrant into the contemporary gothic hall of fame . . . I’m not sure the pure rancidness of this book will ever totally leave me. * Financial Times *
Haunting and vivid, creating that palpable sense of isolation so hard to create. Parry's atmospheric storytelling leaps off the page * Glamour *
A surreal and abject little monster of a novel, artful in its exploration of women’s unspoken and unfulfilled ambitions, and the transformations they make to try and achieve them * The Skinny *
If you’re on the lookout for a gothic masterpiece, look no further than Carrion Crow ... a thought-provoking and bold exploration of a toxic mother/daughter relationship set against a darkly gothic backdrop, which shines a light on societal constraints of the time and deals with the expectations laid at the feet of women. * nb Magazine *
A brilliantly claustrophobic tale of confinement . . . a cautionary tale of the societal pressures that have left so many women unfulfilled and overwhelmed * Gutter Magazine *
A haunting, visceral, insightful, and deeply poignant experience. * Scream Magazine *
One of the most important new voices in fiction, with Carrion Crow Heather Parry deduces an unutterable Gothic horror of class and gender from the pages of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. A festering Edwardian nightmare dressed in exquisitely tailored language, Parry’s vision is magnificent and devastating. * Alan Moore, author of Watchmen *
Sublime, wretched, harrowing, glorious. * Kirsty Logan *
ISBN: 9781529938685
Dimensions: 224mm x 145mm x 25mm
Weight: 363g
256 pages