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Le grimoire
For centuries, magicians have compiled grimoires to call up demons. In Victorian London, one ambitious warlock, Peter Owling, designed a book of shadows to summon the Lord of the Demons - Satan himself. The plan backfired, Owling was killed and the book was ripped into four pieces and sent to the far corners of the earth. One fragment wound up in a shipment of books destined for the Colonies. Now, at Humberstone College, a converted 19th-century Gothic convent in Melbourne, a power-hungry group of academics is reassembling Owling's grimoire, bent on the pursuit of eternal life. But they have reckoned without the interference of three twenty-something masters Holly, Prudence and Justin. When Holly makes contact and falls in love with the ghost of the young man who was once Owling's assistant, the academics begin to fear that their dark secret - the grimoire which is so near to completion - is not as safe as they had previously thought.
641 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 10, 2019
5 stars--loved it.
This isn't life-altering literature, but it has a lot of things I love in a book:
* Set in a college, in the late 1990s (I'm an old lady so I can relate), featuring literature grad students as the main characters.
* Has a ghost as a love interest. A GHOST!
* Has a dual-timeline narrative that goes from Victorian London to 90s Melbourne.
* Has spooky candlelit satanic rituals, complete with a secret book (the grimoire of the title).
* Real, actual satan shows up. (For real! Satan himself!)
* A gothic, lurid tone--lots of dark family secrets and inappropriate relationships.
* One hell of an ending. (It was unpredictable and made me gleeful.)
It's a touch overlong and definitely overwrought, but I didn't care. I really enjoyed this one.
This isn't life-altering literature, but it has a lot of things I love in a book:
* Set in a college, in the late 1990s (I'm an old lady so I can relate), featuring literature grad students as the main characters.
* Has a ghost as a love interest. A GHOST!
* Has a dual-timeline narrative that goes from Victorian London to 90s Melbourne.
* Has spooky candlelit satanic rituals, complete with a secret book (the grimoire of the title).
* Real, actual satan shows up. (For real! Satan himself!)
* A gothic, lurid tone--lots of dark family secrets and inappropriate relationships.
* One hell of an ending. (It was unpredictable and made me gleeful.)
It's a touch overlong and definitely overwrought, but I didn't care. I really enjoyed this one.
March 8, 2022
Having read and enjoyed one of this author's Kimberley Freeman historical fiction novels, I was intrigued to discover this earlier, and very different novel under an alternative pen-name. Promising the gothic elements that I find irresistible, and set in a suburb of Melbourne neighbouring my own, there was no way I wouldn't read it! After months of searching for an affordable, local paperback edition, I was delighted to discover that Bolinda had recently published an audiobook edition, narrated by one of my favourite performers, Casey Withoos. My only reservation was the running time - 19 hours. That's a big book.
The story unfolds in 3 different threads; 2 concurrent and intertwined ones in 1990s South Yarra, and one in Victorian England relayed by a ghost to one of the contemporary characters. Slightly convoluted, but it works, even if the ghost does tend to go on a bit. And as you'd expect, all 3 threads come together by the end.
So, in what is arguably the main storyline, we have 3 post-grad students at the small and exclusive Humberstone College in South Yarra. Prudence, a very 'young' 22yo local, has been at the college for a while. Holly, a former Queensland teacher in her mid-20s, has recently separated from her husband and has won a scholarship to study at the college. The scholarship is her lifeline, so she takes her responsibilities and her studies very seriously. Justin is the eldest, in his late 20s. He is the recently-discovered illegitimate offspring of one of the Humberstone brothers, brought into the fold (seemingly reluctantly) by his uncle Lucien. He's kind of marking time with his studies, and in fact doesn't really know what he wants to do, or whether he wants to be there.
Meanwhile, uncle Lucien has formed a small cabal of teaching staff and relatives to practice the dark arts, based on restoring and translating a Victorian grimoire. Their goal is to summon and control the ultimate evil (i.e. Satan). The young post-grads find out about the grimoire and are intent on saving the world by nicking and destroying it. As you do.
