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The Cursed Wife
A gripping historical thriller by the author of Time's Echo, Pamela Hartshorne.
The Cursed Wife is a page-turning, psychological thriller set in Elizabethan London, by the author of Time's Echo, Pamela Hartshorne.
Mary is content with her life as wife to Gabriel Thorne, a wealthy merchant in Elizabethan London. She loves her husband and her family, is a kind mistress to the household and is well-respected in the neighbourhood. She does her best to forget that as a small girl she was cursed for causing the death of a vagrant child, a curse that predicts that she will hang. She tells herself that she is safe.
But Mary's whole life is based on a lie. She is not the woman her husband believes her to be, and when one rainy day she ventures to Cheapside, the past catches up with her and sets her on a path that leads her to the gibbet and the fulfilment of the curse.
The Cursed Wife is a page-turning, psychological thriller set in Elizabethan London, by the author of Time's Echo, Pamela Hartshorne.
Mary is content with her life as wife to Gabriel Thorne, a wealthy merchant in Elizabethan London. She loves her husband and her family, is a kind mistress to the household and is well-respected in the neighbourhood. She does her best to forget that as a small girl she was cursed for causing the death of a vagrant child, a curse that predicts that she will hang. She tells herself that she is safe.
But Mary's whole life is based on a lie. She is not the woman her husband believes her to be, and when one rainy day she ventures to Cheapside, the past catches up with her and sets her on a path that leads her to the gibbet and the fulfilment of the curse.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2018
25 people are currently reading
581 people want to read
About the author
Pamela Hartshorne
18 books184 followersAfter a haphazard early career spent working and travelling around the world, I started writing romance in order to fund a PhD in Medieval Studies. Naturally, that didn't turn out to be quite the easy option I thought it would be, but I did in the end complete a thesis on the street and the perception of public space in later medieval and early modern York in 2004. My research formed the basis of TIME'S ECHO, and many of the individuals I encountered in the records of Elizabethan York appear in the novel.
I'm fascinated by the relationship between the past and the present and have always enjoyed 'time slip' novels and how they explore the possibility that it might be possible to go back in time and see what it was "really like". As a trained historian, I know that could never be possible, but as a storyteller, I find the premise irresistible ...
I still live in York and continue to write romances as Jessica Hart in tandem with time slip novels for Pan Macmillan - and yes I *do* often get confused by my split identities!
If you'd like to sign up for an occasional newsletter for news, offers, books for review and so on, please do email me at pamela@pamelahartshorne.com
I'm fascinated by the relationship between the past and the present and have always enjoyed 'time slip' novels and how they explore the possibility that it might be possible to go back in time and see what it was "really like". As a trained historian, I know that could never be possible, but as a storyteller, I find the premise irresistible ...
I still live in York and continue to write romances as Jessica Hart in tandem with time slip novels for Pan Macmillan - and yes I *do* often get confused by my split identities!
If you'd like to sign up for an occasional newsletter for news, offers, books for review and so on, please do email me at pamela@pamelahartshorne.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
April 18, 2018
Atmospheric, gritty, and haunting!
The Cursed Wife is a well-paced, historical thriller set in England in the late 1600s that's told from two different perspectives. Mary, a considerate, helpful, young woman with a past steeped in misfortune and deception. And Cat, a selfish, unscrupulous young lady driven by impulsiveness and jealousy.
The writing is immersive and eerie. The characters are tormented, hardened, and resourceful. And the plot, using a back-and-forth style is evocative, taut, and twisty from the very first page until the spine-chilling ending you won't see coming.
The Cursed Wife is an intriguingly dark and sinister novel that sweeps you back in time and transports you from the opulent manor houses found in the English countryside to the dingy, dangerous London docks in an engrossing tale rife with desperation, survival, manipulation, abuse, deviance, violence, class disparity, and murder.
Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at https://whatsbetterthanbooks.com
The Cursed Wife is a well-paced, historical thriller set in England in the late 1600s that's told from two different perspectives. Mary, a considerate, helpful, young woman with a past steeped in misfortune and deception. And Cat, a selfish, unscrupulous young lady driven by impulsiveness and jealousy.
The writing is immersive and eerie. The characters are tormented, hardened, and resourceful. And the plot, using a back-and-forth style is evocative, taut, and twisty from the very first page until the spine-chilling ending you won't see coming.
The Cursed Wife is an intriguingly dark and sinister novel that sweeps you back in time and transports you from the opulent manor houses found in the English countryside to the dingy, dangerous London docks in an engrossing tale rife with desperation, survival, manipulation, abuse, deviance, violence, class disparity, and murder.
Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at https://whatsbetterthanbooks.com
February 20, 2020
Να και η πρώτη απογοήτευση της χρονιάς
Ψυχολογικό θρίλερ λέει, κοινωνικό δράμα θα ελεγα.
Επίσης στο μισό βιβλίο την ονομάζει Μαίρη στην επικεφαλίδα και Μερι μες το κείμενο.
Ψυχολογικό θρίλερ λέει, κοινωνικό δράμα θα ελεγα.
Επίσης στο μισό βιβλίο την ονομάζει Μαίρη στην επικεφαλίδα και Μερι μες το κείμενο.
March 2, 2021
I chose this one to listen to today as it’s been on my backlist forever.
I saw it on my library audio so downloaded it as I knew I had things to do today so listening would be better as I’m trying to read through some books I’ve had in an age (you readers know what I mean)
I found this doomy and gloomy.
A lot of the sequences didn’t make sense, it was quite choppy and disjointed in places.
My mind was trying to keep up, maybe it was the narrator or was it me?
So tonight I read the final couple of chapters on my Kindle.
Slightly better as I could interpret the writing differed than the narrators input on it.
It was ok, but not impactful on me.
The historical aspect was good though from the 1500’s.
I saw it on my library audio so downloaded it as I knew I had things to do today so listening would be better as I’m trying to read through some books I’ve had in an age (you readers know what I mean)
I found this doomy and gloomy.
A lot of the sequences didn’t make sense, it was quite choppy and disjointed in places.
My mind was trying to keep up, maybe it was the narrator or was it me?
So tonight I read the final couple of chapters on my Kindle.
Slightly better as I could interpret the writing differed than the narrators input on it.
It was ok, but not impactful on me.
The historical aspect was good though from the 1500’s.
June 11, 2024
Όταν διάβασα για πρώτη φορά την ανακοίνωση της κυκλοφορίας του βιβλίου "Η καταραμένη σύζυγος", δεν σας κρύβω πως νόμιζα πως αφορούσε έναν ακόμα τίτλο των εκδόσεων Elxis. Και όμως, όταν το ξαναδιάβασα λίγο πιο προσεχτικά, κατάλαβα πως αφορούσε μια νέα κυκλοφορία των εκδόσεων Διόπτρα και μάλιστα σε ένα είδος που δεν βλέπουμε και πολύ συχνά στη χώρα μας. Αυτό του ιστορικού θρίλερ. Ομολογώ πως ξαφνιάστηκα αρκετά, αλλά την ίδια στιγμή ένιωσα μεγάλη χαρά κι ενθουσιασμό, αφού πρόκειται για ένα είδος που ναι μεν αγαπώ πολύ, αλλά που δεν έχω συχνά την ευκαιρία να βρίσκεται στα χέρια μου. Και πραγματικά, όσο υποσχόμενο φαινόταν να είναι, τόσο αποδείχθηκε και στην πράξη.
Η ιστορία μας μεταφέρει στην Αγγλία του 1600. Εκεί συναντάμε τη Μαίρη, που ζει μια καλή κι ευτυχισμένη ζωή στο πλευρό του ευκατάστατου εμπόρου συζύγου της, Γκάμπριελ. Όμως, η Μαίρη, κρύβει ένα μυστικό των παιδικών της χρόνων, το οποίο έχει προσπαθήσει πολύ για να το θάψει, τόσο μέσα της, όσο και στα μάτια των άλλων, προσπαθώντας να χτίσει μια φυσιολογική ζωή. Βλέπετε, όταν ήταν παιδί, την είχαν καταραστεί να πεθάνει δια απαγχονισμού, όταν κατηγορήθηκε για τον θάνατο ενός άστεγου παιδιού. Όταν, όμως, θα επισκεφτεί το Λονδίνο, θα συνειδητοποιήσει πως όσα νόμιζε πως είχε αφήσει πίσω της δεν έχουν ξεχαστεί, και πως η κατάρα που της έριξαν έρχεται να εκπληρωθεί, σαν προφητεία που περίμενε καιρό να φτάσει η σωστή στιγμή για να πραγματωθεί.
