Never judge a book by its cover. That what’s they say, right? I guess that includes the title too. It’s certainly the case with Laura Purcell’s second novel, The Corset.

 

The moniker suggests an old-fashioned bodice-ripper, rather than the darkly chilling tale that lurks within. Fortunately, I was already aware of the author’s credentials, having stumbled across her rather excellent debut. The Silent Companions was published last year, garnering rave reviews and appearing on the Radio 2 Book Club. Rather than a departure from her previous novel, I’m happy to report that The Corset treads the same ground in terms of its Victorian gothic setting. Not a run-of-the-mill psychological thriller then, but one that has all the right ingredients.

 

The tale revolves around two very different women. The first of these is Ruth - young, poor, and awaiting trial for murder in Oakgate prison. The second, Dorothea, is of a similar age – but enjoys the trappings of wealth and beauty. Dorothea is a regular visitor to prisons, indulging her fascination with phrenology – the nineteenth-century theory that the shape of the head is a window into the personality. This is how the characters come to meet. Dorothea studies Ruth, who protests her innocence, attributing her alleged crimes to a supernatural agency. The notion that evil can be sewn into the stitches of clothes is an original and unsettling premise – cleverly underpinned by the interweaving narratives through which the sinister tale unfolds. Is Ruth villain or victim? Murderer or mad? But what really sets The Corset apart from other books that plumb the depths of Victorian gothic, is the attention to historical detail, and the sheer quality of the prose. Like its predecessor, it’s beautifully written.

 

Recommended – and while you’re at it, be sure to pick up The Silent Companions too.

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8/10