The thing is, it all takes such a long time. There's a good story in there, and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if it had been edited more ruthlessly. For example there's this whole thing about Holly and her husband (and both of their families back in QLD) which was both infuriating and tedious, and added nothing to the story but length. It could have been completely excised without affecting the main plot AT ALL.
Overall I'm glad I read it, and Casey Withoos did a great job as usual. Recommended for gothic diehards, particularly Australian readers, as we don't tend to get a lot of this kind of fiction set in Australia.
The story unfolds in 3 different threads; 2 concurrent and intertwined ones in 1990s South Yarra, and one in Victorian England relayed by a ghost to one of the contemporary characters. Slightly convoluted, but it works, even if the ghost does tend to go on a bit. And as you'd expect, all 3 threads come together by the end.
So, in what is arguably the main storyline, we have 3 post-grad students at the small and exclusive Humberstone College in South Yarra. Prudence, a very 'young' 22yo local, has been at the college for a while. Holly, a former Queensland teacher in her mid-20s, has recently separated from her husband and has won a scholarship to study at the college. The scholarship is her lifeline, so she takes her responsibilities and her studies very seriously. Justin is the eldest, in his late 20s. He is the recently-discovered illegitimate offspring of one of the Humberstone brothers, brought into the fold (seemingly reluctantly) by his uncle Lucien. He's kind of marking time with his studies, and in fact doesn't really know what he wants to do, or whether he wants to be there.
Meanwhile, uncle Lucien has formed a small cabal of teaching staff and relatives to practice the dark arts, based on restoring and translating a Victorian grimoire. Their goal is to summon and control the ultimate evil (i.e. Satan). The young post-grads find out about the grimoire and are intent on saving the world by nicking and destroying it. As you do.
The thing is, it all takes such a long time. There's a good story in there, and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if it had been edited more ruthlessly. For example there's this whole thing about Holly and her husband (and both of their families back in QLD) which was both infuriating and tedious, and added nothing to the story but length. It could have been completely excised without affecting the main plot AT ALL.
Overall I'm glad I read it, and Casey Withoos did a great job as usual. Recommended for gothic diehards, particularly Australian readers, as we don't tend to get a lot of this kind of fiction set in Australia.
December 15, 2008
I read this book while i was a university student in Melbourne and felt right at home in the descriptions of freezing weather, ivy-dripped academia and gothic themes. Kim Wilkins greatest strength is writing believable characters that you really feel you know, and they think and behave in totally authentic ways in the most unbelievable situations. You can swallow an awful lot of fantasy if your characters are having the same reactions as you.
October 29, 2012
I'm not going to go into detail about events/people in the book you can read that for yourself. I am just a reader and this is my opinion.
I bought this book and read it a while ago and it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I found myself raising an eyebrow from time to time at the bizarre paths the writer chose to take.
While I didn't care much for the main character's personality and found the characters in general a little annoying because I always wanted more from them and didn't get it, I found myself wanting things to happen that didn't basically.
I still think it is an interesting book that everybody should read at least once. Intertwined within the pages is a dark mystery, I did find that it touched on my emotions. You may find it difficult to stop reading once you pick it up but, all good books are like that.
I bought this book and read it a while ago and it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I found myself raising an eyebrow from time to time at the bizarre paths the writer chose to take.
While I didn't care much for the main character's personality and found the characters in general a little annoying because I always wanted more from them and didn't get it, I found myself wanting things to happen that didn't basically.
I still think it is an interesting book that everybody should read at least once. Intertwined within the pages is a dark mystery, I did find that it touched on my emotions. You may find it difficult to stop reading once you pick it up but, all good books are like that.
May 30, 2021
Ah, my first foray into Gothic Horror and boy, was it STEAMY. I was probably a tad too young to be reading this but I dug it... the cover I found in the school library was different to this one (although the cover listed here may have shown me what I was in for). The story itself is compelling and full of horror and intrigue.
I've gotta track it down and revisit, and see if it's as horny as I remember haha.
I've gotta track it down and revisit, and see if it's as horny as I remember haha.
October 8, 2013
An enjoyable read but not a keeper. I found parts of this creepy and gripping and other parts a little irritating. The parts I found irritating were the ones set in the present day, which is often my issue with KW's earlier books.