Η Hartshorne αφηγείται την ιστορία της με τρόπο που μπορεί να χαρακτηριστεί εντυπωσιακός κι εξαιρετικά τρομακτικός.Η αμφίδρομη αφήγηση, που μας ταξιδεύει μπρος και πίσω στον χρόνο, μας επιτρέπει να έχουμε μια ολοκληρωμένη εικόνα του παρελθόντος της Μαίρης, το οποίο την έχει φέρει αντιμέτωπη με αυτό το ακραία δύσκολο και τραγικό παρόν που καλείται να ξεπληρώσει όσα χρωστάει απέναντι στην ίδια τη ζωή, αλλά και να κάνουμε άπειρες εικασίες για το τι πραγματικά εξελίσσεται πίσω από τις σκιές, χωρίς, ωστόσο, να μπορούμε να φανταστούμε τι θα φέρει το μέλλον. Και πιστέψτε με, όσα σενάρια κι αν περάσουν από το μυαλό σας, αυτό που φέρνει το ανατριχιαστικό φινάλε του βιβλίου αυτού είναι το τελευταίο που θα φανταζόσασταν.
Μπορεί στο σήμερα να σκεφτόμαστε πως οι κατάρες δεν είναι τίποτα περισσότερο από δεισιδαιμονίες, όμως, αν αναλογιστούμε τις κοινωνικές συνθήκες και τις αντιλήψεις που επικρατούσαν στην Ελισαβετιανή εποχή, όλα βγάζουν νόημα. Σήμερα μπορεί μια κατάρα απλά να μας τάραζε στιγμιαία, όμως κάποτε ήταν αρκετή για να καθορίσει τη ζωή κάποιου, τον δρόμο που αυτή θα έπαιρνε στην πορεία της, αλλά και τις επιπτώσεις που θα είχε στο άτομο το οποίο και αφορούσε, τόσο συναισθηματικά όσο και ηθικά. Όλα αυτά, λοιπόν, είναι που η συγγραφέας καταφέρνει να αποδώσει με απόλυτο ρεαλισμό και να μας παρασύρει σε ένα χωροχρονικό ταξίδι που η πραγματικότητα συναντά το μεταφυσικό για να συγκρουστεί μαζί του. Και όταν όλα αυτά "ντύνονται" με μια γλαφυρή και παραστατική απεικόνιση που εκτός από συναισθήματα γεννά μέσα εικόνες, σαν να βρισκόμαστε κι εμείς σε αυτά τα λιθόστρωτα μονοπάτια του τότε που είναι γεμάτα απειλές και θάνατο, όλα αυτά γιγαντώνονται ακόμα περισσότερο.
"Η καταραμένη σύζυγος" είναι ένα βιβλίο που περιέχει τα πάντα. Ένα καθηλωτικό κι ατμοσφαιρικό σκηνικό δράσης, πολύ καλοδουλεμένους χαρακτήρες στα ψυχογραφήματα των οποίων, η συγγραφέας, έχει εμβαθύνει απίστευτα, μια σκοτεινή ιστορία γεμάτη μυστικά, ψέματα, ίντριγκες και δολοπλοκίες, μια απειλητική κατάρα που πλανιέται πάνω από το κεφάλι της Μαίρης και απειλεί, τόσο την ίδια όσο και την οικογένειά της, σαρωτική βία και δολοφονίες που σου παγώνουν το αίμα, μα και μομφές απέναντι στα ήθη και στις αντιλήψεις μιας εποχής όπου επικρατούσε ο σκοταδισμός, οι ταξικές ανισότητες και που το να βρεις τη θέση που σου αναλογεί στην κοινωνία και στη ζωή δεν ήταν απλή υπόθεση, αλλά κάτι για το οποίο έπρεπε να παλέψεις. Κι αν ήσουν διαφορετικός ή αδικημένος από τη μοίρα, ακόμα περισσότερο. Διαβάστε το και δεν θα χάσετε.
Η ιστορία μας μεταφέρει στην Αγγλία του 1600. Εκεί συναντάμε τη Μαίρη, που ζει μια καλή κι ευτυχισμένη ζωή στο πλευρό του ευκατάστατου εμπόρου συζύγου της, Γκάμπριελ. Όμως, η Μαίρη, κρύβει ένα μυστικό των παιδικών της χρόνων, το οποίο έχει προσπαθήσει πολύ για να το θάψει, τόσο μέσα της, όσο και στα μάτια των άλλων, προσπαθώντας να χτίσει μια φυσιολογική ζωή. Βλέπετε, όταν ήταν παιδί, την είχαν καταραστεί να πεθάνει δια απαγχονισμού, όταν κατηγορήθηκε για τον θάνατο ενός άστεγου παιδιού. Όταν, όμως, θα επισκεφτεί το Λονδίνο, θα συνειδητοποιήσει πως όσα νόμιζε πως είχε αφήσει πίσω της δεν έχουν ξεχαστεί, και πως η κατάρα που της έριξαν έρχεται να εκπληρωθεί, σαν προφητεία που περίμενε καιρό να φτάσει η σωστή στιγμή για να πραγματωθεί.
Η Hartshorne αφηγείται την ιστορία της με τρόπο που μπορεί να χαρακτηριστεί εντυπωσιακός κι εξαιρετικά τρομακτικός.Η αμφίδρομη αφήγηση, που μας ταξιδεύει μπρος και πίσω στον χρόνο, μας επιτρέπει να έχουμε μια ολοκληρωμένη εικόνα του παρελθόντος της Μαίρης, το οποίο την έχει φέρει αντιμέτωπη με αυτό το ακραία δύσκολο και τραγικό παρόν που καλείται να ξεπληρώσει όσα χρωστάει απέναντι στην ίδια τη ζωή, αλλά και να κάνουμε άπειρες εικασίες για το τι πραγματικά εξελίσσεται πίσω από τις σκιές, χωρίς, ωστόσο, να μπορούμε να φανταστούμε τι θα φέρει το μέλλον. Και πιστέψτε με, όσα σενάρια κι αν περάσουν από το μυαλό σας, αυτό που φέρνει το ανατριχιαστικό φινάλε του βιβλίου αυτού είναι το τελευταίο που θα φανταζόσασταν.
Μπορεί στο σήμερα να σκεφτόμαστε πως οι κατάρες δεν είναι τίποτα περισσότερο από δεισιδαιμονίες, όμως, αν αναλογιστούμε τις κοινωνικές συνθήκες και τις αντιλήψεις που επικρατούσαν στην Ελισαβετιανή εποχή, όλα βγάζουν νόημα. Σήμερα μπορεί μια κατάρα απλά να μας τάραζε στιγμιαία, όμως κάποτε ήταν αρκετή για να καθορίσει τη ζωή κάποιου, τον δρόμο που αυτή θα έπαιρνε στην πορεία της, αλλά και τις επιπτώσεις που θα είχε στο άτομο το οποίο και αφορούσε, τόσο συναισθηματικά όσο και ηθικά. Όλα αυτά, λοιπόν, είναι που η συγγραφέας καταφέρνει να αποδώσει με απόλυτο ρεαλισμό και να μας παρασύρει σε ένα χωροχρονικό ταξίδι που η πραγματικότητα συναντά το μεταφυσικό για να συγκρουστεί μαζί του. Και όταν όλα αυτά "ντύνονται" με μια γλαφυρή και παραστατική απεικόνιση που εκτός από συναισθήματα γεννά μέσα εικόνες, σαν να βρισκόμαστε κι εμείς σε αυτά τα λιθόστρωτα μονοπάτια του τότε που είναι γεμάτα απειλές και θάνατο, όλα αυτά γιγαντώνονται ακόμα περισσότερο.
"Η καταραμένη σύζυγος" είναι ένα βιβλίο που περιέχει τα πάντα. Ένα καθηλωτικό κι ατμοσφαιρικό σκηνικό δράσης, πολύ καλοδουλεμένους χαρακτήρες στα ψυχογραφήματα των οποίων, η συγγραφέας, έχει εμβαθύνει απίστευτα, μια σκοτεινή ιστορία γεμάτη μυστικά, ψέματα, ίντριγκες και δολοπλοκίες, μια απειλητική κατάρα που πλανιέται πάνω από το κεφάλι της Μαίρης και απειλεί, τόσο την ίδια όσο και την οικογένειά της, σαρωτική βία και δολοφονίες που σου παγώνουν το αίμα, μα και μομφές απέναντι στα ήθη και στις αντιλήψεις μιας εποχής όπου επικρατούσε ο σκοταδισμός, οι ταξικές ανισότητες και που το να βρεις τη θέση που σου αναλογεί στην κοινωνία και στη ζωή δεν ήταν απλή υπόθεση, αλλά κάτι για το οποίο έπρεπε να παλέψεις. Κι αν ήσουν διαφορετικός ή αδικημένος από τη μοίρα, ακόμα περισσότερο. Διαβάστε το και δεν θα χάσετε.
