Credit: Courtesy of publishers
Books
Looking for something to read this autumn? These 11 gothic novels will have you ready for cosy season
5 months ago
5 min read
There’s nothing quite like curling up with a gothic novel to welcome in the colder weather. These are 11 of our favourites.
There’s something about autumn that always makes me feel like I’m coming ‘back’ to something. Where other seasons of the year are associated with newness – new goals in January, rebirth and renewal in spring, new adventures in summer – I think of autumn as a chance to repeat past times.
Of course, there’s the ‘back to school’ feeling that the end of the summer holidays summons (even all these years later when it’s an office we’re returning to rather than the classroom). Then there’s the excitement of rediscovering your wardrobe, bringing a trusty trench and a much-loved pair of black boots out of retirement for the coming months.
Sometimes, we just like to settle back with the things we know. Re-reading old favourites is a perfect example of this, and what better to revisit in moody weather than a good old gothic novel? So, if you’re looking to make the most of the longer nights by immersing yourself in something uncanny and a little dark, grab yourself a hot drink, a scented candle and a gothic novel – new or old – and curl up with one of these chilling yet captivating reads.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, 2002
Fingersmith is the stuff of book club group chat dreams. The twist in this historical story about a young woman raised by thieves will keep you talking for years to come. In classic Sarah Waters fashion, the descriptions of Sue and Maud making sense of the secretive Victorian houses and deceptive situations they end up in were made for enjoying in the warmth of your own home.
Shop Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (Little, Brown) at Bookshop.org, £10.99
If We Were Villains by ML Rio, 2017
Back to school… if you happen to be an elite Shakespearean drama student. This epic book follows a set of young thespians navigating a dark turn of events instigated by a performance of Macbeth on Halloween night. An absolute must-read for dark academia types who want to find out what a Donna Tartt meets Shakespearean acting school might feel like.
Shop If We Were Villains by ML Rio (Titan Books Ltd) at Bookshop.org, £9.49
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, 2014
So many of us were enchanted by Jessie Burton’s bestselling debut novel about Nella and the strange household she begins to understand through its all-too-real replica doll house. Though the prophetic miniatures of people who propel the story forward, it also adds descriptions of 1686 Amsterdam with its cold canals and windows that make you want to settle in with a hot chocolate on a rainy day.
Shop The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (Little, Brown) at Bookshop.org, £10.44
The Last Tale Of The Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi, 2023
This novel pays homage to luscious fairy tale tropes and sensuality, centring on the mysterious and beautiful Indigo, who asks just one thing of her bridegroom: don’t pry into her past. So far so Bluebeard. Lo and behold, her newlywed discovers the secret of her disappeared childhood best friend in the decaying walls of her manor house.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, 1847
Is it just us or is this book moving enough to make you run out of the house during a downpour and into your nearest park wearing an impractical long dress? This list wouldn’t be complete without paying homage to Cathy and Heathcliffe, whose impassioned souls roam over the Yorkshire Moors. A tale where the wild heath, the imposing house and the thrashing elements are famously ‘main character energy’. It would only be right to read this while welcoming in the start of a classic British winter.
Shop Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Vintage Publishing) at Bookshop.org, £8.54
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora, 2020
A book that many readers cite as having left a ‘lasting impression’, this meticulously researched Southern gothic story will transport you to a time in history that many don’t know enough about. Set in the American South before and after the Civil War, our main character, Rue, is born into slavery but holds a respected position on the plantation as the daughter of a midwife, healer and crafter of curses. When her mother dies, Rue must take on the duty of being a conjure woman.
Shop Conjure Women by Afia Atakora (Harper Collins) at Bookshop.org, £9.49
Her Body And Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado, 2017
This collection of short stories on womanhood comes recommended by gothic enthusiasts and is great for keeping on your coffee table to pick up as and when you have time to get lost in a collection of tales. But don’t expect it to stick solely to the gothic genre, Carmen Maria Machado’s debut collection spoils us by ‘demolishing the borders’ between science fiction, horror, fantasy and comedy through stories about the body, sex, death and more.
Shop Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (Profile Books Ltd) at Bookshop.org, £9.49
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield, 2022
Fancy a gothic tale endorsed by Florence Welch, the glam-goth muse herself? Hell, yes. Described by Welch as “sublime in its creepiness”, this is about a woman whose wife has returned changed from a deep-sea mission. As well as being a fabulously strange thriller, it promises explorations of love and loss.
Shop Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield (Pan Macmillan) at Bookshop.org, £9.49
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, 1938
We’ve all been haunted by the mystery of an ex. But before Oliva Rodrigo was setting this experience to music via Deja Vu and Obsessed, Daphne Du Maurier’s unnamed narrator was finding traces of an ex-wife in the gothic stately home of Manderley. In this classic, we follow the narrator as she struggles under the stifling presence of the former lady of the house.
Shop Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (Virago Modern Classics) at Waterstones, £9.99
The Baby Is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite, 2021
Shop The Baby Is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic Books) at Bookshop.org, £7.59
The Fortunes Of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson, 2023
This book has all the classic hallmarks of a great gothic story. A new governess trying to settle into a creepy Victorian setting, a young woman behaving strangely, and unsolved mysteries that haunt them both. But what most intrigues us is how it centres the story around tarot. Using superstition and fortune telling to blend the psychic and psychological, we’re predicting great things.
Images: courtesy of publishers
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