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The Last Days of Leda Grey

A reclusive actress, a volatile love affair, a long-hidden secret...

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The Last Days of Leda Grey

By: Essie Fox
Narrated by: Peter Noble, Rachel Atkins
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It was a secret kept for fifty years...

The bewitching novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of CATHERINE: A RETELLING OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS - for fans of Sarah Waters and Tracy Chevalier.

When journalist Ed Peters unearths a dusty old photograph of the alluring and reclusive silent-film actress Leda Grey, he is instantly enchanted.

Captivated by the image, he searches for Leda - and finds her still living, alone in a decaying cliff-top house by the sea. There, after a fifty-year silence, she's finally ready to share her incredible story.

She tells of a dark love affair, of obsession and jealousy, and the glamorous world of early cinema.

She tells of a world filled with secrets and lies, and of a past far more haunting than any of the silent films that Leda Grey once starred in.

'Leda Grey's world is utterly beguiling' THE TIMES Book of the Month

'A richly evocative story, brimming with intrigue and suspense' M.L. Stedman, author of THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS

(p) 2016 Orion Publishing Group©2016 Essie Fox 20th Century Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Celebrity Fiction
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Critic reviews

A richly evocative story, brimming with intrigue and suspense
Leda Grey's world is utterly beguiling (Antonia Senior)
Dark, haunting, compelling... equal to DuMaurier's novels - this book held me in its grip. Loved it.
Macabre, transporting, thick with atmosphere and allusion
Darkly sparkling. Very much enjoyed my days in Leda's twilight world. Doubt I'll sleep all that well tonight...
Shades of Sunset Boulevard in this atmospheric chiller
A wonderfully creepy tale. Leda is a triumph
An obvious comparison is with early Sarah Waters. The glee with which Fox approaches her material is infectious. All Victorian life is here. Intriguing
A deliciously eerie affair... A story of obsession, jealousy, mysterious deaths and theatrically supernatural goings-on as very strange truths are tantalisingly revealed
Fox's tale of obsessive love is memorable and unusual
A richly textured, highly coloured and entirely pleasurable read
A fabulous foray into a shadowy Victorian world
I loved this book and recommend it to anyone looking for a delightfully immersive and imaginative spell in the past
Fox's vivid, sensual prose is - fittingly - as seductive as a siren's song, drawing you into a shadowy Victorian world of obsession and guilt... An intoxicating follow-up to 2011's acclaimed The Somnambulist. Recommended to fans of Sarah Waters
All stars
Most relevant

If you could sum up The Last Days of Leda Grey in three words, what would they be?

Gripping, gothic, gorgeous

What did you like best about this story?

The atmosphere conjured by hugely evocative writing - about lost silent movies, extravagant sets, a crumbling cliff top mansion. There is one scene when Peter goes to the kitchen and nearly eats a shiny fresh apple - only when he looks again, it's mouldering and maggoty. Something very strange is happening to time...

What does Peter Noble and Rachel Atkins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Peter Noble delivers a convincing delivery of young journalist Ed, catching his hesitancy as he tries to resist the lure of Leda. Rachel Atkins is tremendous as Leda; she could be sitting in front of you, drawing you in... The audio book frees your imagination to vividly picture the scenes.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The audio book drew me in and I hurried through it in a few days. I listened to the last hour in one sitting - I had to know what was going on!

Any additional comments?

This is Essie Fox's best novel yet – set in 1976 and Edwardian days, presenting a small cast of vivid and unique characters. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone looking for an imaginative and immersive audio book.

Decadent, gorgeous and delightfully unsettling

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