About this item
In modern day England, Professor Felix Guichard is called in to identify occult symbols found on the corpse of a young girl. His investigation brings him in contact with a mysterious woman, Jackdaw Hammond, who guards a monumental secret--Shes Dead. Or she would be, were it not for magic which has artificially extended her life. But someone else knows her secret. Someone very old and very powerful, who wont rest until theyve taken the magic that keeps her alive....In Krakow in 1585, Dr John Dee, the Elizabethan Alchemist and Occultist, and his assistant Edward Kelley have been summoned by the King of Poland to save the life of his niece, the infamous Countess Elisabeth Bathory. But they soon realize that the only thing worse than the Countess malady, is the magic that might be able to save her.
About the Author
I write historical crime, with an interest in folk and superstitious beliefs. A Baby's Bones (Titan Books) asks the reader: is a dark house haunted by the dreadful violence committed there in the past, or is there a scientific explanation that triggers the darkness in the people who are working there? People rarely set out to kill someone, but their emotions can build up into a sexual obsession, and that's really what this book is about. I've always been fascinated by what makes people react the way they do, which was why I studied psychology and worked with people. I also am undecided about certain aspects of the supernatural. Do terrible events leave a mark on places and people? Can we understand every phenomenon with science? When I'm not reading crime I like to explore fantasy, and with the Secrets of Life and Death I brought a single element of fantasy into the real world and it seeped in all directions. Dr John Dee believed sorcery was possible - it was his idea of technology. I just wondered ... what if he was right? What if a child's life could be saved by magic when medicine fails? Then I had to go back and follow Dee and his sidekick, Kelley, as they did their experiments and worked out how magic works in the castle of Elizabeth Bathory, the sadistic 'Blood Countess' in The Secrets of Life and Death series. In A Baby's Bones (its sequel, A Shroud of Leaves is out April 2019) Sage Westfield is excavating a filled in well that appears to date back hundreds of years, when she finds the bones of a baby. As she struggles to interprets the finds, uncovering layers of story and folklore and trying to reconcile them with the evidence, she meets the local vicar, Nick. Together they piece together what might have happened at Banstock Manor in 1580, with the expert help of Felix Guichard, anthropologist and expert on sixteenth century sorcery. Back in 1580, the manor's steward juggles the needs of a sickly, pregnant mistress, whose previous babies have all died at birth, and the betrothal of the youngest daughter of Lord Banstock, Viola, to a man whose interests include sorcery. The embroideress who sews Viola's bride clothes grows pale, and secretive...My website is: http://www.rebecca-alexander.co.ukI blog about writing about Sage Westfield's adventures, along with those of Jackdaw and Felix at http://witchwayblogspotcom.blogspot.co.uk/ Contact me at reb@rebecca-alexander.co.uk.