This wasn't quite creepy or scary enough to be horror nor romantic enough to be a romance but still it was enjoyable and I would recommend it for a cosy winter read.
This wasn't quite creepy or scary enough to be horror nor romantic enough to be a romance but still it was enjoyable and I would recommend it for a cosy winter read.
August 26, 2013
I read this many years ago and don't think I ever finished it. Of course this is before I discovered my love of Young Adult fiction which explains why adult fiction doesn't work for me.
I really want to try this author's YA fiction, it sounds fab.
I really want to try this author's YA fiction, it sounds fab.
January 26, 2011
Loved this book. Wish that Kim Wilkins books weren't so hard to get.
November 30, 2020
"...if we destroyed it, then one day decided that we needed it, discovered that there was a way we could work around the danger and succeed, we'd never forgive ourselves."
Holly laughed a bitter laugh. "None of us can forgive ourselves anyway."
Holly Beck should never have returned to her home town in rural Queensland. Despite family pressure and her own guilty conscience, she should not have gone through with the marriage to her childhood sweetheart. Now she has escaped—back to the city and the academic world she craves. But more than the founder's collection of rare books ended up in Humberstone College, and the price of this liberation may prove more than she was expecting.
Kim Wilkin's second novel, after 1997's The Infernal, is a refinement of her themes of secret history and contemporary damage, and a superior use of her Australian setting. Conveyed through three main story lines, each comprised of multiple points of view, this is a dense and complex story that only manages to integrate itself during the last few beats. The lengthy flashbacks to Victorian London may burden the whole, but result in a fascinating evocation of demonology and the processes of black magic.
To traffic with demons, in the classical tradition, is to play a dangerous game. The demon's sole interest is the damnation of the summoner's soul: it grants power only a means to this end. Damnation is an unfashionable concept these days but Holly and her fellow students—Justin and Prudence—are all close to crossing some kind of line, if only in their own estimation. Justin blames himself for the death of his mother. Prudence's loud mouth and promiscuity may seem laughable at first, but her petty revenges against her family are escalating. And then there are the professionals, members of the coven that has formed around the fragmented grimoire of Victorian magus Peter Owling. It is only when Holly encounters Christian, a victim of Owling's original attempt to grasp immortality, that any of them stand a chance of surviving.
Haunted mirrors, subterranean labyrinths, gatherings of robed ritualists—this is romping high gothic with sex oozing out of every moist crevice. Much of it is regrettable—Prudence's habits are, after all, a kind of self-abuse—but Wilkins also pulls off the interesting trick of victimising male characters through their sexuality. The scene where Justin is basically prostituted for information is as cringe-inducing as anything involving a woman. But even when describing worse horrors, Wilkin's style is delightfully readable...
for the complete review, head over to http://www.tabula-rasa.info/AusHorror...
Holly laughed a bitter laugh. "None of us can forgive ourselves anyway."
Holly Beck should never have returned to her home town in rural Queensland. Despite family pressure and her own guilty conscience, she should not have gone through with the marriage to her childhood sweetheart. Now she has escaped—back to the city and the academic world she craves. But more than the founder's collection of rare books ended up in Humberstone College, and the price of this liberation may prove more than she was expecting.
Kim Wilkin's second novel, after 1997's The Infernal, is a refinement of her themes of secret history and contemporary damage, and a superior use of her Australian setting. Conveyed through three main story lines, each comprised of multiple points of view, this is a dense and complex story that only manages to integrate itself during the last few beats. The lengthy flashbacks to Victorian London may burden the whole, but result in a fascinating evocation of demonology and the processes of black magic.
To traffic with demons, in the classical tradition, is to play a dangerous game. The demon's sole interest is the damnation of the summoner's soul: it grants power only a means to this end. Damnation is an unfashionable concept these days but Holly and her fellow students—Justin and Prudence—are all close to crossing some kind of line, if only in their own estimation. Justin blames himself for the death of his mother. Prudence's loud mouth and promiscuity may seem laughable at first, but her petty revenges against her family are escalating. And then there are the professionals, members of the coven that has formed around the fragmented grimoire of Victorian magus Peter Owling. It is only when Holly encounters Christian, a victim of Owling's original attempt to grasp immortality, that any of them stand a chance of surviving.
