From the author of Hungerstone comes a stunning new gothic horror novel set in Victorian Era London, inspired by the ghostly world of Hamlet.
It is the time of night when only the dead are abroad.
1898 Hampstead, London: Odette's mother is dead. Before the funeral rites have concluded, body not yet buried, her once-estranged aunt, Claudine, takes over as the family's matriarch. Not long after, she is announced as Odette's new step-mother and the household reorders itself around Claudine's every command. As Odette reckons with this betrayal, a sinister presence begins to make itself known-and it is desperate for revenge.
Odette's childhood best friend and lover Cecilia is caught in the middle. As Cecilia's affections are tested in the face of Odette's spiraling madness, so too is her duty to her family when they find themselves bound to Claudine by a buried secret.
Telling a story of love and grief, mothers and daughters, death and madness, Rottenheart reimagines Hamlet with a fearless queer love story and a world full of ghostly hauntings. Praise for Rottenheart
"Rottenheart will transport you. It's a darkly intoxicating and fierce sapphic retelling of Hamlet, filled with longing, rage, and grief. Kat Dunn has crafted something haunting, beguiling, and mesmerizing, and I'm certain it's her most extraordinary novel yet." -Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb
Praise for Hungerstone
NPR Best Book of the Year • Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
"The lesbian vampire novel we need." -Them
"A rich and daring reimagining that brings the beating heart of Carmilla to life again. Hungerstone is a delicious tribute to the inherent horrors of womanhood and the desperate and exquisite vulgarity of desire. This is everything I dream of in a novel." -Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth
"While sapphics everywhere thank Sheridan Le Fanu for his service, Kat Dunn's juicy Hungerstone expertly recasts Carmilla's story from a much-needed female perspective." -Elle
"An atmospheric, blood-drenched, feminist twist on classic vampire tropes, a sapphic delight and industrial horror story." -Shelf Awareness
"It's everything you love about the original, but, like, even queerer." -Book Riot
"Extraordinary…. A dark, sensuous, gothic story of female appetite, ravenous desire and insatiable rage. A blood-drenched, glittering, jewel of a novel." -Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne and Atalanta
"Gives Carmilla a bold, feminist retelling." -Town & Country
"An intoxicating and vivid take on the gothic novel. Sensual and vicious, Lenore's devastating story of self-discovery, betrayal and power feels like one for the ages." -Hannah Kaner, author of Godkiller Kat Dunn grew up in London and has lived in Japan, Australia, and France. She has a BA in Japanese from SOAS and an MA in English from Warwick. She's written about mental health for Mind and the Guardian, and worked as a translator for Japanese television. Her YA has been published by Head of Zeus and Andersen Press in the UK.
