The Blood Countess

by Annouchka Bayley

Two women separated by five hundred years, each with a secret - the infamous ‘Blood Countess’(1560-1614), notorious for bathing in the blood of six-hundred-and-fifty women in Renaissance Hungary and Transylvania; and the woman driven to re-write her story in the present - an academic who lives in and out of time because of a near death experience and who escapes ruin at the hands of rival scholars desperate to see her and her world destroyed at any cost.

But Bathory’s story will be told! Not as a murderer or a dark witch, as history would have us believe today, but as a woman who became a subversive printer and smuggler of banned books, rocked the religious foundations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with only a band of faithful refugee women to help her, and who’s revolutionary ideas would challenge even the Emperor himself! Bathory’s modern day chronicler becomes the cipher of this secret history, uncovering the real life of the Blood Countess. What she doesn’t know is that the Blood Countess is rewriting her across time…

Based on 100s of hours of original historical research, this novel is a transformational account of not only of the infamous story of the so-called Blood Countess, but a searing exploration of what history is and what history does to women.

Genres: History

442 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2023

Reviews

[Robin Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history books have not been kind to Elizabet Bathory. The Guinness Book Of Records lists her as the most prolific female murderer of all time and Hammer Films portrayed her as Countess Dracula. Annouchka Bayley's version of her life is as unlikely as it is likeable.
This is a richly atmospheric novel. It is packed with political intrigue, torture, questionable morality, greed and treachery. It overflows with thrills and mysteries and dark fantasy with characters falling through the very fabric of time itself.
It is a gripping story from start to finish with the complexities of the plot adding layer-upon-layer of suspense. It is also an indictment of the way women across the ages have been ill-treated.
A tour de force of epic storytelling.

[Alan F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a feminist medieval thriller, reclaiming the reputation of a noblewoman whose modern reputation as a bloodthirsty vampire seems to have been fabricated by her (many) enemies. There's plenty to think about here, especially where the compelling historical events get reflected in the modern day, through a mysterious quantum entanglement. This novel is like a cross between Hilary Mantel's retelling of court history in Wolf Hall, the bibliographic thrills in Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose, and David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. There is enough drama to match any of those, carried along through vivid descriptions of the intrigue and violence of medieval life, while interleaved with moments of poetic philosophy.

[Ruta Baines · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book that combines the excitement of historical events hundreds of years ago, the history of women both in the past and currently. The characters immerse us in events that are painful, shocking, passionate and exciting to follow. The characters allow the reader to travel through time and experience both history and quantum physics reality. It challenges how history has treated the real life Countess and the challenges she faces, overcame but ultimately could not face in the reality of time as we know it. I highly recommend it as a read and hope that one day we see it as a Netflix series and also the sequel to this one. Brilliant !

[Chloë-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has such a fascinating and interesting concept. In the character list all of the main characters are linked to different scientific principles, like photons and dark matter, and the ways that they interact with each other are supposed to reflect how these principles interact with one another. I'm not a scientist so I couldn't say whether this works throughout the book but it's certainly a fascinating and original concept.
Several elements of this book actually reminded me of 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gillman and is quite unsettling and sinister. You're never entirely sure whether what's happening is real (within the world of the book) or imagined.

[Hoda Mohajerani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Simply superb! Annouchka Bayley has unraveled the threads of mysticism, quantum physics and history and re-woven them with graceful intelligence into a rich, new tapestry of feminist storytelling. Highly recommend!

[Kiki Qiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The intricate entanglements of women, history, and power. Reading this book is a time-travelling experience itself. A testament of how quantum physics can be integrated into stories, so intriguing!

[Chrissie Callaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most original, atmospheric and beautiful books I have ever read. I'm so inspired by it, just read it!

[Luka · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read, a really captivating story filled with intrigue and a fresh perspective on a historically reviled character. Couldn't stop turning the pages!