PRE-ORDER | Frankie recommends... The Brides - Charlotte Cross

Published 19 March 2026; get tickets for our event with the author here

Frankie says... A neo-Victorian epistolary accompaniment to Stoker’s Dracula, The Brides fleshes out the forgotten backstory of the Brides of Dracula in the fascinating form of letters, diaries and reports. A sumptuous, mysterious, queer imagining of the iconic story, following lovers Mafalda and Lucy, their best friend Eliza and their handmaid Alice across the Austro-Hungarian Empire right to Dracula’s door - but only one will survive to tell the tale. A creepy, brilliantly assured debut that will delight classic literature and horror fans alike.

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Come to me, and be mine for eternity...

1884. When Mafalda journeys to Budapest to care for her grieving aunt, her secret love, Lucy, hurries from London to comfort her, with chaperone and lady’s maid in tow. But lady’s maid Alice, blessed and cursed with the Sight, is tormented by terrifying visions. When chaperone Eliza falls prey to a disturbing wasting illness, the women hope to seek the healing waters of Transylvania.

At a nobleman’s invitation, they set out for Castle Dracula. In the depths of the forest, miles from civilization, their host reveals his true intentions; a monstrous ambition which will tear the women apart. And not all of them will survive.