Fitcher's Brides
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
In this dark retelling of "Bluebeard" and "The Fitcher Bird," three sisters are drawn into a charismatic preacher's apocalyptic cult in 1843 New York.
The year is 1843, and Elias Fitcher, a mesmerizing preacher, has established a utopian community in New York State's Finger Lakes district. Vernelia, Amy, and Catherine Charter, three young women from the nearby town of Jeckyll's Glen, find their lives upended when their father falls under Fitcher's hypnotic sway. Ruled by their stern stepmother and the fiery preacher, the girls are trapped in a house where ghostly whispers echo from the walls.
Determined to secure a wife for Eternity, Fitcher sets his sights on Vernelia. After their hasty marriage, Vern moves to her husband's estate, separated from her family. There, she discovers the depths of Fitcher's darkness and the rumored fates of his previous wives. The truth may lie behind the locked door of the estate's forbidden room—the one place Fitcher has denied her access.
Set during a time of historic religious ferment in the "Burned-Over District," Fitcher's Brides is a haunting tale of faith gone wrong and the strength of one true soul to confront evil. Inspired by classic fairy tales, this dark fantasy navigates the perils of arranged marriage, religious revival, and the secrets lurking in a haunted house.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the latest addition to the Fairy Tale Series created by Terri Windling, fantasy author Frost (Tain; Lyrec) provides a fresh and highly readable spin on the classic Bluebeard tale, setting his version in New York's Finger Lakes district during the 1830s. Charismatic preacher Elias Fitcher, the Bluebeard figure, has set up a utopian community that prays and works while awaiting the end of the world prophesied for 1843. Into this hotbed of religious fervor comes the Charter family from the nearby town of Jeckyll's Glen. The father and stepmother succumb to Fitcher's mesmerizing preaching, but it is the three daughters Vernelia, Amy and Catherine who listen to household spirits and end up, each in turn, marrying Fitcher, then vanishing, except for Catherine, the youngest. In order to survive, Catherine must use her wits and the understanding passed on from her sisters. Exploring such adult themes as lust, masochism and desire, Frost neatly counterbalances the underlying threads of wifely curiosity and disobedience with the growing awareness of true evil in Fitcher, the elements that have made the fairy tale such a timeless story. Some readers may want to save Windling's introduction, which traces the historical legend through its roots in folklore to the narrative of Frenchman Charles Perrault, for last, in order to enjoy the novel for its own sake. .