March 8, 2018
Visit the locations in the novel TheBookTrail.com
A great historical read
In fact this novel is going to linger for me. It’s a new direction for the author as there's no time slip but a very evocative story set in the past. A direction I hope she repeats!
Two brilliantly strong lead characters and what it meant at the time if you were trying to escape a childhood curse.....
Yup really enjoyed this one.
Two great characters in this one and both with voices in the past. Mary and Cat were once like sisters but life separates them and sends them on different paths. The story and mystery depends a lot on the social habits and ideas at the time, how curses were seen as having a real impact on your life, behaviour and how they could control your life. Superstition it might be, but life depended on these kinds of thought processes at the time and this novel really brings this out.
As well as the detail on the mores of the time, there’s also happily what Pamela does so well – evocative descriptions of cobbled streets, market squares, and the gaps between rich and poor. Oh and there’s the food! So much variety and a great way of learning about the habits and traditions then.
As with any story of a curse, there’s a definite level of creepiness in the story and this is deftly threaded throughout the story. Mary is a character to watch and I felt I’d been on the entire journey with her – dizzying thoughts of what might happen to her and everything!
Oh and I won’t forget Peg in a hurry. In fact this novel is going to linger for me. It’s a new direction for the author but one I hope she repeats!
April 4, 2018
The Cursed Wife is touted as an Elizabethan psychological thriller and is my first book by author Pamela Hartshorne. The era was interesting, but I would call this more of a gloomy Historical Fiction read with a titch of suspense and a slight creep factor.
At times, I was engaged in the lives of Cat and Mary, two very different women living in Elizabethan England. But, more often than not, I found the pacing choppy, the writing repetitive (due to Mary and Cat retelling their sides of the same story) and Mary was frustratingly naïve. The reader knows what's going on but much of the book is spent waiting for Mary to finally catch on to what is obviously happening in her own home.
Mary and Cat had a dysfunctional, ruthless, obsessive rivalry. Neither are overly likable at any point in time but at least Cat added some nastiness while Mary just obsessed over her creepy wooden doll and fed into her self-fulfilling prophecy regarding the curse.
I think this book would have been better as a novella. In a shorter format, I think it could have packed more of a punch. Instead, it's a gloomy look at an obsessive and destructive relationship that wasn't suspenseful enough, lacked a strong ending and, unfortunately, won't be a book that stays with me long.
Disclaimer: This Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) was generously provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
At times, I was engaged in the lives of Cat and Mary, two very different women living in Elizabethan England. But, more often than not, I found the pacing choppy, the writing repetitive (due to Mary and Cat retelling their sides of the same story) and Mary was frustratingly naïve. The reader knows what's going on but much of the book is spent waiting for Mary to finally catch on to what is obviously happening in her own home.
Mary and Cat had a dysfunctional, ruthless, obsessive rivalry. Neither are overly likable at any point in time but at least Cat added some nastiness while Mary just obsessed over her creepy wooden doll and fed into her self-fulfilling prophecy regarding the curse.
I think this book would have been better as a novella. In a shorter format, I think it could have packed more of a punch. Instead, it's a gloomy look at an obsessive and destructive relationship that wasn't suspenseful enough, lacked a strong ending and, unfortunately, won't be a book that stays with me long.
Disclaimer: This Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) was generously provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
March 20, 2020
Όχι και η καλύτερη επιλογή.Δεν νομίζω ότι θα επανέλθω σε βιβλία της συγκεκριμένης συγγραφέως.
January 28, 2022
Καλή ιστορία που ξεκίνησε πολύ δυνατά αλλά κάπου χαλάρωσε... Ενδιαφέρουσα παντως
October 25, 2018
I cannot really say I enjoyed this story. I just hate injustice. As has already been said, the story is based around the entwined stories of two women who have been extremely close since childhood. These two strong characters, one always striving to be "good", the other selfish and spoilt. I could not feel anything much except anger. I did not like that.
However, the author did a great job with the writing if I had such a strong reaction. Great idea, well conceived, but not enjoyable for me. Mind you, I did not read it but listened to an audio which, I thought, well acted.
However, the author did a great job with the writing if I had such a strong reaction. Great idea, well conceived, but not enjoyable for me. Mind you, I did not read it but listened to an audio which, I thought, well acted.
November 6, 2019
Βαρετό και με τόσα πολλά κλισέ.....
October 18, 2019
Check out this review and more on my blog!
I received an eARC of The Cursed Wife from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
TW: I will be discussing sexual assault in this review.
Tell me a book is a thriller set in Elizabethan England and it’s a book I want to get my hands on. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy The Cursed Wife as much as I thought I would.
This novel has a lot of potential. Mary lives in Elizabethan London with her merchant husband, their children and their servants, but that’s not the name they know her by. To them, Mary is Catherine; a noblewoman who joined their household years before as a widow with an infant daughter.
After an accident in Mary’s youth, she has convinced herself she’s been cursed and is going to end her life on the gallows. When she’s unexpectedly reunited with her childhood friend, Cat, who knows her secret, things begin to spiral out of control.
The Cursed Wife is fairly short as historical fiction goes – my edition is just under 250 pages – so it’s a quick read, which works for the kind of novel that it’s trying to be. I love a good chunky book, but I tend to prefer shorter thrillers because it’s hard to maintain the suspense throughout 400 pages of novel, and The Cursed Wife gets into the nitty gritty of the story almost immediately.
It doesn’t hurt that Hartshorne’s writing is very readable. There were certain ways in which she brought the Elizabethan era to life, whether it was mentioning a certain type of clothing or how Mary bought her goods at the marketplace, that I really enjoyed, but I can’t say I felt like I was in London. I’m not actually the biggest fan of London as a setting simply because it’s probably the most used setting when it comes to books set in the UK – especially historical fiction – and I’d much rather read about somewhere else, but if an author is going to choose London as their setting I’d like to feel like I’m in London.
Personally I felt like The Cursed Wife could have been set anywhere, and with Mary as a prosperous merchant’s wife I got more of a Netherlands feel than a London feel, which just goes to show how much of an impact the setting in Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist had on me.
My biggest problem with this novel, though, was the characters. Mary I liked; my favourite parts of the novel were the quiet, domestic scenes when she shared what her duties were as a wife and mother. In a way I wish Hartshorne had written a historical romance novel because I was so intrigued by the relationship between Mary and her husband, Gabriel, and I’d’ve been happy to read 250 pages of Mary pottering about her house because the domestic scenes were the scenes Hartshorne wrote best.
Instead we have a historical thriller about the toxic relationship between Mary and Cat and, honestly, I found the whole thing incredibly frustrating. It’s easy to see where the novel’s going; from the prologue we know one of the women is dead by the end of the novel and it’s easy to see how we get to that turn of events fairly early on. I wouldn’t have a problem with that if it was done well, but I found it hard to believe that Mary could be so naive.
On top of that, Cat is awful. I love unlikable women so Cat should have been the kind of character I could get behind, especially because I’m sure we’re not supposed to warm to her, but she’s not unlikable – she’s just plain nasty. Hartshorne tries to make us understand her, and there are things she goes through that will make any reader empathise with her, but for the most part she’s horrid to the point of feeling like a caricature rather than a character. I couldn’t understand how Mary didn’t see right through her.
I’m so bored of historical fiction involving women being mean to each other and sexual assault. Sexual assault is an important topic and there are so many authors who handle it brilliantly, but I didn’t like how it was handled here. There’s a fairly graphic scene of sexual assault – by which I mean the whole event is described to us, rather than hinted at – so please keep that in mind if you find that kind of content difficult to read.
What frustrated me, though, is that the man who carries out the assault is yet another caricature I often see in historical fiction and, while I don’t doubt that men like him did (and still do) exist, I think it’s lazy to fall back on this trope. Anyone who has experienced sexual assault has dealt with it in a different way, and I don’t want to suggest for a moment that the way Mary overcomes it is disingenuous, but it seemed brushed under the carpet far too easily for the sake of the plot.
Later, when Mary is happily married, she tells the reader how passionately she and Gabriel love one another. Considering we got a full description of her assault, I think it’s a shame we didn’t get a whole scene of her having happy, consensual sex with her husband. Not only to take the sting out of how horrid that earlier scene is to read, but also because there was the chance there for Hartshorne to explore how Gabriel makes sex safe and enjoyable for her when her only previous experience has been violent.
Sadly there’s no time for any of this nuance because the plot rushes along so quickly that the characters are running to keep up. They tell the reader a lot of things to make up for the fact that Hartshorne has no time to show it, so by the time the novel reaches its conclusion I was left rather underwhelmed. What’s most frustrating is that there are the bones of a really good novel in here, but it’s not the novel we get.
Ultimately I wish Hartshorne had given me a historical romance about Mary and Gabriel, the only characters in the book who actually feel real, rather than a thriller about women’s friendship turned sour. Women being unnecessarily mean to one another in a setting that’s already inherently misogynist is not something I’m interested in reading anymore.