Haunted mirrors, subterranean labyrinths, gatherings of robed ritualists—this is romping high gothic with sex oozing out of every moist crevice. Much of it is regrettable—Prudence's habits are, after all, a kind of self-abuse—but Wilkins also pulls off the interesting trick of victimising male characters through their sexuality. The scene where Justin is basically prostituted for information is as cringe-inducing as anything involving a woman. But even when describing worse horrors, Wilkin's style is delightfully readable...
for the complete review, head over to http://www.tabula-rasa.info/AusHorror...
June 13, 2019
I must have read this book when it first came out, as I remembered single lines from it and can identify with the 1990s setting. And so it was a pleasure to read it again. Three mismatched students, each with their emotional baggage, come together in an academic space to write their dissertations. The threads of the narrative are intricately woven to include, the gathering together of an ancient grimoire consisting of four 'dark fragments', secret societies, manipulative characters, warlocks and mages, ghost lovers, and the summoning of dark forces.
There are parts in the story where the narrative slows, but the pace picks up at the end to a break-neck life or death (or afterlife or after-afterlife) peril where the characters are placed in peril and everyone gets their just desserts.
But, in all, it's a well-written and well-crafted and, in some places, truly sinister novel.
There are parts in the story where the narrative slows, but the pace picks up at the end to a break-neck life or death (or afterlife or after-afterlife) peril where the characters are placed in peril and everyone gets their just desserts.
But, in all, it's a well-written and well-crafted and, in some places, truly sinister novel.
May 3, 2020
My nineties college experience did not include the Dark Lord or sexy ghosts, but I wouldn't know about Australian colleges. A more paranormal approach to academia might explain why the three graduate students of Grimoire are so accepting of satanic rituals and ghostly sexy times. It's good fun and delightfully bonkers, but pretty dated and not in a good way. Topics of sexual assault and consent are not exactly deftly handled, and some characters behave in utterly bizarre ways (and not just because of Satan), but I did mostly enjoy it as one big "oh dear".
May 21, 2020
[3.5/5]
Ce ne fut pas une lecture extraordinaire mais pas catastrophique non plus ; l'histoire du fameux grimoire prend en réalité peu de place, on lit surtout la naissance de l'amitié entre les 3 étudiants. Kim Wilkins a vraiment, vraiment pris son temps pour développer cet aspect. C'est très bien écrit, c'est agréable à lire (certaines scènes sont quand même bien inutiles, à croire que l'autrice était en manque) mais ça ne révolutionne pas du tout le genre. Rien de neuf sous le soleil de l'enfer.
Ce ne fut pas une lecture extraordinaire mais pas catastrophique non plus ; l'histoire du fameux grimoire prend en réalité peu de place, on lit surtout la naissance de l'amitié entre les 3 étudiants. Kim Wilkins a vraiment, vraiment pris son temps pour développer cet aspect. C'est très bien écrit, c'est agréable à lire (certaines scènes sont quand même bien inutiles, à croire que l'autrice était en manque) mais ça ne révolutionne pas du tout le genre. Rien de neuf sous le soleil de l'enfer.
December 30, 2019
Düstere Geschichte über drei Freunde, die sich dämonischen Kräften stellen. Leicht zu lesen mit kreativen Ideen, streckenweise zu langatmig.
April 14, 2024
I had to buy a new one coz I my first feel apart. This was my first book I ever bought from Kim Wilkins love it
February 5, 2025
4.5 stars. Dark academia meets supernatural. It's definitely not horror, but whatever it is, it is oh so good. Already have another book lined up. Kept me intrigued right to the final page.
December 10, 2019
This story really starts back in 1867 with the unexplained and very bloody murder of a warlock named Peter Owling in London. This prologue really sets the creepy Gothic tone for the rest of the book.
