Reclaiming feminine rage through historical fiction

As the days are getting shorter, the nights longer and darker, we are beyond thrilled to welcome two gothic novelists in the bookshop to discuss their latest books and explore the reclamation of feminine rage through historical fiction.

C.J. Cooke is an acclaimed, award-winning poet and novelist based in South Tyneside. She is known for her work on feminist gothic horror, and her work has been published in 23 languages to date, nominated for an Edgar Award and an ITW Thriller Award, selected as Waterstones’ Paperback Book of the Year, and a BBC Radio 2 Pick. Her latest novel, The House of Cursed Daughters, will publish this October. Join her on 6th November for a special event and signing of her new book The House of Cursed Daughters and paperback publication of The Last Witch.

The House of Cursed Daughters

Three brilliant women. An ancient curse. And one last chance to break the cycle.

France, 1312. Queen Isabella is a new mother. Her baby boy secures not only her ill-starred marriage but her own precarious future. And yet, she is terrified. A generational curse hangs over her family. Can she free herself and her child from it?

London, 1865. The corridors of Bedlam Lunatic Asylum move like white serpents around Lois. The women here are all the same—more mad than when they entered its doors. But if sin is the cause of her illness, and her memories are the manifestations of insanity, then who is the little boy who calls her Mama?

Brittany, 2026. Artist Emma is preparing for her wedding in the French countryside, where she and her fiancé have rented a beautiful old castle for the occasion. She hopes the event will help her connect with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Ivy, who has never understood the demons that drive her mother’s life and fuel her art. But soon the echoes of her past threaten to derail not only the wedding but everything she holds dear.

The House of Cursed Daughters knits together seven centuries and three unforgettable heroines as it explores female power and the way it can forge bright pathways through indescribable darkness.

Cathryn Kemp is an acclaimed, award-winning, best-selling author. Her debut novel, A POISONER’S TALE, won the HWA debut Crown 2025, and Le Grand Prix du Roman Historique 2026, and has been published in multiple territories globally. Her second novel, THEY CAN’T BURN US ALL was recently published by Penguin Random House. Cathryn’s memoir COMING CLEAN won The Big Red Read Prize for Non-Fiction and inspired the formation of a charity. Cathryn is also a Sunday Times bestselling ghostwriter writing celebrity, public figure, true crime and inspirational titles.

They Can't Burn Us All

Westfjords, Iceland. 1655

Þuríður Jónsdóttir has grown up praying to the old gods and watching her father and brother practise rune magic.

But now, a witch-hunting craze is sweeping across the land of ice and fire, fuelled by the Protestant Reformation. Unlike elsewhere in Europe, those condemned as witches here are not women, but men of learning. And when Þuríður’s father and brother are accused of witchcraft and condemned to burn at the stake, she is helpless to save them.

As Lutheran Pastor Jón Magnússon's accusing gaze turns to Þuríður herself, the first woman to be called ‘witch’, he will find that she is no ordinary woman.

She is prepared to fight back. But at what cost?

And in an age of fear and persecution, whose side will the community take? Who will fight for justice?

Set against a backdrop of sweeping religious and social change, They Can’tNB Burn Us All is a feminist retelling of Iceland’s notorious Kirkjuból witch trials.

NB: We apologise for the inconvenience but our bookshop is currently not wheelchair accessible. The toilet is located on the ground floor. The event space is located at the top of a staircase (17 steps).

Please do get in touch if you’d like to know more details to plan your visit ahead. Email is: salomee@kemptownbookshop.co.uk