I received an eARC of The Cursed Wife from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
TW: I will be discussing sexual assault in this review.
Tell me a book is a thriller set in Elizabethan England and it’s a book I want to get my hands on. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy The Cursed Wife as much as I thought I would.
This novel has a lot of potential. Mary lives in Elizabethan London with her merchant husband, their children and their servants, but that’s not the name they know her by. To them, Mary is Catherine; a noblewoman who joined their household years before as a widow with an infant daughter.
After an accident in Mary’s youth, she has convinced herself she’s been cursed and is going to end her life on the gallows. When she’s unexpectedly reunited with her childhood friend, Cat, who knows her secret, things begin to spiral out of control.
The Cursed Wife is fairly short as historical fiction goes – my edition is just under 250 pages – so it’s a quick read, which works for the kind of novel that it’s trying to be. I love a good chunky book, but I tend to prefer shorter thrillers because it’s hard to maintain the suspense throughout 400 pages of novel, and The Cursed Wife gets into the nitty gritty of the story almost immediately.
It doesn’t hurt that Hartshorne’s writing is very readable. There were certain ways in which she brought the Elizabethan era to life, whether it was mentioning a certain type of clothing or how Mary bought her goods at the marketplace, that I really enjoyed, but I can’t say I felt like I was in London. I’m not actually the biggest fan of London as a setting simply because it’s probably the most used setting when it comes to books set in the UK – especially historical fiction – and I’d much rather read about somewhere else, but if an author is going to choose London as their setting I’d like to feel like I’m in London.
Personally I felt like The Cursed Wife could have been set anywhere, and with Mary as a prosperous merchant’s wife I got more of a Netherlands feel than a London feel, which just goes to show how much of an impact the setting in Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist had on me.
My biggest problem with this novel, though, was the characters. Mary I liked; my favourite parts of the novel were the quiet, domestic scenes when she shared what her duties were as a wife and mother. In a way I wish Hartshorne had written a historical romance novel because I was so intrigued by the relationship between Mary and her husband, Gabriel, and I’d’ve been happy to read 250 pages of Mary pottering about her house because the domestic scenes were the scenes Hartshorne wrote best.
Instead we have a historical thriller about the toxic relationship between Mary and Cat and, honestly, I found the whole thing incredibly frustrating. It’s easy to see where the novel’s going; from the prologue we know one of the women is dead by the end of the novel and it’s easy to see how we get to that turn of events fairly early on. I wouldn’t have a problem with that if it was done well, but I found it hard to believe that Mary could be so naive.
On top of that, Cat is awful. I love unlikable women so Cat should have been the kind of character I could get behind, especially because I’m sure we’re not supposed to warm to her, but she’s not unlikable – she’s just plain nasty. Hartshorne tries to make us understand her, and there are things she goes through that will make any reader empathise with her, but for the most part she’s horrid to the point of feeling like a caricature rather than a character. I couldn’t understand how Mary didn’t see right through her.
I’m so bored of historical fiction involving women being mean to each other and sexual assault. Sexual assault is an important topic and there are so many authors who handle it brilliantly, but I didn’t like how it was handled here. There’s a fairly graphic scene of sexual assault – by which I mean the whole event is described to us, rather than hinted at – so please keep that in mind if you find that kind of content difficult to read.
What frustrated me, though, is that the man who carries out the assault is yet another caricature I often see in historical fiction and, while I don’t doubt that men like him did (and still do) exist, I think it’s lazy to fall back on this trope. Anyone who has experienced sexual assault has dealt with it in a different way, and I don’t want to suggest for a moment that the way Mary overcomes it is disingenuous, but it seemed brushed under the carpet far too easily for the sake of the plot.
Later, when Mary is happily married, she tells the reader how passionately she and Gabriel love one another. Considering we got a full description of her assault, I think it’s a shame we didn’t get a whole scene of her having happy, consensual sex with her husband. Not only to take the sting out of how horrid that earlier scene is to read, but also because there was the chance there for Hartshorne to explore how Gabriel makes sex safe and enjoyable for her when her only previous experience has been violent.
Sadly there’s no time for any of this nuance because the plot rushes along so quickly that the characters are running to keep up. They tell the reader a lot of things to make up for the fact that Hartshorne has no time to show it, so by the time the novel reaches its conclusion I was left rather underwhelmed. What’s most frustrating is that there are the bones of a really good novel in here, but it’s not the novel we get.
Ultimately I wish Hartshorne had given me a historical romance about Mary and Gabriel, the only characters in the book who actually feel real, rather than a thriller about women’s friendship turned sour. Women being unnecessarily mean to one another in a setting that’s already inherently misogynist is not something I’m interested in reading anymore.
July 9, 2018
Atmospheric, fast-paced, addictive. Once I started I couldn’t stop reading, I finished it in a few hours!
I wrote a Q/A review for my blog. If you are interested in reading it, here's the link:
http://flyhigh-by-learnonline.blogspo...
I wrote a Q/A review for my blog. If you are interested in reading it, here's the link:
http://flyhigh-by-learnonline.blogspo...
November 13, 2019
3,5 αστεράκια για αυτό το πολύ ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο που διαδραματίζεται στην ελισσαβετιανή Αγγλία και αποτελείται από τους μονολόγους δύο γυναικών της Μέρρυ και της Κατ, που η μοίρα τις ένωσε από παιδιά και εναλλάσσονταν οι ρόλοι της κυράς και της υπηρέτριας μεταξύ τους. Οι μονόλογοι αυτοί περιέχουν τις μύχιες σκέψεις τους και μας πληροφορούν όχι μόνο για την κατάσταση και την εξέλιξή της αλλά και για το παρελθόν των δύο γυναικών και την αλληλοεπίδραση της μιας στη ζωή της άλλης καθώς και για τη στάση της μιας απέναντι στην άλλη. Το βιβλίο είναι γεμάτο από σκηνές που μου έκοβαν την ανάσα (σε ψυχολογικό επίπεδο) και που με γέμιζαν τρόμο είτε λόγω της κατάστασης που περιέγραφαν είτε για την στάση και την ψυχολογία της ηρωίδας που αφηγούταν κάτι. Η Κατ είναι φαινόμενο εγωισμού και φιλαυτίας σε σημείο σοκαριστικό. Αν επρόκειτο για σύγχρονη ηρωίδα, θα είχαμε να της αποδώσουμε κάποιο σύνδρομο (μάλλον του sociopath) και θα τη στέλναμε για ψυχοθεραπεία. Η Μέρρυ είναι περισσότερο θύμα των καταστάσεων που όμως και αυτή θα φτάσει στα άκρα για να προστατεύσει αυτό που θεωρεί μυστικό ενώ δεν είναι. Και το επιστέγασμα έρχεται με το τελευταίο κεφάλαιο του βιβλίου που ανήκει στην κόρη Σέσιλι, η οποία έχει κληρονομήσει αμφότερα τα κακά από τις δύο γυναίκες.
August 8, 2019
Μου άρεσε πολύ λόγω της ωραίας γραφής και της αφήγησης σε α πρόσωπο που έρρεε σαν νεράκι. Η αφήγηση εναλλασσόταν σχεδόν αποκλειστικά μεταξύ των 2 κύριων προσώπων της ιστορίας ξετυλίγοντας χαρακτήρες και πάθη και καταλήγοντας στο μέχρι που μπορεί να φτάσει ο άνθρωπος ώστε να αποκτήσει αυτό που θέλει η για να προστατεύσει τα αγαπημένα του πρόσωπα. Η κατάρα κρέμεται πάνω από το κεφάλι της ηρωίδας μεχρι το τέλος κάνοντας σε να αναρωτιέσαι αν είναι ολοκληρωτικά δέσμια της η αν θα μπορέσει τελικά να γλυτώσει απ αυτήν.
December 15, 2017
Set in the 1590’s London the story is told from the very different view points of 2 women, Mary and Cat, once like sisters but now accomplices to the murder of Cats husband and worlds apart until fate brings them back together changing their lives yet agin.
There is a lot of attention to detail in the descriptions of the streets of London and the parlours of the upper class, there is one part that especially stands out for me for the authenticity and that was the preparations that the household went to for a grand party. The food made me feel a wee bit queasy! Roasted Porpoise!! Yuck! I’d never heard that one before, mind you I did have a bit of a blonde moment and for some reason I thought that was a hedgehog!! The only explanation i can offer in my defence was that it was about 4am and I’d had no sleep! 🙂
Anyway, after googling roast porpoise I now know that is a type of whale that looks similar to a dolphin. And who said reading fiction novels can’t be educational!