Back in the now (the now being late 1990s and this is a retro read because of that) three research students in Melbourne become detectives when they discover – slowly as the story unfolds – that their research supervisors are involved in some rather mysterious activities. They are aware of the existence of the grimoire belonging to Owling and want to succeed where he failed in the quest for eternal life. Prudence is one of our researchers and is having an affair with her supervisor. Justin is related to another of the academics and Holly is coming to terms with the end of a marriage to a controlling partner. However, once they become involved with the supernatural themselves, Holly is soon involved in a rather surprising relationship. This allows her to investigate the background to Owling, the grimoire, and realise the catastrophic danger that the academics and themselves are in.
As an academic myself (but a much more sensible one I would hope!) I loved the setting of the college which really lent itself to the Gothic feel of the book. Our three researchers are very different characters, and being a heavily character-driven story really grabbed my interest; more so than the spooky side of it. I liked getting to know them, their motivations, and understanding why they had become involved in unsatisfactory relationships.
It was sufficiently scary to give me goosebumps and real fear, though I prefer the supernatural to be a little more friendly than Peter Owling and all his mates were. I am not at all sure I believe in the existence of hell and demons and having read this very descriptive piece I certainly don’t want to meet them!
The author says on her own website:
Author’s note: The two books I published prior to 2000, listed below, have the status of baby photos for me. They make me feel slightly embarrassed and juvenile. Read them if you must, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
There really is no need to think that way about this book. I thought this was a brilliant read!
Back in the now (the now being late 1990s and this is a retro read because of that) three research students in Melbourne become detectives when they discover – slowly as the story unfolds – that their research supervisors are involved in some rather mysterious activities. They are aware of the existence of the grimoire belonging to Owling and want to succeed where he failed in the quest for eternal life. Prudence is one of our researchers and is having an affair with her supervisor. Justin is related to another of the academics and Holly is coming to terms with the end of a marriage to a controlling partner. However, once they become involved with the supernatural themselves, Holly is soon involved in a rather surprising relationship. This allows her to investigate the background to Owling, the grimoire, and realise the catastrophic danger that the academics and themselves are in.
As an academic myself (but a much more sensible one I would hope!) I loved the setting of the college which really lent itself to the Gothic feel of the book. Our three researchers are very different characters, and being a heavily character-driven story really grabbed my interest; more so than the spooky side of it. I liked getting to know them, their motivations, and understanding why they had become involved in unsatisfactory relationships.
It was sufficiently scary to give me goosebumps and real fear, though I prefer the supernatural to be a little more friendly than Peter Owling and all his mates were. I am not at all sure I believe in the existence of hell and demons and having read this very descriptive piece I certainly don’t want to meet them!
The author says on her own website:
Author’s note: The two books I published prior to 2000, listed below, have the status of baby photos for me. They make me feel slightly embarrassed and juvenile. Read them if you must, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
There really is no need to think that way about this book. I thought this was a brilliant read!
July 7, 2014
The only reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is because I reserve 5 stars for authors like Sharon Penman and Robin Hobb - authors whose work I consider to be bordering on genius, but this title by my favourite Australian author is top shelf, among my favourite reads of all time.
I read this when it was first released about 15 years ago, and I've gone back to it every few years since and loved it just as much each time. In fact, I think I'm due for another re-read shortly!
While I didn't care for Holly that much as the main protagonist (she was a bit of a whiny princess), I loved Prudence and Justin - and together, they made a great trio. Their little 'night-time picnics' under the University were great fun.
The occult elements of the book were the most enjoyable and interesting for me. Especially the 18/19th century portion with Christian and Peter Owling's story. The descriptions of demons, and hell in particular, were so well done that they have remained with me all this time.
Kim Wilkins is an incredibly talented writer who deserves greater acknowledgement. I've read all of her adult horror novels - they're wonderful, but this along with Angel of Ruin, are my favourites.
If you like the occult, a splash of romance and a truly well written yarn, try and find a copy of Grimoire. Indeed, pick up anything by Kim Wilkins.
I read this when it was first released about 15 years ago, and I've gone back to it every few years since and loved it just as much each time. In fact, I think I'm due for another re-read shortly!
