What do you think?
Rate this book
Gentle Things: The Chilling Historical Fiction Novel Full of Secrets and Suspense
Not yet published
Expected 23 Jul 26London, 1668. Though the streets hum with promise following the restoration of the crown, Lucy North is trapped. Her father's recent death has left her mother saddled with debts she cannot pay. Lucy must marry the first man willing to take her without a dowry. She has no choice.
Then she meets Thomas Ashwell, a young and charming apothecary, who offers her a route out. Lucy is quick to fall in love, and when Thomas proposes she has no hesitation in accepting him.
But, on the eve of her wedding, Lucy falls and injures her head. Confined to her bedroom while surrendering to the care of her concerned fiancée, Lucy's world soon starts to take on a warped, dreamlike – or nightmarish – quality. Can she really trust this man?
Then she meets Thomas Ashwell, a young and charming apothecary, who offers her a route out. Lucy is quick to fall in love, and when Thomas proposes she has no hesitation in accepting him.
But, on the eve of her wedding, Lucy falls and injures her head. Confined to her bedroom while surrendering to the care of her concerned fiancée, Lucy's world soon starts to take on a warped, dreamlike – or nightmarish – quality. Can she really trust this man?
Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 23, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Read
March 16, 2026I blurbed this book!
"Meticulously researched, tightly plotted, and beautifully written: Gentle Things starts as the gentlest of possessions but will soon haunt you incessantly. I, for one, couldn't get enough, and will gladly allow this rare novel to live within my skull for years to come."
"Meticulously researched, tightly plotted, and beautifully written: Gentle Things starts as the gentlest of possessions but will soon haunt you incessantly. I, for one, couldn't get enough, and will gladly allow this rare novel to live within my skull for years to come."
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Finally! Oh, I can’t tell you how thrilled I am finally to have a 2026 novel that gobs a mighty spit in the face of Dead Lesbian Syndrome, after my galling disappointment in The Brides by Charlotte Cross this year, last month’s She Feeds on Misery by Emily Vale, and the upcoming Erin Kelly title The Night Stairs. I’ve been disproportionately disheartened this year by releases proliferating DLS. Just like ‘Bury Your Gays’, Dead Lesbian Syndrome widely covers any and all villainising of queer female characters, where Sapphic attraction’s tokenistic and where heteronormativity generally triumphs over vilified queer women who never get happy endings. But here, instead, the marvellous Danielle Giles gives us
I should’ve known Giles wouldn’t disappoint, off the back of her superlative debut, Mere. In fact, I did a little dance when I heard about her second novel coming out. Just like those in ‘Mere’, Giles’s female cast for ‘Gentle Things’ comprises shrewd, poised, magnanimous women capable of ferocious devotion and resilience. And again, Giles crafts a similar kind of claustrophobic gloom to ‘Mere’ in which she can manoeuvre her marvellous figures – Kate, Brigit, Lucy.
What I love about Giles’s writing is its precision: her precision in style, precision in characterisation, atmosphere; but above all, her meticulousness in pulling theme from plot. Here, she dissects the inequality of medicine (‘For nothing cracks in the same manner as a skull’). You can’t help but admire her virtuosity. Through a historical representation, Giles gulders her condemnation of the contemporary gender health gap (some compelling statistics can be found at https://www.thewomensorganisation.org... ).
By-the-by, if you appreciate Giles’s undertaking here, I’d recommend another new release for 2026 by Bar Fridman-Tell, which I just finished reading – Honeysuckle. It’s also an indictment of male control of women’s body autonomy. It explores the theme of limiting women’s bodily rights and limiting female self-determination in a half-fairytale/half-gothic, dreamy and delicate retelling of myth. Danielle Giles’s novel, conversely, delivers a tempestuous rage against misogyny in medicine and the ‘default man’ mode. (Thomas admits, ‘Young men are the most often used in the medicines for all persons’.)
Let’s say the subtitle to ‘Gentle Things’ should be ‘Medicinal Cannibalism: Seventeenth-century Consumption of Corpses’ (‘“People always told me I was hard to stomach”’). Danielle Giles gives us Shakespearean levels of brutality and gore. Without any spoilers – just saying, the discovery of what's under the bed? Authentic Lady Macbeth! (‘There,’ she says. ‘There, I have tidied it back away.’) The women’s tripartite relationships (Lucy and Kate, Kate and Brigit, Lucy and Brigit) power the novel. Kate, especially, is majestic.
The fluidly beautiful writing reminded me of The Household by Stacey Halls:
I threw myself into the first part of the novel, then when Part Two began to slither its way towards the true premise of the plot - I was reeled in. And Part Three? What a furious tightening of the noose. I came to feel the novel’s true frisson around 90% and I was electrified by it! So, a gigantic thank you to Pan Macmillan | Mantle for giving me the opportunity to read a digital review copy via NetGalley.
I should’ve known Giles wouldn’t disappoint, off the back of her superlative debut, Mere. In fact, I did a little dance when I heard about her second novel coming out. Just like those in ‘Mere’, Giles’s female cast for ‘Gentle Things’ comprises shrewd, poised, magnanimous women capable of ferocious devotion and resilience. And again, Giles crafts a similar kind of claustrophobic gloom to ‘Mere’ in which she can manoeuvre her marvellous figures – Kate, Brigit, Lucy.
What I love about Giles’s writing is its precision: her precision in style, precision in characterisation, atmosphere; but above all, her meticulousness in pulling theme from plot. Here, she dissects the inequality of medicine (‘For nothing cracks in the same manner as a skull’). You can’t help but admire her virtuosity. Through a historical representation, Giles gulders her condemnation of the contemporary gender health gap (some compelling statistics can be found at https://www.thewomensorganisation.org... ).
By-the-by, if you appreciate Giles’s undertaking here, I’d recommend another new release for 2026 by Bar Fridman-Tell, which I just finished reading – Honeysuckle. It’s also an indictment of male control of women’s body autonomy. It explores the theme of limiting women’s bodily rights and limiting female self-determination in a half-fairytale/half-gothic, dreamy and delicate retelling of myth. Danielle Giles’s novel, conversely, delivers a tempestuous rage against misogyny in medicine and the ‘default man’ mode. (Thomas admits, ‘Young men are the most often used in the medicines for all persons’.)
Let’s say the subtitle to ‘Gentle Things’ should be ‘Medicinal Cannibalism: Seventeenth-century Consumption of Corpses’ (‘“People always told me I was hard to stomach”’). Danielle Giles gives us Shakespearean levels of brutality and gore. Without any spoilers – just saying, the discovery of what's under the bed? Authentic Lady Macbeth! (‘There,’ she says. ‘There, I have tidied it back away.’) The women’s tripartite relationships (Lucy and Kate, Kate and Brigit, Lucy and Brigit) power the novel. Kate, especially, is majestic.
The fluidly beautiful writing reminded me of The Household by Stacey Halls:
‘It is the beginning of November, when the afternoon light pours down and cools golden. Mithras, had he pressed his palms to a single courtyard in London and found himself content. Even in the air, the motes of soot and pollen are gilded, so that every step leaves behind a swirling golden wake.’But, all credit to Danielle Giles, this is completely individual – there’s nothing like it. Would I say that her slinky sort of humour is just as good as T. Kingfisher’s heroines’ voices? Yes. I’d say, perhaps, that if you love Bridget Collins and Elizabeth Macneal, if you enjoyed The Corset by Laura Purcell, you’ll relish this.
I threw myself into the first part of the novel, then when Part Two began to slither its way towards the true premise of the plot - I was reeled in. And Part Three? What a furious tightening of the noose. I came to feel the novel’s true frisson around 90% and I was electrified by it! So, a gigantic thank you to Pan Macmillan | Mantle for giving me the opportunity to read a digital review copy via NetGalley.
‘[T]he song will reach further down. Rattling old bones, sliding into the spaces where tongues once moved. The dead will take it with them into dreams, and soon there will be not a person in London who does not know the melody.’
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
London, 1668. The Great Fire is an ashen memory, and the city is clawing back to life. Lucy North is just trying to stay afloat. Her father is dead, the debts are a noose, and her mother is desperate. Marriage is the only currency left. Thomas Ashwell, a young apothecary with a soft voice, seems like a reprieve. Then comes the fall. A head injury. The wedding bells dissolve into a medicinal fog. Lucy is confined to a room that feels like a cage, haunted by a voice in her head that isn't hers. It is a psychological breakdown in a time before we had a name for it.
Giles skips the romanticized noise. This is about walls closing in. Lucy’s journey is a calculated stripping of her agency. Thomas is a complicated figure; a doting protector whose "cures" only serve to cloud the truth. The tension lies in the ambiguity of care. Is Lucy being saved, or is she being buried alive in a narrative rewritten by men? The book refuses to provide a comfortable exit.
The themes feel jagged and modern. We call it gaslighting now; in 1668, it was just the social architecture of being a woman. The loss of self is a universal horror. Giles captures that specific dread of having your own reality denied by the person holding the medicine spoon. It is a reminder that the most dangerous terrain isn't a dark alley in London, but a quiet bedroom where your word carries no weight.
The prose is lean. The pacing mirrors Lucy’s vertigo, moving from sharp desperation to a warped, hallucinatory state. It is a deliberate choice that forces you to share her disorientation. Some might find the feverish sequences a bit dense, but they serve the central question of trust. This is a cold, intellectual thriller that happens to be wearing a corset, but the bones underneath are raw and real.
It left a mark. No cheap sentimentality here, just a lingering unease. The "stranger" in Lucy's head is the hook that keeps the reader off-balance until the final page. It is a solid, jagged piece of historical fiction that refuses to play nice. A reminder that a quiet room with a man who thinks he knows what's best for you can be the deadliest trap of all.
Giles skips the romanticized noise. This is about walls closing in. Lucy’s journey is a calculated stripping of her agency. Thomas is a complicated figure; a doting protector whose "cures" only serve to cloud the truth. The tension lies in the ambiguity of care. Is Lucy being saved, or is she being buried alive in a narrative rewritten by men? The book refuses to provide a comfortable exit.
The themes feel jagged and modern. We call it gaslighting now; in 1668, it was just the social architecture of being a woman. The loss of self is a universal horror. Giles captures that specific dread of having your own reality denied by the person holding the medicine spoon. It is a reminder that the most dangerous terrain isn't a dark alley in London, but a quiet bedroom where your word carries no weight.
The prose is lean. The pacing mirrors Lucy’s vertigo, moving from sharp desperation to a warped, hallucinatory state. It is a deliberate choice that forces you to share her disorientation. Some might find the feverish sequences a bit dense, but they serve the central question of trust. This is a cold, intellectual thriller that happens to be wearing a corset, but the bones underneath are raw and real.
It left a mark. No cheap sentimentality here, just a lingering unease. The "stranger" in Lucy's head is the hook that keeps the reader off-balance until the final page. It is a solid, jagged piece of historical fiction that refuses to play nice. A reminder that a quiet room with a man who thinks he knows what's best for you can be the deadliest trap of all.
Read
May 13, 2026This was a real slow-burn. However, the more I think about it, the more I like how the plot development was gradual instead of just full throttle. To me, it built on the idea of 'Gentle Things' - how something seemingly non-threatening and gentle can grow into a terrifying ordeal.
The plot of this book slowly built into a crescendo throughout the three separate parts. I thought the narrative decision of playing with points of view in these parts was well chosen. The second part was especially alienating and distant, yet it added to the overall mystery. Everything came together in a satisfactory manner at the end and I enjoyed the way the various strands of the narrative contributed to its conclusion.
Lucy North was a determined, strong-willed and resolute main character. I found her narrative voice immersive and Giles utilised her status and class to comment on women's rights and positions in 17th century London. We know that it was tough to be a woman, but to see what difficulties women faced - and in an intersectional manner - really stood out to me. The amount of research and work Giles put into a historically accurate narrative shone through and I was very impressed by how she did justice to the themes she conveyed. Giles also wrote in a style that imitated the time period and this helped transport me to 17th century England.
However, the show stealer for me was the theme of medicinal cannibalism. I've been drawn to medicine and surgery predating the 20th century (like in the Anatomy duology) because of how strange and obscure the entire practice was. I'd never encountered this theme before and I was fascinated by the entire process and the sociopolitical and classist themes underpinning this practice.
I liked the journey Gentle Things took me on and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a historical novel that places women at its forefront while examining a lesser-known medical phenomenon.
The plot of this book slowly built into a crescendo throughout the three separate parts. I thought the narrative decision of playing with points of view in these parts was well chosen. The second part was especially alienating and distant, yet it added to the overall mystery. Everything came together in a satisfactory manner at the end and I enjoyed the way the various strands of the narrative contributed to its conclusion.
Lucy North was a determined, strong-willed and resolute main character. I found her narrative voice immersive and Giles utilised her status and class to comment on women's rights and positions in 17th century London. We know that it was tough to be a woman, but to see what difficulties women faced - and in an intersectional manner - really stood out to me. The amount of research and work Giles put into a historically accurate narrative shone through and I was very impressed by how she did justice to the themes she conveyed. Giles also wrote in a style that imitated the time period and this helped transport me to 17th century England.
However, the show stealer for me was the theme of medicinal cannibalism. I've been drawn to medicine and surgery predating the 20th century (like in the Anatomy duology) because of how strange and obscure the entire practice was. I'd never encountered this theme before and I was fascinated by the entire process and the sociopolitical and classist themes underpinning this practice.
I liked the journey Gentle Things took me on and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a historical novel that places women at its forefront while examining a lesser-known medical phenomenon.
March 22, 2026
Thank you to The Pan Macmillan Marketing Team for sending me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The blurb: “The plague has passed, the fire has cooled, and Lucy North is in desperate need of a husband . . . From the acclaimed author of Mere comes a thrilling new tale of medicine, marriage and madness set in seventeenth-century London.