As for the 2 protagonists they are both fascinating and a little bit sinister in their own individual and combined personalities. A psychiatrist would have a field day with these 2. The story line with the curse is threaded throughout the entire story along with an old wooden doll that’s plain creepy!
This book offers so much as well as being a historical novel, there is elements of romance, mystery, thriller, crime and even a twist of the paranormal. So all in all this will definitely appeal to a wide variety of audience.
I think House of Shadows is still my favourite of Pamela Hartshorne’s novels but this one is almost up there with it. If you have read her previous books then you will enjoy this one and it is most certainly one to look out for.
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely positively YES!
One to put on everyone’s TBR list!
There is a lot of attention to detail in the descriptions of the streets of London and the parlours of the upper class, there is one part that especially stands out for me for the authenticity and that was the preparations that the household went to for a grand party. The food made me feel a wee bit queasy! Roasted Porpoise!! Yuck! I’d never heard that one before, mind you I did have a bit of a blonde moment and for some reason I thought that was a hedgehog!! The only explanation i can offer in my defence was that it was about 4am and I’d had no sleep! 🙂
Anyway, after googling roast porpoise I now know that is a type of whale that looks similar to a dolphin. And who said reading fiction novels can’t be educational!
As for the 2 protagonists they are both fascinating and a little bit sinister in their own individual and combined personalities. A psychiatrist would have a field day with these 2. The story line with the curse is threaded throughout the entire story along with an old wooden doll that’s plain creepy!
This book offers so much as well as being a historical novel, there is elements of romance, mystery, thriller, crime and even a twist of the paranormal. So all in all this will definitely appeal to a wide variety of audience.
I think House of Shadows is still my favourite of Pamela Hartshorne’s novels but this one is almost up there with it. If you have read her previous books then you will enjoy this one and it is most certainly one to look out for.
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely positively YES!
One to put on everyone’s TBR list!
May 30, 2018
London 1590. ‘The Cursed Wife’ by Pamela Hartshorne starts with two un-named women in a room; one alive, one dead. And then follows the story of two women who meet as children, Cat and Mary, mistress and maid. Page by twisting page the story of Cat and Mary unfolds as, you can’t help but wonder, which one dies and which lives.
Mistress Mary Thorne sometimes forgets she is cursed. It is 1590 and she steps out into the rain to buy herbs for an ill maid, little knowing her life will be changed. Two stories are told in parallel; from 1562 when the two girls first meet, and 1590 when their paths cross again in London. There is a tug of power between the two as fortunes rise and fall; Cat is envious of what Mary has, while Mary feels guilt at every small slight she has made in her life.
In 1562, Mary is a gentleman’s daughter; orphaned by sickness, she is put into a cart to be taken to the house of a distant cousin where she has been offered shelter. Her solace is Peg, the small wooden doll given to her by her father. When a mob of urchins sets on the cart, one girl grabs Peg and in her haste Mary pushes her. The girl falls and dies. An old woman who sees it happen, curses Mary saying the truth of what she has done will haunt her for the rest of her life. Mary arrives at Steeple Tew, the manor of her relations, and there meets the daughter of the house, Cat. Mary is to be her maid. The two girls become companions, though a pecking order is retained as they grow into young women, until sickness again enforces a change of circumstances.
This is a novel about social mobility, up as well as down, and adjusting to life’s events. It is about destiny; making your own, or expecting it as a right. Cat is an over-indulged child who becomes a spoiled young woman used to everything in life. Though is too simplistic to say Cat is selfish and Mary a saint, you do feel that Cat will always be dissatisfied with her lot. Mary thinks, “Cat sees the world not through a window as others do, but in a looking glass that reflects back what she wishes to see.”
This is a dark tale of bitterness, blame, jealousy and resentment. The two girls are mirror images of each other, but inverted; both start as gentleman’s daughters, both are brought low by circumstances, one adapts, the other does not. This is a curiously modern novel with a young woman confident of her entitlement, regardless of her actions and choices. Everyone, the story makes clear, has choices and must live by those, accepting responsibility for one’s own life.
Hartshorne is a brilliant writer of atmosphere. When Cat marries George, the two girls move to Haverley Court. Though it is newly-built, Mary sees threats everywhere. “To me, the house was a living creature, watching me slyly. Its shadows tiptoed behind me as I walked through it. I would feel them like a breath on the back of my neck and my skin would prickle.” Adding to the haunted atmosphere is the doll Peg, a kind of bellwether, whose painted face changes its expression forewarning of events happening to Mary.
The Elizabethan setting is full of wonderful detail from food to under-garments, but there were times when it became a little too much.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
Mistress Mary Thorne sometimes forgets she is cursed. It is 1590 and she steps out into the rain to buy herbs for an ill maid, little knowing her life will be changed. Two stories are told in parallel; from 1562 when the two girls first meet, and 1590 when their paths cross again in London. There is a tug of power between the two as fortunes rise and fall; Cat is envious of what Mary has, while Mary feels guilt at every small slight she has made in her life.
In 1562, Mary is a gentleman’s daughter; orphaned by sickness, she is put into a cart to be taken to the house of a distant cousin where she has been offered shelter. Her solace is Peg, the small wooden doll given to her by her father. When a mob of urchins sets on the cart, one girl grabs Peg and in her haste Mary pushes her. The girl falls and dies. An old woman who sees it happen, curses Mary saying the truth of what she has done will haunt her for the rest of her life. Mary arrives at Steeple Tew, the manor of her relations, and there meets the daughter of the house, Cat. Mary is to be her maid. The two girls become companions, though a pecking order is retained as they grow into young women, until sickness again enforces a change of circumstances.
This is a novel about social mobility, up as well as down, and adjusting to life’s events. It is about destiny; making your own, or expecting it as a right. Cat is an over-indulged child who becomes a spoiled young woman used to everything in life. Though is too simplistic to say Cat is selfish and Mary a saint, you do feel that Cat will always be dissatisfied with her lot. Mary thinks, “Cat sees the world not through a window as others do, but in a looking glass that reflects back what she wishes to see.”
This is a dark tale of bitterness, blame, jealousy and resentment. The two girls are mirror images of each other, but inverted; both start as gentleman’s daughters, both are brought low by circumstances, one adapts, the other does not. This is a curiously modern novel with a young woman confident of her entitlement, regardless of her actions and choices. Everyone, the story makes clear, has choices and must live by those, accepting responsibility for one’s own life.
Hartshorne is a brilliant writer of atmosphere. When Cat marries George, the two girls move to Haverley Court. Though it is newly-built, Mary sees threats everywhere. “To me, the house was a living creature, watching me slyly. Its shadows tiptoed behind me as I walked through it. I would feel them like a breath on the back of my neck and my skin would prickle.” Adding to the haunted atmosphere is the doll Peg, a kind of bellwether, whose painted face changes its expression forewarning of events happening to Mary.
The Elizabethan setting is full of wonderful detail from food to under-garments, but there were times when it became a little too much.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
April 11, 2018
A gripping historical thriller by the author of Time’s Echo, Pamela Hartshorne.
The Cursed Wife is a page-turning, psychological thriller set in Elizabethan London, by the author of Time’s Echo, Pamela Hartshorne.
Mary is content with her life as wife to Gabriel Thorne, a wealthy merchant in Elizabethan London. She loves her husband and her family, is a kind mistress to the household and is well-respected in the neighbourhood. She does her best to forget that as a small girl she was cursed for causing the death of a vagrant child, a curse that predicts that she will hang. She tells herself that she is safe.
But Mary’s whole life is based on a lie. She is not the woman her husband believes her to be, and when one rainy day she ventures to Cheapside, the past catches up with her and sets her on a path that leads her to the gibbet and the fulfilment of the curse.
Out March, 2018
MY THOUGHTS:
I received this book in exchange for my review.
Nothing is better than when a book exceeds expectations. This book was such a treat to read. As most know, I love and write supernatural thrillers and reading another author’s exceptional work in the same genre is fantastic. Of course, on the flip side, I’m highly critical of books written in my fav genre. This book is about two characters, both women, who live during the Victorian age.
There’s a curse that follows one into adulthood, its existence greatly affecting the MC as she grows from childhood to adulthood.
The curse is the causative agent that propels the characters toward their goals and determines many factors that lead to the ending. I love this concept. The author, with her fantastic writing style, does an amazing job pushing this story forward by building tension, and in turn, providing surprising results formulated from the darker side of human nature.
I found myself holding my breath as a disturbing unease crept its way up my back. The era of the time added to the cryptic feel of life’s cruelty, edged with the feeling of an approaching inevitable darkness that determinedly settles on the mood of the story and you know something terrible is going to happen, but no idea as to what or when… When it does happen, the unease you felt earlier grows to outright disbelief.
This story is not only brilliantly written but done with such a precision that there is no doubt about the author’s talent. I can see this story as a movie. I’d watch it, with all the lights on and in a crowded room lol.