While I didn't care for Holly that much as the main protagonist (she was a bit of a whiny princess), I loved Prudence and Justin - and together, they made a great trio. Their little 'night-time picnics' under the University were great fun.
The occult elements of the book were the most enjoyable and interesting for me. Especially the 18/19th century portion with Christian and Peter Owling's story. The descriptions of demons, and hell in particular, were so well done that they have remained with me all this time.
Kim Wilkins is an incredibly talented writer who deserves greater acknowledgement. I've read all of her adult horror novels - they're wonderful, but this along with Angel of Ruin, are my favourites.
If you like the occult, a splash of romance and a truly well written yarn, try and find a copy of Grimoire. Indeed, pick up anything by Kim Wilkins.
September 1, 2014
2.5 stars.
While this book has a few good points, ultimately it's let down by the unlikely behaviour of its central characters.
You get the sense that the author is striving to create believably flawed protagonists, as opposed to heroes, but what ends up on the page isn't so much realism as a lack of emotional depth.
These people just left me cold. I never connected with them enough to either like or dislike them. I was never convinced that they actually felt or wanted anything, which made their choices - particularly the morally questionable ones - seem improbable.
Their final decision in particular comes out of nowhere. It doesn't make sense in the context of what they've experienced up to that point, nor does it fit with their characters as they've been portrayed throughout the rest of the novel.
I suspect that the intended reaction to their decision is "wow, gritty" but my reaction, at least, was "...why?"
While this book has a few good points, ultimately it's let down by the unlikely behaviour of its central characters.
You get the sense that the author is striving to create believably flawed protagonists, as opposed to heroes, but what ends up on the page isn't so much realism as a lack of emotional depth.
These people just left me cold. I never connected with them enough to either like or dislike them. I was never convinced that they actually felt or wanted anything, which made their choices - particularly the morally questionable ones - seem improbable.
Their final decision in particular comes out of nowhere. It doesn't make sense in the context of what they've experienced up to that point, nor does it fit with their characters as they've been portrayed throughout the rest of the novel.
I suspect that the intended reaction to their decision is "wow, gritty" but my reaction, at least, was "...why?"
January 2, 2014
Someone recommended i check out this book and i'm so glad i did. Yes, it's pulpy as all hell and 15 years old, but it really sucked me in. It's not without its flaws, a few tweaks in the plot that didn't quite parse, but i really loved the three grad student characters, perhaps because i myself was their contemporary at the time the book was set. I found myself laughing out loud several times, particularly at Prudence's banter and antics--she reminded me of several folks i knew. Also fun to follow what seemed to be authorial winks to Prudence's subcultural milieu (for example, at one point she's described as wearing a Nick Cave t-shirt, and later on mention is made of "a great undoing," which is among other things a lyric quote from one of his songs). I devoured the thing in a day and a half, so a good way to kick off the year's reading challenge.
April 7, 2013
My hand hurts from reading this book all weekend. I'm a bit out of practise reading actual books these days.
I really love Kim Wilkins' books. The characters are always easy to relate to, they never preach about morals and she always ends her books with a slight question mark.
It was obvious this was one of her first books, but it had me riveted from the first page. I wish she'd write more!
I really love Kim Wilkins' books. The characters are always easy to relate to, they never preach about morals and she always ends her books with a slight question mark.
It was obvious this was one of her first books, but it had me riveted from the first page. I wish she'd write more!
May 9, 2012
Too much romance, and not enough mystery. The author gives everything away to the reader, then makes him or her tag along for hundreds of pages while the protagonists catch up. The romance isn't even very believable.
January 26, 2010
Great book to read. Ghost story with some twists. I enjoyed it all
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June 20, 2010Double thumbs up
July 6, 2010
Lu il y a pas mal d'années, j'en garde encore un très souvenir. Je me souviens que l'histoire était assez prenante.
July 8, 2015
Loved this book! I'm going to miss not reading a few chapters before bed. I definitely recommend it!
November 14, 2015
I love Kim Wilkins works and looking forward to read more from her.
December 31, 2013
A rather spooky paranormal romance. An engaging read.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews