A dark and twisting gothic mystery, The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond is a haunting coming of age debut exploring the supernatural world of tarot and fortune telling alongside the lot of women in Victorian England.
1891 Norfolk. A large manor house, Mistcoate House, sits deep in the countryside surrounded on all sides by thick black woods. It is the home of the motherless 17-year-old Olivia Richmond, known locally as the Mistcoate Witch, thanks to her ghost-like appearance and chilling rumours of tarot and fortune telling.
With no home, job or references, no-nonsense governess Julia Pearlie is in no position to turn down the job of companion to Miss Olivia Richmond – despite any misgivings she may have about a young woman who locals say can summon the dead.
Olivia’s brother, Dr Richmond, believes this to be girlish fantasy and is looking to Julia to put a stop to it. But it soon becomes clear that there may be more to Olivia’s stories than Dr Richmond would have Julia believe. Not least because somehow, Olivia seems to know something of Julia’s own dark history. A past that she desperately hoped she had left behind.
As the winter chill wraps around the dark woods surrounding Mistcoate, Julia will have to fight to uncover the truth, escape her past – and save herself.
Louise Davidson’s deliciously creepy gothic fiction debut is an outstanding new piece of storytelling. Davidson draws you deeper and deeper into her compelling narrative, even as the sense of dread grows stronger with every turn of the page. Perfect for fans of Michelle Paver and Sarah Waters.
About Louise Davidson
Born in 1988, Louise Davidson grew up in Belfast during the troubles with a Catholic mother and a Protestant father. The Catholic side of her family lived on Mountcollyer Street – the street featured in Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar winning film Belfast, that was badly affected by violent protests.
Louise’s earliest memory is of her parents deciding whether they should drive past a car that was on fire in the streets of Belfast. It was only when she left Belfast to study Creative Writing at University in the UK that Louise realised it was not normal to live in a permanent state of fear and anxiety. She says the sense of dread she has had from a young age drew her to Gothic fiction and is something she has tried to channel into her debut novel.
Louise was introduced to the idea of tarot, mediums and fortune telling from a young age as her aunt Pat is an intuitive, with the ability to receive messages from the dead and to predict dreams. Louise grew up watching her aunt predict dreams and pass messages from the dead to bereaved families and this helped her to create the character of Olivia Richmond.
After a career working in theatre production with theatres including Tinder Box and Ransome Theatre in Northern Ireland and Intemission and the Lyric Hammersmith in London, Louise now teaches English and drama to A-Level students. Louise lives in West London with her husband and stepson. The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond is her first novel.