The only thing that bugged me, just a wee bit, was the repetition when the POV changed from one woman to the other. This really wasn’t necessary and affected the pace and transition from one plot moment to the next giving it a jumpy feel at times.
However, I’m willing to overlook this because the book was that good.
The Cursed Wife is a page-turning, psychological thriller set in Elizabethan London, by the author of Time’s Echo, Pamela Hartshorne.
Mary is content with her life as wife to Gabriel Thorne, a wealthy merchant in Elizabethan London. She loves her husband and her family, is a kind mistress to the household and is well-respected in the neighbourhood. She does her best to forget that as a small girl she was cursed for causing the death of a vagrant child, a curse that predicts that she will hang. She tells herself that she is safe.
But Mary’s whole life is based on a lie. She is not the woman her husband believes her to be, and when one rainy day she ventures to Cheapside, the past catches up with her and sets her on a path that leads her to the gibbet and the fulfilment of the curse.
Out March, 2018
MY THOUGHTS:
I received this book in exchange for my review.
Nothing is better than when a book exceeds expectations. This book was such a treat to read. As most know, I love and write supernatural thrillers and reading another author’s exceptional work in the same genre is fantastic. Of course, on the flip side, I’m highly critical of books written in my fav genre. This book is about two characters, both women, who live during the Victorian age.
There’s a curse that follows one into adulthood, its existence greatly affecting the MC as she grows from childhood to adulthood.
The curse is the causative agent that propels the characters toward their goals and determines many factors that lead to the ending. I love this concept. The author, with her fantastic writing style, does an amazing job pushing this story forward by building tension, and in turn, providing surprising results formulated from the darker side of human nature.
I found myself holding my breath as a disturbing unease crept its way up my back. The era of the time added to the cryptic feel of life’s cruelty, edged with the feeling of an approaching inevitable darkness that determinedly settles on the mood of the story and you know something terrible is going to happen, but no idea as to what or when… When it does happen, the unease you felt earlier grows to outright disbelief.
This story is not only brilliantly written but done with such a precision that there is no doubt about the author’s talent. I can see this story as a movie. I’d watch it, with all the lights on and in a crowded room lol.
The only thing that bugged me, just a wee bit, was the repetition when the POV changed from one woman to the other. This really wasn’t necessary and affected the pace and transition from one plot moment to the next giving it a jumpy feel at times.
However, I’m willing to overlook this because the book was that good.
March 10, 2018
“Sometimes I forget that I am cursed”, says Mary as she wakes to the pitter patter of rain on the roof of her merchant’s house, on Little Wood Street, in the Elizabethan city of London. And as her household stirs on this ordinary day in March, 1590, Mary puts on her shift and begins the day that will change her life forever.
Beautifully written and wonderfully evocative of the mean, and often, dangerous time period of Elizabethan England, The Cursed Wife is ultimately the story of two women, each with a thirst for self-preservation, and who have been so viciously hurt by the circumstances of their lives, that nothing, and no-one, can stop the momentum of their deadly downward spiral.
Filled with scurrilous gossip, dark innuendo and the creeping power of superstition, parts of The Cursed Wife made my blood run cold, and such is the richness of the story telling that I felt as though I occupied a privileged position in the household on Little Wood Street, quietly waiting, with Peg the doll on my lap, and fearfully watching, as the story begins.
The mystery at the heart of the story is sharp and precise and, as the unease drifts and lingers, there gathers about it a vibrant sort of energy which has its roots in darkness and vengeance, and which tells of the ruthlessness of ambition and of lives which been ruined by a deadly game of chance.
The Cursed Wife is something of a change of direction for the author as her previous novels have had some element of time slip about them, however, this story is very firmly placed in one time frame, and it is in this complex and convoluted Elizabethan mystery where the real strength of the story lies.
Deeply disturbing and deliciously moody, The Cursed Wife is one of those fabulous stories which lingers long after the last page is turned.
February 24, 2019
A novel of dialogues between two Elizabethan woman - Mary and Cat. Full of twist and turns even to the last page with a spice of violence, adultery and murder. Mary is a hardworking and feisty lower class woman trying to make her place in the world. Cat is a spoilt and selfish aristocrat who is frustratingly arrogant. Cat's self centered and at times repetitive dialogues are the only reason I've rated it 4/5. Recommend.
March 13, 2018
4.5/5 stars
June 13, 2018
Having previously read Pamela Hartshorne’s time-slip novel The Edge of Dark, I found her latest book, The Cursed Wife, both similar and different. Similar in that they both explore the lives of women in Elizabethan England; different because this one is set entirely in the past, with no modern day storyline and no form of time travel.
The Cursed Wife is written from the perspectives of two women, Mary and Cat, who are both friends and rivals. When we first meet Mary in 1590 she appears to be leading a happy and contented life; she is married to the merchant Gabriel Thorne, and lives with him, their children and their servants in a comfortable house in London. Mary is devoted to her family and her household and has almost – but not quite – managed to forget that she was cursed as a child and predicted to die by hanging.
However, Mary’s whole life is built around lies and deception and she knows that if the truth is ever revealed she could lose everything. One rainy day she sets out to do some shopping in Sopers Lane to replenish her stocks of herbs and medicines, and is shocked to see a face from her past – a face she had expected never to see again. It’s Cat, her childhood friend, who was once as close to her as a sister, but who now possesses the secrets that could ruin Mary’s life…
As I’ve said, I found this a very different sort of book from The Edge of Dark; it doesn’t have such an eerie atmosphere and lacks the touches of the supernatural – although Mary does have a very creepy one-armed wooden doll called Peg. Instead the focus is on the relationship between Mary and Cat. It’s a relationship which changes and transforms itself over the years as the roles of the two women in each other’s lives are reversed, but the links between them are seemingly unbreakable and their stories are very closely entwined.
Cat and Mary take turns to narrate in alternating chapters and although their narrative voices are very similar, the author does use a few techniques to distinguish between the two – for example, Cat’s thoughts are often aimed directly at Mary (‘you say this’ and ‘you do that’). Cat is also a more bitter person than Mary, who can often seem quite naive and slow to understand things that are obvious to the reader. Neither woman is very likeable and although Cat is nastier, I can’t really say that my sympathies were with Mary either.
Pamela Hartshorne has written about the Elizabethan period before, not just in The Edge of Dark, but in other novels too, and she obviously knows it well. We are given lots of little details on domestic life in the late 16th century – the food people ate, the clothes they wore, the tasks carried out by servants in the home – and although historical events happening in the wider world have little direct effect on the story, there’s a sense of how precarious life could be in this period when hanging is a punishment for crime and when the most minor of illnesses can result in death. The novel also looks at the roles of women and the expectations that were placed on them regarding marriage.
The Cursed Wife is an interesting read and the storyline was compelling enough to hold my attention until the end, but I did prefer The Edge of Dark and as her earlier books all seem to be time-slip novels like that one I think I’ll have to investigate them at some point.
The Cursed Wife is written from the perspectives of two women, Mary and Cat, who are both friends and rivals. When we first meet Mary in 1590 she appears to be leading a happy and contented life; she is married to the merchant Gabriel Thorne, and lives with him, their children and their servants in a comfortable house in London. Mary is devoted to her family and her household and has almost – but not quite – managed to forget that she was cursed as a child and predicted to die by hanging.
However, Mary’s whole life is built around lies and deception and she knows that if the truth is ever revealed she could lose everything. One rainy day she sets out to do some shopping in Sopers Lane to replenish her stocks of herbs and medicines, and is shocked to see a face from her past – a face she had expected never to see again. It’s Cat, her childhood friend, who was once as close to her as a sister, but who now possesses the secrets that could ruin Mary’s life…
As I’ve said, I found this a very different sort of book from The Edge of Dark; it doesn’t have such an eerie atmosphere and lacks the touches of the supernatural – although Mary does have a very creepy one-armed wooden doll called Peg. Instead the focus is on the relationship between Mary and Cat. It’s a relationship which changes and transforms itself over the years as the roles of the two women in each other’s lives are reversed, but the links between them are seemingly unbreakable and their stories are very closely entwined.
Cat and Mary take turns to narrate in alternating chapters and although their narrative voices are very similar, the author does use a few techniques to distinguish between the two – for example, Cat’s thoughts are often aimed directly at Mary (‘you say this’ and ‘you do that’). Cat is also a more bitter person than Mary, who can often seem quite naive and slow to understand things that are obvious to the reader. Neither woman is very likeable and although Cat is nastier, I can’t really say that my sympathies were with Mary either.