London, 1668. Though the streets hum with promise following the restoration of the crown, Lucy North is trapped. Her father's recent death has left her mother saddled with debts she cannot pay. Lucy must marry the first man willing to take her without a dowry.
So when she meets Thomas Ashwell, a young and charming apothecary, Lucy quickly identifies an attractive route out. She falls in love easily, and when Thomas proposes she believes her future is finally secured.
But when Lucy falls and injures her head during their wedding party, things start to warp. Confined to her bedroom her dreams refuse to leave her at daybreak, and the voice in her head no longer sounds like her own. As Thomas plies her with tinctures and cures, a creeping fear takes root: Has this marriage saved her? Or will it bring about her end?”
This is the second book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it immensely. without giving anything away, it is a very different novel and one which I have thought about often since I finished reading it. The writing style really suits the time in which the book was set which makes it feel really authentic. The characters are believable and I became really invested in Lucy and her outcome. There are some unexpected twists I never saw coming. This book gave me feelings of claustrophobia, probably because in the 1600’s women had little control over their lives or destines. Overall, I would say this is another great book by Danielle Giles.
The blurb: “The plague has passed, the fire has cooled, and Lucy North is in desperate need of a husband . . . From the acclaimed author of Mere comes a thrilling new tale of medicine, marriage and madness set in seventeenth-century London.
London, 1668. Though the streets hum with promise following the restoration of the crown, Lucy North is trapped. Her father's recent death has left her mother saddled with debts she cannot pay. Lucy must marry the first man willing to take her without a dowry.
So when she meets Thomas Ashwell, a young and charming apothecary, Lucy quickly identifies an attractive route out. She falls in love easily, and when Thomas proposes she believes her future is finally secured.
But when Lucy falls and injures her head during their wedding party, things start to warp. Confined to her bedroom her dreams refuse to leave her at daybreak, and the voice in her head no longer sounds like her own. As Thomas plies her with tinctures and cures, a creeping fear takes root: Has this marriage saved her? Or will it bring about her end?”
This is the second book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it immensely. without giving anything away, it is a very different novel and one which I have thought about often since I finished reading it. The writing style really suits the time in which the book was set which makes it feel really authentic. The characters are believable and I became really invested in Lucy and her outcome. There are some unexpected twists I never saw coming. This book gave me feelings of claustrophobia, probably because in the 1600’s women had little control over their lives or destines. Overall, I would say this is another great book by Danielle Giles.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Mantle for providing me with the ARC.
Pub Date 23 Jul 2026
I didn’t read the full synopsis of this book, because I was familiar with Gilles previous work and was pretty sure that I would love this one as well. And once again the writing was immaculate. If you love historical settings, the 17th century medicine and practices, you’ll love this book. I didn’t know half of the practices used in here; the terminology was very on point and added to the gothic atmosphere. I not only enjoyed this, I learned actual things. It is more of a lighter read, although it still maintains heavy themes and dark subjects.
All of the female characters in here were very well formed. The sapphic romance was very gently presented; you can’t help but root for these women. Their resilience is admirable. The book is hilariously funny, until it got more serious and more horrific after Thomas’s dealings were introduced. The third part was the shortest, but the most intriguing. I was very interested in the “symbiosis” of the characters. As a horror reader I only needed it to be more sinister and thrilling.
This book reminded me of The specimen by Jaima Fixen and the works of Laura Purcell, also Poor things by Alasdair Gary. I highly recommend it if you love historical settings, Sapphic love stories and resilient women prevailing.
Pub Date 23 Jul 2026
I didn’t read the full synopsis of this book, because I was familiar with Gilles previous work and was pretty sure that I would love this one as well. And once again the writing was immaculate. If you love historical settings, the 17th century medicine and practices, you’ll love this book. I didn’t know half of the practices used in here; the terminology was very on point and added to the gothic atmosphere. I not only enjoyed this, I learned actual things. It is more of a lighter read, although it still maintains heavy themes and dark subjects.
All of the female characters in here were very well formed. The sapphic romance was very gently presented; you can’t help but root for these women. Their resilience is admirable. The book is hilariously funny, until it got more serious and more horrific after Thomas’s dealings were introduced. The third part was the shortest, but the most intriguing. I was very interested in the “symbiosis” of the characters. As a horror reader I only needed it to be more sinister and thrilling.
This book reminded me of The specimen by Jaima Fixen and the works of Laura Purcell, also Poor things by Alasdair Gary. I highly recommend it if you love historical settings, Sapphic love stories and resilient women prevailing.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The way it all came together was SO SATISFYING.
May 16, 2026
I enjoyed it but I feel like every event could’ve been just a bit more thrilling and tense
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews