City of Crows
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Signs, wonders, and witchcraft beset 17th-century France” in this “grim but spellbinding” novel of a mother searching for her son inspired by true events (Kirkus Reviews).
France, 1673. A young woman from the country, Charlotte Picot must venture to the fearsome city of Paris in search of her last remaining son, Nicolas. Either fate or mere coincidence places the quick-witted charlatan Adam Lesage in her path. Adam is newly released from the prison galleys and on the hunt for treasure. But Charlotte, believing him to be a spirit she has summoned from the underworld, enlists his help in finding her child. Charlotte and Adam―comically ill-matched yet essential to one another―journey to Paris, then known as the City of Crows.
Evoking pre-revolutionary France with all its ribaldry, superstition, and intrigue, “Womersley weaves a haunting tale of the drastic lengths people will go to achieve their deepest desires” (Publishers Weekly).
“A gothic masterpiece.” ―Better Read Than Dead
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Womersley (Bereft) makes the early history of French witchcraft the backbone of this ghoulishly pleasing novel set in 17th-century Provence. To save the life of her last remaining child, Charlotte Picot flees her small village of Saint-Gilles after the plague kills her husband and two daughters. Just after leaving, Charlotte is attacked by bandits who capture her son. She wakes alone in the woods with the help of an old woman who pulls her back to life and gives her sinister powers that allow her to summon demons. Meanwhile, Adam Lesage is freed from prison in possession of a map that shows the location of a hidden fortune in Paris, guarded by dark spirits. On his way, Lesage meets Charlotte, who believes that Lesage is a demon she summoned to help retrieve her son. Fascinated and frightened by Charlotte's powers, Lesage agrees to help find her son in hopes that she too will help him find his fortune. Together, they travel to Paris the City of Crows and enter the dark, evil underworld of spirits and witches. Based on medieval popularity of witchcraft in France and the history of the plague, Womersley weaves a haunting tale of the drastic lengths people will go to achieve their deepest desires.
