Free (nook/iTunes UK) Florence & Giles [Classics-Inspired Gothic Literary Suspense]

[ATDrake]

Florence and Giles by John Harding is a gothic literary suspense novel set in the late Victorian period, which was directly inspired by and draws upon the influence of Henry James' classic The Turn of the Screw (there's actually a new bonus material edition of this out which includes the text of James' novel), free courtesy of publisher HarperCollins' Blue Door imprint.

Currently free @ B&N UK, & iTunes UK (most likely only available to the UK), and may possibly drop @ Amazon UK & Kobo UK (linked for your price-drop check convenience), or perhaps the causality is the other way around and this is a lingering short-term freebie which is just going off the promo pricing.

Unlikely to cross the pond in any case, as we've a had a very low transmigration rate for HarperCollins UK freebies to date.

Description
A sinister Gothic tale in the tradition of The Woman in Black and The Fall of the House of Usher

1891. In a remote and crumbling New England mansion, 12-year-old orphan Florence is neglected by her guardian uncle and banned from reading. Left to her own devices she devours books in secret and talks to herself - and narrates this, her story - in a unique language of her own invention. By night, she sleepwalks the corridors like one of the old house's many ghosts and is troubled by a recurrent dream in which a mysterious woman appears to threaten her younger brother Giles. Sometimes Florence doesn't sleepwalk at all, but simply pretends to so she can roam at will and search the house for clues to her own baffling past.

After the sudden violent death of the children's first governess, a second teacher, Miss Taylor, arrives, and immediately strange phenomena begin to occur. Florence becomes convinced that the new governess is a vengeful and malevolent spirit who means to do Giles harm. Against this powerful supernatural enemy, and without any adult to whom she can turn for help, Florence must use all her intelligence and ingenuity to both protect her little brother and preserve her private world.

Inspired by and in the tradition of Henry James' s The Turn of the Screw, Florence & Giles is a gripping gothic page-turner told in a startlingly different and wonderfully captivating narrative voice.