Pamela Hartshorne has written about the Elizabethan period before, not just in The Edge of Dark, but in other novels too, and she obviously knows it well. We are given lots of little details on domestic life in the late 16th century – the food people ate, the clothes they wore, the tasks carried out by servants in the home – and although historical events happening in the wider world have little direct effect on the story, there’s a sense of how precarious life could be in this period when hanging is a punishment for crime and when the most minor of illnesses can result in death. The novel also looks at the roles of women and the expectations that were placed on them regarding marriage.
The Cursed Wife is an interesting read and the storyline was compelling enough to hold my attention until the end, but I did prefer The Edge of Dark and as her earlier books all seem to be time-slip novels like that one I think I’ll have to investigate them at some point.
March 29, 2018
Very disappointed
No where near as good as earlier books Thin plot and no substance to character. If this was the first book I had read by this author would not have bought a other one. Loved all of the previous books.
No where near as good as earlier books Thin plot and no substance to character. If this was the first book I had read by this author would not have bought a other one. Loved all of the previous books.
January 12, 2018
London, 1590. Prosperous merchant's wife, Mary, is well-loved and held in high regard. Modest and upstanding, she is a pillar of the community, trusted and called upon in times of need. But she hides a dark secret. For she is cursed - and her comfortable life is under threat. How far will she go to protect it - and how far will her rival go to take it for herself?
In The Cursed Wife, Pamela Hartshorne moves away from the familiar time-slip tales for which she's known. Removing the modern-day thread, this story entirely inhabits the sixteenth century - Hartshorne's 'pet' period and one she vividly evokes, as always. It's the tale of two women, Cat and Mary, thrown together by fate in early childhood. Then, their situations could not have been more different - and the dramatic reversal of fortune which occurs later means, as adults, the same holds true.
The Cursed Wife is an enjoyable ruffs and rivalry romp, a sort of Elizabethan 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane'. The tale's Bette and Joan, Mary and Cat, are two very different (yet strikingly - sometimes jarringly - modern) women who share one thing in common: a ruthless, and ultimately murderous, streak. What unfolds is a dizzying, passionate, deadly hurtle through the highs and lows of Elizabethan society as Mary desperately tries to outrun a childhood curse and preserve her comfortable life - while Cat attempts to destroy it.
An easy and pacy read, it's not without its flaws - the writing feels a little lazy in places, not to mention repetitive. The pages are alive, for example, with 'startled coneys', and one couple or other seem to 'go at it' in practically every other paragraph. However, Hartshorne magically conjures the clamour of Elizabethan London in all its highs and lows, glamour and grime. And you won't forget the sinister Peg, whose presence will haunt your nightmares. Seriously.
The Cursed Wife is a feisty, fun historical thriller-lite, gently suspenseful rather than an edge of your seat white-knuckler. It would be a real treat to see Hartshorne cast her gaze on a different era in her next book, but until then, her many fans won't be disappointed with this.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In The Cursed Wife, Pamela Hartshorne moves away from the familiar time-slip tales for which she's known. Removing the modern-day thread, this story entirely inhabits the sixteenth century - Hartshorne's 'pet' period and one she vividly evokes, as always. It's the tale of two women, Cat and Mary, thrown together by fate in early childhood. Then, their situations could not have been more different - and the dramatic reversal of fortune which occurs later means, as adults, the same holds true.
The Cursed Wife is an enjoyable ruffs and rivalry romp, a sort of Elizabethan 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane'. The tale's Bette and Joan, Mary and Cat, are two very different (yet strikingly - sometimes jarringly - modern) women who share one thing in common: a ruthless, and ultimately murderous, streak. What unfolds is a dizzying, passionate, deadly hurtle through the highs and lows of Elizabethan society as Mary desperately tries to outrun a childhood curse and preserve her comfortable life - while Cat attempts to destroy it.
An easy and pacy read, it's not without its flaws - the writing feels a little lazy in places, not to mention repetitive. The pages are alive, for example, with 'startled coneys', and one couple or other seem to 'go at it' in practically every other paragraph. However, Hartshorne magically conjures the clamour of Elizabethan London in all its highs and lows, glamour and grime. And you won't forget the sinister Peg, whose presence will haunt your nightmares. Seriously.
The Cursed Wife is a feisty, fun historical thriller-lite, gently suspenseful rather than an edge of your seat white-knuckler. It would be a real treat to see Hartshorne cast her gaze on a different era in her next book, but until then, her many fans won't be disappointed with this.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 30, 2018
3.5 Stars
April 5, 2018
Set in the late 1500s, The Cursed Wife begins with a murder. We come into the first chapter to find one woman dead and another stunned by what has taken place. But we don’t know who is dead, and we don’t know who killed her.
Mary was born into a loving family. Then suddenly at the age of six, that is all taken away when her parents and all of her siblings die suddenly of an illness. One day she simply wakes up when her fever breaks and has no family left.
Because her father has gambled away all of his money, and the money her mother brought to the marriage, there’s nothing left to pay the rent. She is then shipped off to her mother’s relative, to be a companion to her cousin.
On her way to her new life, a young girl tries to climb up on her cart and steal her doll. Trying to defend herself she pushes the girl off at the same moment that the cart driver starts driving forward again.
The girl is caught underneath the wheels and killed. In her grief, her mother curses Mary for murdering her daughter. Mary carries this curse through her life, always feeling the pain and horror of what she has done.
Catherine, known as “Cat“, Is the daughter of Sir Hugh Latimer. Mary is to be her companion, and Catherine tells her that companions are friends. She immediately confirms that she will be Mary’s friend too.
Throughout the book, their lives are detailed back-and-forth. One chapter of Mary than one chapter of Cat. Slowly we see how a bright future turns when circumstances, jealousy, and selfishness take hold.
Keeps You Guessing
The progression of their lives from childhood through to adulthood was fascinating. The way their relationship changes so subtly over time made a very interesting read.
This book is a psychological thriller of the best kind. You don’t know who’s dead, you don’t know who did it. Right up until the last minute you have suspicions but they will be wrong. You will have no idea what really happens.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was surprised by the ending. I will definitely be looking out for more from Pamela Hartshorne.
Reviewed for LnkToMi iRead in response to a complimentary copy of the book provided by the publisher in hopes of an honest review.
Mary was born into a loving family. Then suddenly at the age of six, that is all taken away when her parents and all of her siblings die suddenly of an illness. One day she simply wakes up when her fever breaks and has no family left.
Because her father has gambled away all of his money, and the money her mother brought to the marriage, there’s nothing left to pay the rent. She is then shipped off to her mother’s relative, to be a companion to her cousin.
On her way to her new life, a young girl tries to climb up on her cart and steal her doll. Trying to defend herself she pushes the girl off at the same moment that the cart driver starts driving forward again.
The girl is caught underneath the wheels and killed. In her grief, her mother curses Mary for murdering her daughter. Mary carries this curse through her life, always feeling the pain and horror of what she has done.
Catherine, known as “Cat“, Is the daughter of Sir Hugh Latimer. Mary is to be her companion, and Catherine tells her that companions are friends. She immediately confirms that she will be Mary’s friend too.
Throughout the book, their lives are detailed back-and-forth. One chapter of Mary than one chapter of Cat. Slowly we see how a bright future turns when circumstances, jealousy, and selfishness take hold.
Keeps You Guessing
The progression of their lives from childhood through to adulthood was fascinating. The way their relationship changes so subtly over time made a very interesting read.
This book is a psychological thriller of the best kind. You don’t know who’s dead, you don’t know who did it. Right up until the last minute you have suspicions but they will be wrong. You will have no idea what really happens.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was surprised by the ending. I will definitely be looking out for more from Pamela Hartshorne.
Reviewed for LnkToMi iRead in response to a complimentary copy of the book provided by the publisher in hopes of an honest review.
March 30, 2020
This book tells the story of two women and how their relationship turns toxic. As an orphaned child, steady, loyal Mary becomes the companion of her distant kin, Cat, a spoiled girl who believes the world owes her everything. Cat is the kind of person who never sees another person's needs or wants or hurts. She sees everything only how it affects her.
As the two grow up and the disparity in their positions becomes more obvious, Mary becomes more and more pragmatic while Cat becomes wilful, demanding and breathtakingly narcissistic.
The story begins when the women are adults and unfolds in flashbacks, tracing their childhood, youth and Cat's marriage. Throughout it all, Mary is the dependable, capable one, always there to warn Cat of impending disaster. She recognises that Cat has the attention span of a gnat, but constantly excuses her behaviour, even when she goes beyond the pale.
In the present timeline, the two women have been apart for over a decade when Cat, living in reduced circumstances, spies Mary on the streets of London and insinuates herself back into her life. Although Cat's reappearance could cost Mary everything, she's charitable enough to take her in, but she soon begins to give into Cat's whims and demands. Eventually, however, Cat's scheming pushes Mary to the brink and she takes decisive action.
The novel is well written and full of details of Tudor life, at country houses and at a merchant's house in London. The two central characters are strong, with Cat being a particularly nasty piece of work. Mary could be described as naive in not seeing through Cat for so long, but I got the impression she felt beholden to the girl she had loved as a sister in her youth, even though their relationship was always more mistress and maid.
The story gets better as it goes along, and by the end it's practically whipping along. I enjoyed this battle of wills in Tudor times - I was definitely Team Mary throughout.
As the two grow up and the disparity in their positions becomes more obvious, Mary becomes more and more pragmatic while Cat becomes wilful, demanding and breathtakingly narcissistic.
The story begins when the women are adults and unfolds in flashbacks, tracing their childhood, youth and Cat's marriage. Throughout it all, Mary is the dependable, capable one, always there to warn Cat of impending disaster. She recognises that Cat has the attention span of a gnat, but constantly excuses her behaviour, even when she goes beyond the pale.
In the present timeline, the two women have been apart for over a decade when Cat, living in reduced circumstances, spies Mary on the streets of London and insinuates herself back into her life. Although Cat's reappearance could cost Mary everything, she's charitable enough to take her in, but she soon begins to give into Cat's whims and demands. Eventually, however, Cat's scheming pushes Mary to the brink and she takes decisive action.
The novel is well written and full of details of Tudor life, at country houses and at a merchant's house in London. The two central characters are strong, with Cat being a particularly nasty piece of work. Mary could be described as naive in not seeing through Cat for so long, but I got the impression she felt beholden to the girl she had loved as a sister in her youth, even though their relationship was always more mistress and maid.
The story gets better as it goes along, and by the end it's practically whipping along. I enjoyed this battle of wills in Tudor times - I was definitely Team Mary throughout.
January 5, 2021
The Cursed Wife is one of those books that is difficult to categorise. There is murder, suspense, revenge, mystery and even a hint of witchcraft, all centred around two "sisters" living in Elizabethan London.
Mary and Cat are thrust together when they were very young. Distant relations, they become as close as sisters. Loving and fighting in equal measure. But they are not and never can be equals. One is the orphaned daughter of a penniless country gentleman, the other titled and privileged.
But their lives are entwined, even as their fates diverge on different paths.
Cat has led a privileged life, but following the death of her father, she becomes little more than a pawn as her brother effectively sells her off to the highest bidder. It isn't long before her husband's depravity and games lead Cat to make a decision that will change both of their lives forever. A chance meeting in the summer rain brings the two women back together throws Mary's life into turmoil as Cat's presence threatens everything she has spent the past 16 years building.
The narrative alternates between the two women, each telling the story from their own point of view. With their fortunes reversed, their former friendship turns to rivalry and they are forced to hide their true pasts.
There are plenty of twists and turns as the story unfolds. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the pace. I also found the interaction between the two protagonists fascinating. The way each of the interpreted the events of their past acts as a reminder that not everything is as black and white as it seems. Truth is sometimes malleable and often biased.
Pamela Hartshorne uses all her experience as a historian to ensure consistency and authenticity. It is a great story and an enjoyable read.
Mary and Cat are thrust together when they were very young. Distant relations, they become as close as sisters. Loving and fighting in equal measure. But they are not and never can be equals. One is the orphaned daughter of a penniless country gentleman, the other titled and privileged.
But their lives are entwined, even as their fates diverge on different paths.
Cat has led a privileged life, but following the death of her father, she becomes little more than a pawn as her brother effectively sells her off to the highest bidder. It isn't long before her husband's depravity and games lead Cat to make a decision that will change both of their lives forever. A chance meeting in the summer rain brings the two women back together throws Mary's life into turmoil as Cat's presence threatens everything she has spent the past 16 years building.
The narrative alternates between the two women, each telling the story from their own point of view. With their fortunes reversed, their former friendship turns to rivalry and they are forced to hide their true pasts.
There are plenty of twists and turns as the story unfolds. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the pace. I also found the interaction between the two protagonists fascinating. The way each of the interpreted the events of their past acts as a reminder that not everything is as black and white as it seems. Truth is sometimes malleable and often biased.
Pamela Hartshorne uses all her experience as a historian to ensure consistency and authenticity. It is a great story and an enjoyable read.
March 17, 2018
The Cursed Wife
By Pamela Hartshorne
On the surface Mary seems to be living the perfect life in Elizabethan London....married to a wealthy merchant husband, children, servants and wanting for nothing. However, under the surface Mary has a past, a past which is murky and full of secrets and a curse. A curse brought upon by a vagrant who felt that Mary was responsible for the death of their child. Mary is living with a curse that predicts she will die by the hangman's noose.
A chance walk out one rainy day brings her current life crashing down around her ears and the lies and deceit of her past back to her – this time there is no escape.
"The Cursed Wife" is the latest novel by Pamela Hartshorne – as always her novels do not disappoint and for all those fans of historical fiction this is a must read. A rollercoaster Elizabethan Psychological thriller. Can't wait for her next novel!!
By Pamela Hartshorne
On the surface Mary seems to be living the perfect life in Elizabethan London....married to a wealthy merchant husband, children, servants and wanting for nothing. However, under the surface Mary has a past, a past which is murky and full of secrets and a curse. A curse brought upon by a vagrant who felt that Mary was responsible for the death of their child. Mary is living with a curse that predicts she will die by the hangman's noose.
A chance walk out one rainy day brings her current life crashing down around her ears and the lies and deceit of her past back to her – this time there is no escape.
"The Cursed Wife" is the latest novel by Pamela Hartshorne – as always her novels do not disappoint and for all those fans of historical fiction this is a must read. A rollercoaster Elizabethan Psychological thriller. Can't wait for her next novel!!
June 22, 2022
🗡️ "Οι κατάρες δεν μπορούν να ξεχαστούν..."
Η Μέρι ζει σε μια καλή γειτονιά του Λονδίνου και είναι παντρεμένη με έναν έμπορο. Ζει μια άνετη και ασφαλής ζωή όταν ξαφνικά το παρελθόν της -μια γυναίκα με το όνομα Κατ- θα της χτυπήσει την πόρτα....
🗡️Το βιβλίο καταρχάς είναι εποχής και διαδραματίζεται σ εκείνη την περίοδο που οι γυναίκες είχαν αξία μόνο αν ήταν από καλή γαλαζοαιματη οικογένεια... Ήταν ενδιαφέρον να βλέπω την ζωή σ εκείνη την εποχή καθώς είναι γραμμένο με πολλές λεπτομέρειες όσον αφορά τον τρόπο ζωής και τις αντιδράσεις της τότε κοινωνίας.
🗡️Σαν χαρακτήρες συμπάθησα πολύ την Μέρι. Σταθερή και ώριμη, καλόκαρδη και πιστή χτυπημένη πολλές φορές από την μοίρα και έρμαιο ατυχων γεγονότων που της καθόρισαν την ζωή... Αντιπάθησα βαθιά την Κατ. Εγωιστρια κακομαθημένη και ζηλοφθονη με θύμωσε πολύ...
🗡️Δεν ήταν κάποιο αριστούργημα. Ίσως περίμενα διαφορετικο τέλος και κάπου εκεί με χάλασε λίγο... Δεν πέρασα άσχημα μαζί του αλλά δεν μπορώ να πω ότι θα το ξαναδιάβαζα...
Η Μέρι ζει σε μια καλή γειτονιά του Λονδίνου και είναι παντρεμένη με έναν έμπορο. Ζει μια άνετη και ασφαλής ζωή όταν ξαφνικά το παρελθόν της -μια γυναίκα με το όνομα Κατ- θα της χτυπήσει την πόρτα....
🗡️Το βιβλίο καταρχάς είναι εποχής και διαδραματίζεται σ εκείνη την περίοδο που οι γυναίκες είχαν αξία μόνο αν ήταν από καλή γαλαζοαιματη οικογένεια... Ήταν ενδιαφέρον να βλέπω την ζωή σ εκείνη την εποχή καθώς είναι γραμμένο με πολλές λεπτομέρειες όσον αφορά τον τρόπο ζωής και τις αντιδράσεις της τότε κοινωνίας.
🗡️Σαν χαρακτήρες συμπάθησα πολύ την Μέρι. Σταθερή και ώριμη, καλόκαρδη και πιστή χτυπημένη πολλές φορές από την μοίρα και έρμαιο ατυχων γεγονότων που της καθόρισαν την ζωή... Αντιπάθησα βαθιά την Κατ. Εγωιστρια κακομαθημένη και ζηλοφθονη με θύμωσε πολύ...
🗡️Δεν ήταν κάποιο αριστούργημα. Ίσως περίμενα διαφορετικο τέλος και κάπου εκεί με χάλασε λίγο... Δεν πέρασα άσχημα μαζί του αλλά δεν μπορώ να πω ότι θα το ξαναδιάβαζα...
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