Pale Mistress

“Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, all, cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak…”

Cyprus, 16th century. Murder, lies and vengeance has left lovers dead, promises broken and no one to trust. Only one woman survives, Bianca.

The slain? History knows their names: Emilia, Desdemona, Othello.

But why do we not know Bianca? Who was the pale mistress? Liar or lied to? Instigator or victim? In telling one woman’s story, Naomi Kelsey dazzlingly recasts a Shakespearean tragedy as a psychological thriller of jealousy and gaslighting, ambition and envy, and the making and breaking of one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains, Iago.

PRAISE FOR PALE MISTRESS

‘A bold and beautiful triumph. In prose as rich as Cyprus wine and as sharp as a Venetian blade, Naomi Kelsey gives voice to the silenced and reshapes tragedy through a woman's eyes. Lyrical, haunting, and breathtakingly tense, this is historical fiction at its most electrifying.’ SETH INSUA, author of Human, Animal

'Once again, Naomi Kelsey bestows us with a thrilling and infuriating story of love, lies and betrayal. An utterly convincing addition to Shakespeare's Othello.' ELLE MACHRAY, author of Havisham

'Naomi Kelsey continues to cement her position as one of the most accomplished and empathetic writers of historical fiction.' LAURA SHEPPERSON, author of The Heroines

About the author

Naomi Kelsey is the winner of two Northern Writers’ Awards and the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Competition as well as being shortlisted for several further awards including the Bristol and Bridport Prizes. Her debut, THE BURNINGS, was published to acclaim in 2023, and her latest, THE DARKENING GLOBE, an Elizabethan gothic, has captivated advance readers and booksellers. Naomi lives and works in Newcastle.