Through her left eye she could see nothing now. Through her right, Hannah could make out the flame of one candle that still burned, guttering and shivering low in its puddle of wax. It was only the candlelight that convinced her she was still alive.
Set in London in 1837, Anna Mazzola's The Unseeing is the story of Sarah Gale, a seamstress and mother, sentenced to hang for her role in the murder of Hannah Brown on the eve of her wedding.
After Sarah petitions for mercy, Edmund Fleetwood is appointed to investigate and consider whether justice has been done.
Idealistic, but struggling with his own demons, Edmund is determined to seek out the truth. Yet Sarah refuses to help him, neither lying nor adding anything to the evidence gathered in court. Edmund knows she's hiding something, but needs to discover just why she's maintaining her silence. For how can it be that someone would willingly go to their own death?
'Intricately plotted and extremely convincing in its evocation of the everyday realities of 1830s London, this is a fine first novel' - The Sunday Times
‘An enjoyable, entertaining historical murder mystery.’ – The Herald
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
ISBN: 9781472234759
Number of pages: 384
Weight: 300 g
Dimensions: 196 x 130 x 28 mm
A twisting tale of family secrets and unacknowledged desires. Intricately plotted and extremely convincing in its evocation of the everyday realities of 1830s London, this is a fine first novel - The Sunday Times
[A] sizzling first novel...the characters - cleverly and sympathetically imagined - are the engine of the story - The Times
Tragic, terrifying and authentic - Woman & Home
With this intricately woven tale of trust, self-trust and deceit, Anna Mazzola brings a gritty realism to Victorian London. Beautifully written and cleverly plotted, this is a stunning debut, ranked amongst the best - Manda Scott
I can't remember the last time a book gave me such pure, unalloyed pleasure... I can't imagine reading another new novel, and certainly not a debut, as thrilling and moving as this one for the rest of 2016 - Irish Independent
Every now and then a debut novel comes along that stands out from the crowd... Mazzola's prose is wonderful and the characters are complex and convincing... If you like your historical crime beautifully written, intelligent and genuinely moving, this is one for you - Historia
The Unseeing engulfs you in a heady, addictive fog from the very start - Grazia
A compelling did she/didn't she that's full of the sights and sounds of Victorian England, this is a winner - Sun on Sunday, Fabulous Magazine
The Unseeing is deft, dark and delicious. Anna Mazzola writes brilliantly about Victorian London, a fascinating crime and an intriguing heroine - Janet Ellis, author of THE BUTCHER'S HOOK
[An] accomplished debut... Mazzola quickly draws the reader in to this intriguing mystery... Mazzola skilfully conjures up a bygone world... If you like historical fiction then you'll love this compelling murder mystery - Daily Express
An intriguing story, and the threat of a miscarriage of justice, as well as the frailties of an imperfect advocate, keep the suspense going - Daily Mail
Set in a vividly-imagined Victorian London - from the seamy horrors of Newgate Gaol to the bloated inns of court - this is a wonderful combination of a thrilling mystery and a perfectly depicted period piece. A brilliant debut - Sunday Mirror
Intricately plotted and convincing in its portrait of the gritty, everyday realities of early Victorian London, The Unseeing makes for a darkly pleasurable read - BBC History Magazine
Love, corruption, and retribution define Mazzola's absorbing and unpredictable debut novel... a cleverly written and intricate mystery - Publisher's Weekly
Mazzola's writing is brilliant - Belfast Telegraph
[An] expertly crafted novel... Crammed with authentic descriptions and characters, and with a fascinating and compulsive plot, this is a thrilling debut - Heat
“A gripping Victorian tale”
Paperback edition
by Emma at Bedford
I love Victorian fiction, particularly if it involves crime or wrongfully incarcerated women and ‘The Unseeing’ grabbed me right from the first...
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I love Victorian fiction, particularly if it involves crime or wrongfully incarcerated women and ‘The Unseeing’ grabbed me right from the first page. The writing is wonderfully descriptive – Anna Mazzola’s writing... More
As debut novels go this is something rather special. Anna Mazzola with The Unseeing has managed to create a story which is based on an actual true story. From the moment you pick this book up with its eerie eye in the... More
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